A good Apple Tree Book

I'm quite often asked about recommending a good apple tree book. Especially about training and grafting.

There are hundreds out there, some great, some not. One I often recommend is form the 1940's, Fruit Tree Growing by Raymond Bush (if there was ever a name for a fruit tree book). Not everything in there is gold (they're just getting into sprays and stuff), but the chapter on grafting is good. 

Although it's old it written in quite a light and humorous way, with instructions that are easy to follow. There are of course many other techniques out there, but this has a good handle on the basics. Also it shouldn't cost more than about £3 so I'm not recommending to someone to spend a fortune. 

 One thing I will say is that with fruit tree growing, grafting and training, it's just to have a go. You can pick up a cheap supermarket fruit tree for £5 most springs so it's worth buying one and just seeing how you can implement the knowledge in these book. Stuff normally grows back and they're surprisingly hard to kill (so long as you keep watering them). It's worth getting a few and having them in pots on the patio, make a framework of bamboo (hazel even better) and then just train them over a few summers into different shapes. 

The same with grafting, make some family trees, try budding in late summer, cut a branch off an older tree and try to cleft graft. Invest a few pounds and buy some rootstocks on the internet and create your own trees, if they take you can sell them easily and cover your costs and you will have learnt far more than if you just read about it. 

In fact after writing this I think I will get a few cheap apple trees and train them in pots on the patio to show how to do this. Should be fun. 

Do you have  fruit tree book you recommend or turn to?

Apple Diversity

I'm late in "summer" pruning my cordon apples this year. But as I trimmed them back I was amazed by the variety and quality of fruit in this trained hedge. 

It's a great year for apples and for the first time my main orchard is loaded with fruit, as are my cordon trees in the veg garden.

Wassail!

For one night a year our village turns truly pagan! 

These are pictures from last weekend as I've not been 100% this week and the kids and wife have been the same (full of cold and sore throats). 

The wassail was really quite eventful though. 

Lets just say that health and safety got left at the door. In fact it might not have even seen the door...

 There must have been three hundred people meeting in the village centre and then walking down to the community orchards with flaming torches. The guy giving the speech at the start even set his hat on fire! There were Morris dancers as well as entertainment to start with as well.

To see the flaming torches stretched out for half a mile and lighting the whole way was impressive. In the past I should imagine it was really something to look forward to.

We banished the evil spirits and secured a good harvest for this year, they used fireworks instead of shotguns to get he bad spirits out of the trees. Unfortunately they let them off about 5ft away from my friends and me and made 10 children cry - nevermind!

It was certainly an eventful evening and great fun to meet up with my friends in the village. This has real potential as the kids get older where we might be able to have more than one drink! We'll certainly be going again, but I'll be a bit more alert when the fireworks are being lit!

Do you Wassail where you are?

Winter tree Pruning

This is something that scares most apple tree owner. People often say to me that they don’t prune them because they don’t know what they’re doing, or I quite often see them pruned in the wrong way.

 The worst thing you can do to an apple tree, in my opinion, is not to prune it. Cutting stimulates growth, you get to shape it into a form that works for you and control it’s growth and fruiting potential.

Before

After

Before

After

Winter tree pruning can be any time from when the leaves have fallen until the sap starts to rise and the buds start to swell. I try to do mine before Christmas if I can but have been as late as March before now.
Before starting to prune your tree, step back and have a good look around it. See how it grows and the height it is. Walk around it and see it from every angle.

Now don’t fear the saw. I use a folding pruning saw and a pair of secateurs for all my pruning on my young trees, on mature trees I might use a chainsaw. If you’re not competent with a chainsaw make sure you get someone who is to do that work. It’s far harder cutting in a tree than logging firewood. I’m lucky as my brother is a qualified arborist and has taught me well.

The Dutch, who are masters at pruning and producing fruit, say that we are good at growing more wood not fruit!

mature tree before

Mature tree afterrwards  - hhandy to have two poepel on one like this, very hard to tell when you're in the tree!

As I hand pick the fruit from my trees I want them to grow at my height and no higher than I can reach. I’m not planning on grazing my orchards when they get bigger and because of this I grow all of my trees on MM106 stocks (more on this in another post). 

Before

After - not much to take off this young tree but it should help it to bush out and give more options of branches to choose to grow on. 

 The shape of the tree I’m looking for is a polo tree – one with a hole in the middle. It’s said you should be able to chuck your hat through and it not catch on any branches! 

Getting towards the right tree shape. Could do with another large branch heading towards the camera and away from it. They will come in time. 

This creates plenty of light and air flow, keeping the tree healthier, reducing diseases as well as letting in more light to ripen the fruit. 

Woolly aphid damage

Before you start cutting down branches have a look and see how much fruiting buds it has. This will give you an idea of its fruiting potential (frost and many other factors coming into play of course!). The buds are easy to tell apart, the ones growing close the branches are for leaf and the fatter ones are for flowers (and hopefully fruit). So make sure you don’t remove all your fruiting material! Also as you get more experienced be mindful if it is a tip or a spur bearer (again more in another post on that!).

First go round and remove any damaged or diseased material, looking for woolly aphid and canker, cut this material out, always cutting back to just above a bud where possible.

Look at the whole shape, make sure it’s even, look to the middle and see what’s there. If there’s a strong leader in the middle cut this out. 

Don't fear cutting big branches

Then look at the upwards growth, this will be growing the strongest, so cut some of this out or back to height that suits you. 

Any growth that is touching or covering each other is not ideal and needs to go as well. 

Remember not to cut too much any one year, I’d never go more than a third of small tree in one go. To do so encourages wood growth. Pruning can look brutal but the tree soon comes back! 

Before 

After - this tree still needs lots of work but it can be done over many years.

The key shape is a goblet, but remember you’re not trying to get his shape in one year, it can takes years to get the right shape. Also remember that if you make a mistake new branches will grow and replace them. I’ve taken a tree right back to a tall stump before now and started again! 

Try to pick out branches that are a wide angle from the main trunk. they use toothpick like things to space them on some orchards now as it will mean a much stronger branch in the future. remove narrow angle branches as they tend to want to grow upwards.

Key thing is to remember that there’s no rush. Trees are pretty forgiving, new growth will come!

Also a key thing is not to prune below the graft(the scar about 6 inches up)! Not an issue with modern trees which are grafted low down, but some older trees were grafted at head height so if there is vigorous growth low down then this can be the root stock overtaking the fruiting wood.

I wrote this for a Facebook group but decided to share it here as well. I know there are hundreds of methods of pruning but this is what I tend to do. I also summer prune my trained trees each year - but that's for another post!

Let me know your thoughts! 

Reverend W Wilks Cooking Apple

Another great cooking apple I picked last week is the Reverend W Wilks.

I think it's possible to fall in love with these old apple varieties for their name before you've even tasted them! 

This is early to mid season apple - pick the beginning of September. 

It makes a large cooking apple with a lovely delicate aromatic flavour and cooks to a froth.

The tree is spur bearing (so ideal for cordons or espaliers) and stays fairly compact so great for a small garden, I have this tree growing down my row of cordons and it normally produces a few perfect large apples for me each year. It's in pollination group 2 if you are planning on having a few trees. 

Who else has tried this one? 

What did you think?

Perfect Day Planting Trees

I woke up this morning with a long list of jobs I wanted to get done, and although I didn't manage most of them I still feel that it was a really good day.
It started off with my children giving my wife their cards and mothers day presents before texting my own mum (and speaking to her at a more sociable hour later). Then it was on to tree planting (my mum is coming round later in the week).

These first two pics are from Friday night where we just popped over to plant a couple of trees

I had a few trees left over from the ones I was selling and I didn't want them to go to waste, nor did I want to replant them only to lift them next year so I decide to plant them in our little coppice. Reading Tracy's blog the other day, when she asked if you could ever have enough apple trees really spurred me into action - you can never have enough apple trees! 

I thought that planted down the fence line they would be away from the willow I've got growing but also produce lots of food. I also like the idea of having two areas of apples away from each other so that if the frost catches one it might miss the other.

Good concentration putting the rabbit guard on! 

So armed with a spade, some BF&B (blood, fish and bone), compost (just a little for the bottom of the hole), tree guards, cardboard (to make a little mulch mat around the bottom of the tree) and a load of trees I set off over to the coppice. 

Trees planted with a cardboard mulch mat under it. The tree behind isn't exactly straight but who wants straight trees!??!

 At the top of this area there is a foot path so I thought it best to plant the cider trees up this end - it might discourage scrumpers, you normally only eat a cider apple off the tree once! The lower half would have eating apples, mainly with a long storage capacity as I want to store more apples and it would mean that I could harvest lots of apples in one go then.

Gooseberry bush being carried off to be put in the coppice

I went over on my own to start with, dug all the holes (the boring bit) and then went and got my pair of helpers, they love planting trees and needed no convincing to come and help me. 

They're very good and take it in turns with the different jobs. We also stopped lots of times to watch ants, worms and figure out what lived in a hole in a big old perry pear tree in the hedge. 

One holes the tree while the other puts the soil back in the hole.

Taking turns!

We did spend a bit of time trying to decide who lived in this hole!

Eaters planted this side and cider apples nearer the footpath (behind this picture) - should put off scrumpers! 

Once we'd finished that area and had some lunch I got back to planting. 

Five cherry trees planted and two apricots. 

The orchard at the bottom of the garden is only half full at the moment as it's handy to have somewhere I can park large diggers and things, but last year I did plant a cherry tree near the fence line. I decided to increase this and plant another five cherry trees and a couple of apricots, they're all on dwarf root stocks so I'm hoping that netting a short row like this won't be too difficult in the future. We love cherries!

In total we planted another 12 apple trees, two pears, five cherries, two apricots and a gooseberry bush.

The funniest question people ask me about my apple trees is what am I going to do with "all those apples"? 

In a good year we'll eat loads, store loads, make juice, dry them, can them, make cider, add them to jams and chutneys and give away or sell the surplus.

In a bad year we'll have just enough to get by, hopefully!

What about you? Have you planted enough to allow for bad years as well as good if you've got the space?

What would be your fruit of choice to plant in your area or your dream location?

Winter Fruit Tree Pruning - Year 5

Last week, whilst the boy took a long nap I managed to get down into the orchard to prune some of my trees. They're really putting on some growth now so it's important that they grow how I want them to, to make fruit ripen and to make picking easy! 

The orchard

The first job before tackling any tree to look for diseased or damaged wood and remove it. Even if the branch is int he right place if it has canker then it's not going to grow strong. 

I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn't much canker and I only had to cut out a couple of branches with it. Unfortunately this did make one tree really lob sided but another branch will grow to fill the void in time. 

Canker

I then set about each tree in turn, standing back and taking a look at it from all sides. I want my trees to be goblet shaped, clear of branches in the middle with branches not any higher than my head. I try not too take too many branches off in one year, no more than a quarter, I tend to remove the middle upright ones first and then look again at the tree, picking branches to form a frame work. 

Before

After

 Quite often I'll leave branches on that I can see have lots of fruit buds on, to remove a following year, I want a good frame work but I also want some fruit! You'll soon develop a keen eye for spotting the difference between fruit buds and leaf buds, it also pays to be careful as you remove branches not to knock fruit buds off from elsewhere on the tree. Remember you're shaping the tree but it still needs to be productive. 

When pruning trees it's important to remember that not everything has to be done that year, if you take too much off you'll encourage the tree to put on lots of woody growth at the expense of your fruit. Pruning fruit trees is an on going project that takes years, there's no rush! 

Before

After

I've included a few before and after pictures of trees that I did and these are by no means perfect, but they are starting to form the frame work I want. Some of the lower branches on the first tree are being left as a temporary measure to give me more fruit now and gradually I'll lift the canopy to the height I want as branches form in the right place, the second tree has the goblet shape formed now but still too much upright growth that needs to be removed in coming years. 

I know that fruit tree pruning is a daunting prospect for some so I hope this post helps, remember that you're better to have a go than not and trees soon grow branches again! 

Who else has been pruning fruit trees this winter?

Rabbits Getting Past The Rabbit Proof Fence

########## This post contains pictures of dead animals! ###########

 I was more than a little disappointed to see some apple trees in my "rabbit proof" veg garden had been damaged by rabbits (the same ones that were damaged by mice last year). So tonight I decided to get some payback and remove them from the garden. 

 Armed with a torch and my trusty little bolt action .410 shotgun I removed the offenders that I caught in the act - no trial needed. 

They've now been gutted, skinned and put in the fridge for a tea one night this week. they were both a good size so should make a good stew!

I now need a bit of time in the light to find out where they were getting in or whether is was just as simple as leaving the gate open for an hour whilst I was in the garden the other day?

Reverend W Wilkes

We're starting to get some apples and other fruit ready in the orchard and cordons.

Mum brought over a big bag of discovery apples but a few cookers are ready as well. Warmers King is normally the first we eat but this year we've also got some Reverend W Wilkes from my line of cordons. 

IIt's a slightly acidic cooking apple that is ready to use when it's slightly premature.  This one lifted off the tree with only the slightest bit of weight behind it. Like all early apples it won't keep,  but I've got plenty for that purpose, having an apple ready at the same time as the blackberries has it's advantages.

Its a spur bearer and slow grower, so perfect for a cordon if you're limited on space.

What early cooking apples do you have growing?

This Years Grafts Looking Good

It's still too early to see what has taken and what hasn't, but early signs are looking good for this years apple trees. 

There's over hundred and fifty trees in this section and most have new growth on the grafted on scion wood. Long furrows seems the perfect plot for them and all this rain lately has helped keep them looking healthy. 

Who else did any grafting this year and how are your trees looking?

125 Grafted Apple Trees So Far

Over the last few weeks I've been steadily grafting apple trees in any spare time I have. I tend to do ten or a dozen at a time so I don't get too bored with the job, either in the greenhouse or in the workshop for an hour at night. 

Long trench dug to heel in the apple trees

 I haven't got huge numbers left now and I can see the end in sight, I hope to get a good percentage take this year. I've tried to be careful at every stage, I've store the scion wood correctly, I've been careful and accurate with my cuts and I've sealed all my grafts with tape and wax.

Apple tree heeled in ready for planting

There's still along way to go with these trees. I've got to now plant them in a nursery bed and grow them on for a year or two (depending on how much growth they put on), during this time I need to look after them, keep them weeded, prune them to get them growing straight and regraft any trees that don't take. Hopefully I'll eb able to sell some of the trees out of this lot and I'll give blog readers first chance to purchase them when the time is right!

Anyone else have a small cottage industry in the making?

Orchard Trees Mulched

I've managed to put some muck around the base of my trees this week. Some people don't like to do this too much as it can encourage leafy growth at the expense of fruit, but while the trees are young and establishing I think it's a good thing.  I might add a final mulch of wood chip on top to help keep the weeds at bay around the base of the tree.

Half a barrow of muck a tree

How the bridge graft I did in 3013 looks now

I also looked at the bridge graft I did a couple of years ago when I had a tree ringed barked by rabbits. The tree is still growing well and both of my "bridges" are alive and looking healthy, they've gotten thicker and grown with the tree and the wounds have callused over nicely. Hopefully as the tree grows it will engulf this and in a few years time you won't be able to tell. 

Does anyone else mulch their fruit trees with well rotted muck? Do you think it makes any difference?

Inarching A Damaged Apple Tree

They say you learn more through your mistakes than your successes, if that's true then I'm learning a lot. One important thing I learnt last year was not to mulch young apple trees with straw, although it stopped the weeds it also provided a perfect little haven for mice to chew at the bark of some of my trees.

 I was gutted when I spotted this a month or so ago, a few trees had been completely ringed by the little sods. But the damage was done so I just had to think how to get over it and prevent it in future. I will be adding tree guards to all of these even though they're protected by a rabbit fence, hopefully that'll stop it happening again. 

The trees in question happen to be part of my row of cordons, and they were growing nicely. It would be a shame to loose any, but the damage extends down to ground level, not enough bark left to do a bridge graft like I have done on a previously damaged tree in the orchard. 

I decided to try some inarching, this is where I basically graft a new rootstock on to the tree whilst it's still insitu and this should keep the sap flowing next year. The process is quite simple but in practice it's fiddly, although I have a few trees to do to so I should get better at it!

New rootstock added along side the old one

The end of the new rootstock cut into a wedge shape. It should go to a point without a flat bit shown on the picture.
The side against the tree is cut slightly longer to give a larger area for cambium contact.

The wedge of the new rootstock being inserted in to the scion of the old tree. This should hopefully keep it alive.  It's essential to make sure that the cambium layers are touching (the layer just under the bark) as this is where the sap flows.

Different tree but showing the grafting tape holding it all tight.

I need to do this to about 8 trees in a row of thirty, luckily I have a lot of rootstocks to use as I haven't started this years grafting yet. They seem to have only gone for some trees and not others, they didn't touch my nursery of over 150 trees luckily - otherwise I might be weeping! My plan is to keep these trees alive for another season and then take some scion wood from them so I don;t loose that variety and maybe replace the trees when I have new ones grown depending on how they do. 

The more grafting I do and the more I practice it, the bigger asset having this skill becomes. If your a keen gardener then I urge you to try it. I might do a little video on this if anyone is interested? 

Anyone else been grafting this year yet?