Thursday 6 September 2012

The apple harvest

Many of you will know that I only have one solitary (and not very healthy) apple tree. It is Minarette version of the variety "Scrumptious". Last year it was in very poor condition, and I nearly dug it up. The tree's main problem was that it was suffering from Bitter Pit, which is caused by inability to absorb enough calcium, normally as a result of being too dry. This year I was determined to do what I could to improve the situation, and I pledged to do my utmost to provide the tree with enough water. In this of course I was considerably assisted by the elements in our wettest Summer for 100 years!


This week one of the tree's few fruits fell off, which I took to be a sign that the fruit was ready for picking. I therefore picked all the fruits of any significant size. It didn't take me long!


Yes, there were only seven. Well, at least that is better than last year's total: zero.

The apples have some very attractive aspects. One side of each fruit (the sunny side) is deeply blushed - almost crimson - whereas the other (the shaded side) is pale green.


One of the apples was a real good-looker:


They weren't all so good. Most of them still showed signs of the Bitter Pit:


Fortunately these blemishes are not very deep, and when you peel the apple the flesh underneath is still OK. The taste of these apples is really sweet, and their texture is firm and crunchy. A very nice apple to have with a piece of good mature Cheddar chesse.

So what do you think? Should I persevere and hope that next year will be better, or should I start again with a different tree?

P.S. Here are a couple of pics of an apple that didn't make it to harvest. I quite like the grotesque wrinkliness of it!




13 comments:

  1. I love the fact that you are prepared to show the bad as well as the good in your posts

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  2. lovely apples. My apple trees bloomed and then we got a heavy frost which meant no apples for us this year

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  3. Our local apple orchard are having a terrible time with some kind of apple blight.. very sad...

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  4. I don't know much about apple trees but I think I'd give it another year based on the improvement this year.

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  5. Yes, indeed, Mark, keep the tree. The weather was unusual this year and anyway, haven't you heard that after one fairly bad year comes a bumper crop?So next year you should get lots and they will look even better! The color of them is great and you say the taste is good, too. By the way, loved your post on our recent meeting in Stratford upon Avon. Thank you and Jane for meeting up with us. More about that later.

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  6. I'm hoping for apples in a couple of years. My Honeycrisp tree is not doing well though. It just isn't growing. It is my favorite apple so I hope it makes it and improves.

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  7. I say give it a another chance! You just never know when lightening will strike. I think they look beautiful!

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  8. I don't know anything about apple trees... But I say persevere.

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  9. Keep the tree Mark, as you say you had a better harvest than last year.

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  10. Oh keep it Mark! Unless the effort outweighs the outcome!

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  11. Maybe third time lucky? ;D
    I'd hate to give it the thumbs down...but then I embrace wrinkliness these days Mark...I have no choice! :$

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  12. I'm looking forward to having my first small apple harvest after buying two trees this year. I'd keep the tree and give it another chance.

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  13. Oh I would keep it but then I have tried growing apple trees several times here and have not be successful yet so I think 7 apples is a pretty good harvest. At least you know it is doing better.

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