Gardening. How are your apples?

[kadman]

Disastrous on both my apple trees. had a great full blossom and was convinced this was going to be a bumper year.
But its looking bad and we are down to a couple of apples. Less bees I notice this year too, which obviously does not help

[kadman]

We always had a hit'n'miss affair with apples. Most years none. Then one year good.
I cant get my head around it. Has to be something I am doing, or not doing. We have not found the secret yet.

We have grown most everything else successfully, even down to lovely tobacco plants, but none this year except a couple of rogues.

[765489]

lovely tobacco plants.

What do ya do with the tobacco plants ? Cigars ?

[kadman]

I grew them years ago just to see the plant. Which is a cracker. And since then in hot weather they still come up, flower
and produce 1000's of seeds, which are the size of pepperdust.
I used to shred and break up the leaves, and mix them in with the soil of my tomato plants as they are good for sterilising
the soil and keeping it healthy.

[765489]

The pollination was ok where I was, but found the long dry spell we had has affected the swelling of the fruit. I really should have thinned the fruit out a bit but left them. Alot of aphids around this year I've found. Overall the quality is down from last year.

Good crop of plums at the moment so happy enough with that. I've four plum varieties and the champion out of them all is a Victoria plum tree that I was going to chop down about 10 years ago but my mother wouldn't have any of it. She was right in the end as always.

[CelticRambler]

Absolutely desperate here ... but only in my garden. Passed a neighbour's garden-with-a-few-neglected-trees and he's got a decent crop on every one of them. Mind you, I knew it was going to be a bad year, as the varieties all flowered in the wrong order, so the pollination was always going to be messed up.

No shortage of bees, though. Currently feasting on a really healthy crop of lavender and oregano (first year in a newly renovated herbarium).

[kadman]

The pollination was ok where I was, but found the long dry spell we had has affected the swelling of the fruit. I really should have thinned the fruit out a bit but left them. Alot of aphids around this year I've found. Overall the quality is down from last year.

Good crop of plums at the moment so happy enough with that. I've four plum varieties and the champion out of them all is a Victoria plum tree that I was going to chop down about 10 years ago but my mother wouldn't have any of it. She was right in the end as always.

Well done mum

[765489]

Well done mum

Tree was 7 years old, no flowers on it. The following year the tree was laiden down with plums. Roll on 10 years later, my mam has passed on but the tree remains producing fruit each year. A valuable lesson she thought to me that day - Fruit growing requires patience.

[kadman]

I have turned a lot of apple wood, and its beautiful to turn, but seriously unstable when it dries.
I often turn a lovely item only to discover an ugly bloody turning a couple of weeks later.

So I always kept apple wood for natural edge turnings.

[765489]

I have turned a lot of apple wood, and its beautiful to turn, but seriously unstable when it dries.
I often turn a lovely item only to discover an ugly bloody turning a couple of weeks later.

So I always kept apple wood for natural edge turnings.

My neighbour has some very old crab apple trees growing in some of his hedges. One of them is massive must get a photo of it the next time I pass it. Some of the them been pushed over by the veg lads he's rented some of the fields out to. Makes my blood boil as there's no need for it.

[kadman]

Keep an eye on it. Even the smallest pieces make beautiful items

Burr elm about 3" high.

Sorry op , I wont post any more woodwork here

[kadman]

So back on topic. I know nothing about apple trees. Can they be brought back from the brink??

[765489]

Do you know the varieties of the Apple trees Kadman ? If so can you list them here..

[kadman]

Do you know the varieties of the Apple trees Kadman ? If so can you list them here..

Not a prayer buddy. Missus put them in years ago, and she doesn't know either.

[765489]

Ok was thinking maybe related to them not being self fertile varieties and needing pollination partners and all of them are in different pollination groupings.

[kadman]

WE had apples from both one year, nothing last year, and I see a handful on each now.

[765489]

WE had apples from both one year, nothing last year, and I see a handful on each now.

Strange one Kadman. Some varieties are prone to biennial fruiting... one year is good, next year is bad.

[kadman]

Strange one Kadman. Some varieties are prone to biennial fruiting... one year is good, next year is bad.

OK,
But Presumably as I had a tree full of blossoms this year, I thought there would be a bumper crop.

[kadman]

Here are my two sorry looking apple trees.
Cooker apple tree.
And then eating

[765489]

They look healthy enough Kadman, I wouldn't loose hope in them.

[kadman]

Trees might look ok , but the fruit is not pretty.

[765489]

I have some young trees and also have some applies like that. Under developed but hopefully when the tree is a bit stronger they'll come right.

Patience Kadman ! Next year you could have a bumper crop

[Osciiboscii]

Trees might look ok , but the fruit is not pretty.

Would you consider taking an apple or two, plus a piece of branch/few leaves to a garden centre where a horticulturalist could advise what might be going on?
My own trees are laden down and totally left to their own device, no spray/manure. Plenty apples again this year. (Must take a pic this evening). It's a bit early yet in the season but a few larger ones were appropriated and a tart was made yesterday. Sooo fluffy inside.

[kadman]

I could do that, but at this stage I think I will find the right procedure for pruning for this winter when the tree is dormant,
and see can I help it to be a better producer going forward.

I got a load of free wood chippings a year or two ago and spread a heavy layer around the base of the tree, unless there was some disease or something in the chippings. Funny thing was the massive amount of flowers this year, moreso than any other year. We thought we were in for the mother load.

[Hodors Appletart]

elderly couple next door to my parents have an apple tree, and every year I look at the fruit falling and rotting.

Last year I hopped the wall and scavanged about 10kg of the apples, juiced them, added yeast and made cider. It's been aging since last autumn and I've another litre to add to it once I transfer it to a secondary for carbonation purposes.

I'll have about 5 litres of cider.

I'll do the same this year once the apples are falling