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Fruit tree pruning can be divided into two parts – winter and summer. Winter pruning encourages growth, summer pruning restricts growth and encourages fruit bud formation for the following year. So summer pruning is great to develop restricted forms of trees – for apples & pears (pome fruit) – espaliers, cordons & stepovers for stone

Once into cropping many fruit trees can produce more fruit than they can really maintain. As a result they shed poorly pollinated fruitlets and excess fruit early summer in what is known as the ‘June drop’. However if you are lucky you may still have an abundance of fruit. So now is the time to

Pruning restricted fruit – cordons & espaliers August is the time to prune espaliers and cordons. Pruning at this time of the year encourages fruit bud formation over the winter for flowering next spring. Summer pruning encourages fruit production, winter pruning encourages vegetative growth. keeps the plants under control and in shape because these forms

July is a good time to prune established Plums, Gages & Damsons, in fact all ‘stone’ fruit. By established I mean trees that have developed a framework & have come into cropping. Having said that the ideal time for pruning is July, newly planted & young trees need pruning late March/early April so the new

Now is the time to THIN FRUIT on your trees. By late June they should have shed poorly pollinated fruits. This is known as the ‘June drop’. What remain will remain on the trees to ripen. It is nature’s way for the trees to retain what they can maintain. What remain may well benefit from

Many Crab apples are ripening now giving an excellent display. We are growing six varieties that are also really good for making Jelly! If making jelly pick as the fruits colour up well.   Crab apples have a number of attributes – flowering abundantly in the spring, colourful fruits in the Autumn, some have persisting

We are building up a COLLECTION OF APPLES of many of the varieties we grow. Many from our own orchard trees and from orchards in the surrounding area. So if you are in the area you are most welcome to visit, view and sample!   We do not hold an Apple Day as such, but

It is amazing that from such a little bud such good sized trees can be produced. In the palm of the hand is the bud, a Damson, and part of a stem known as a chip bud that will be attached to the side of a compatible rootstock, in this case plum rootstock St Julien

You will have been seeing CHERRIES FOR SALE in the shops recently. Initially they came from the continent but now our own production is increasingly available. The picture on the paving shows a variety called Georgia (not one we grow) and the cherries are huge! The nearest to this we grow is Kordia probably (right)

With the ‘Beast from the East’ now relaxing its grip its good to know that fruit trees are of great benefit to wildlife. Here are a couple of photos of a flock of Fieldfare, I think, feeding on Crab apple Red Sentinel on Saturday in my back garden. It looks rather dark but it was

On Saturday March 10th we will be holding a Grafting Workshop from 11am to 2pm. Held in conjunction with the RHS Midlands Fruit Group. Hopefully we will be out of the grip of the ‘Beast from the east’! Suitable for beginners and those with some experience. Come and learn how to graft with success. Learn

If you are going to be planting a good sized area it’s sensible to get your HANDS DIRTY & EXAMINE THE SOIL! Dig a few pits across the site a good spades depth and withdraw a cross section of the soil. The appearance can tell you things. Feel the soil – does it feel gritty,

Now as the trees have become dormant and are losing their leaves we are able to lift them out of the ground. To make this easier we ‘undercut’ the rows of trees with a U shaped blade 60cm wide and 60cm deep. The blade is attached to a steerable frame which is pulled along the

Different areas in the UK became strong fruit growing areas through the 1800s with industrialisation, urbanisation and the means to move products to these mass markets – the train. Worcestershire was one such area. Famous for its plums in the Vale of Evesham, Cherries around Bewdley in the north of the county and apples throughout

Through the autumn Crab apples colour up well. The picture is of Gorgeous which ripens up with round bright red fruits in October. We grow other varieties all a little different. Butterball its name reflects its colour with a red cheek where exposed to the sun  John Downie is the most well known crab apple

We grow some varieties of Perry Pear. These pears are the pear equivalent of cider. For various reasons they have traditionally been grown in the Three Counties of Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire. There are over 100 varieties of these inedible pears, or rather inedible compared to the fine quality of the eating pears we have

Over Saturday & Sunday 23/24 September we will be at the Malvern Autumn Show. An excellent harvest time event. Lots stalls some indoors, some in marquees and some outside. We will be outside with our stand in Row G near the plant area and main sheds. Just a 3m wide pitch this year because we