Harvest bits and bobs

[Monika]

Looks great, Clive!

Perhaps you can also answer me a question, as you know about apples: one of our neighbours has an apple tree of unknown variety (it was there when they moved in many years ago). It really is prolific almost every year - and this is NOT a good apple growing area - and this year it is still groaning under the weight in spite of a harvest of hundreds of fruit already. The apples are red with a touch of yellow, good eaters but also cook down well when stewed, but the intriguing thing is, that most but not all the apples have very red flesh, some quite deep and some not so. The core, however, is always surrounded by white flesh. Any ideas?

[Clive.]

Hello Monika, I can recognise the Apples that we have. ...but at our Apple day it was our Volunteer colleague Trevor who was the identification expert. Any chance of a photo of your Apple.? I sometimes have a puzzle using http://www.fruitid.com


We had a bag of Bloody Ploughman Apples given to us to put on show on Trevors table on the day....I put them safely somewhere...and we haven't found them yet.....although another of our loyal volunteers presented us with an Apple crumble....wonder if there is a connection.

Clive.

[Geoff]

Lovely pictures. I've been to a few Apple Days at Harlow Carr, it's so sad that only a few bland varieties are commercial. We had a mystery tree that after asking the Northern Fruit Group twice at Harlow Carr, first time just an apple second time more apples and photographs of blossom, they identified as Laxton's Epicure. When you posted your first photos I was going to ask if you had a photo of any I could compare with but your link confirms the identification visually and by its habit of producing small fruit, I'm going to have to be bold and thin.
Not sure your link is very comprehensive yet but Monika might like to go it and try : Identification, Full Identification, Fruit and Leaves then scroll down to Internal - Flesh Colour and select Red or Pink Widespread and then Get Matches. Only comes up with 6 to choose from (which is why I doubt the size of the database) but it might have the one.

[Clive.]

Hello Geoff,
The fruitid site is slightly limited if not signed up but expands markedly in number of viewable varieties once you are signed in.

We don't have Laxtons Epicure in our collection at work...but we have it at home here. I have just been out and found just one left, lodged in a branch...and taken this photo.
Yes, they tend to be on the small side and have a very long stalk.

Clive.

[Monika]

Thank you, Clive and Geoff. I used the suggested website and am pretty sure its Discovery. This certainly matches the description and the photo.

I am afraid I still have not fathomed out how to get photos onto this forum from my ancient Apple iMac, Clive!

[oldherbaceous]

Just been down the woods collecting a few conkers, i didn't realize it was such a good year for them. With that, and shuffling through the leaves as i walked down the road, i'm a very happy fellow.....

[Primrose]

I get such a thrill seeing the newly fallen bright shiny cookers every year. I recently spent a happy half hour collecting them for an acquaintance who is convinced that there is an odour which comes from cookers which deters spiders inside the house. I have never heard of this before. Has anybody else? They.re probably just nice to collect to have an ornamental bowl full of them but I don,t. know how long it is before their fresh shiny surface starts to fade. I haven't seen any kids playing cookers for years. Probably a combination of Health and Safety regulations at schools and the arrival of too many technological gadgets. Rather sad really.

[Westi]

They are supposed to repel spiders & you can buy sprays etc with the extract in them. Using this wonderful advice I put them in my greenhouse last year - hmmm more attracting than deterring but as it wasn't the greatest weather last year maybe they overcome their revulsion to survive!

Westi

[Clive.]

Just been down the woods collecting a few conkers, i didn't realize it was such a good year for them. With that, and shuffling through the leaves as i walked down the road, i'm a very happy fellow.....

That reminds me....We once collected Conkers and strung them on a long string....then wrote to Blue Peter....and got to appear, live, on the tele'


I'm sure I have recounted this before. ...possibly more than once.

Clive.

[oldherbaceous]

Morning Clive, you have indeed told us this before, but no one minds hearing a good story more than once...

Gosh, it is chucking it down with rain out there at the present, no digging today!

[Primrose]

Yes, raining here too. I am wondering whether it is worth leaving my runner beans in situ for the last half dozen flowers and tiny little beans to develop or whether the current lower nighttime temperatures have effectively finished them off. Can,t bear to waste good food ! I'm the same with those last gasp two inch courgettes on the now very straggly plants .

[Geoff]

We are wondering if last night we had the last runner beans with the first sprouts, sprouting broccoli and parsnip - strange but productive season.

[peter]

Just wish the drier weather would start on Thursday mornings and finish on Sunday evenings!

As far as I'm concerned it can rain from sunset Sunday to to Thursday morning provided the rest of Thursday and all of Friday into Saturday is good drying weather.

it would be so nice to get some more diggind done on my clay without it sticking to the spade as full clods. Dug in lumps the frost makes it into a beautiful seed bed.

[Monika]

We could do with some of your rain, southerners. It's just been drizzling here occasionally - the last proper rainfall was on 4 September. When I was planting the overwintering onions, garlic and shallots recently, I had to water them in! I don't think I have ever had to do that before.

I have started to pick the first 'Flower Posy' vegetables, apparently a cross between sprouts and kale. They taste ok but are not easy to harvest, they are quite strongly attached to the main stem. As we grow both Brussels sprouts and lots of different kales, I think in future years we'll stick to those.

[Clive.]

38mm rain in the dry East last night...and currently pouring down....good job we had picked last weekend for Apple Day and not this.

I eventually got "my" overwinter onions in last Tuesday...they had been lurking in the shed a little too long....but they have soon had their watering.

Clive.