Kibworth Community Orchard

Variety no.9 Rajka (pronounced Raika)
Another scab resistant variety from the Czech Republic that has been trialled for organic production. It's a reliable and heavy cropper of scarlet fruits with good flavour with a hint of strawberry. Some nurseries are describing it as dual purpose so I guess it has plenty of acidity for culinary use. This is another variety recommended and supplied by Walcot Organic Nursery in Worcestershire.

Since the Kibworth storm all of the trees have produced new leaves and growth and the wounds that I covered with grafting compound are healing without any sign of disease.

Tuesday's terrible hail storm in Kibworth has done pretty serious damage to all of the young trees. I have stuck back on any lose branches which will hopefully 'take' as it's a good time of year for propagating fruit trees. I hope with new sets of leaves and some regrowth, things will look a little more normal.
On a brighter note, the second batch of nesting goldfinches in the Egremont Russet tree in our Smeeton orchard, must have sat on her nest throughout the whole of the storm as the 3 little eggs are totally unscathed....unlike all of our cars!

Variety No.8 Red Falstaff
This is a 'branch sport' of Falstaff that is more highly coloured than the original. It has a reputation of being a good pollinator and having very frost resistant blossom.
The apples have a bright ruby red skin with a sweet, crisp and refreshing flavour. A heavy cropping variety after the large mauve tinged flowers.
It stores well, in January and beyond. Easy to grow and prune.

After a few days of rain we won't need to water for a while. The grass is a different matter of course! We mow that just before the council comes so that they can see that it is under control.

Although a few of the trees have apples on them at the minute, these will probably have to be removed this year. This is so that the tree can concentrate it's energy on growth and not fruit. It may seem sad, but it's for the best in the long run.

Variety No.7 Red Devil
Originating in Kent in 1975, this variety is self fertile. It's ideal for small back gardens. A red flesh and skinned apple, bleeding into a cream-white core. Named after the 'Red devil' parachute team.
It ripens at the end of September. The variety has become popular all over Europe mainly for eating and juicing.

Plug plants on 'The Triangle'.
We have added several different new varieties to the grass and this week planted birds foot trefoil. This tiny yellow flower is the larval foodplant of the common blue butterfly and attractive to many beneficial insects that help keep the pests down on the fruit trees. It's also a nitrogen fixer and has very deep roots that can bring nutrients back to the surface. (we've had to replant one plant 3 times....a persistent blackbird!

Variety No.6 Topaz
This dessert variety was bred by the Institute of Experimental Botany in the Czech Republic for scab resistance.
The skin is yellow, overlaid with a red and crimson flush. It is another late ripening apple that will store into the winter. It comes highly recommended from Walcot Organic Nursery.
It has a compact growth which is why we planted it at the corner of the small plot as it will be lower than the other trees.
It's barely in leaf at the moment, so it has some catching up to do. It had powdery mildew on its leader a few weeks ago and so I sprayed SB plant invigorator to help stop this. This product is a pesticide/fungicide based on fatty acids and oils. Its also very good at controlling aphids and other insect pests.
We'll keep a close eye on it and help it out where necessary.

Variety No.5 Scrumptious
An early modern variety raised in the1980's by Hugh Ermen, Kent.
With showy, pastel pink flowers, and it's also a self fertile variety. The fruits are mostly red with a complex, fragrant, honeyed and sometimes aniseed flavour.
An ideal choice for gardeners as it's disease resistant and a heavy cropper...which is always good news. Ready in late August/September
I bought a bag at Lidl a few years ago! They weren't very good, because of the short shelf life of an early dessert apple not being very suitable for modern commerce. I look forward to trying one straight from a tree to taste the difference.

Variety No. 4 Weir Road Pippin
The original tree came from a pip planted in the 1960's at 77 Weir Road. Unfortunately that tree was cut down around 3 years ago when the garden became a house! Before the tree was cut down however we grafted 2 trees to preserve the variety.
We had often used the fruits for our juicing and the late Nancy Cox whose father had planted that pip said that they had always been good for apple pies.
The fruits are quite good quality, green with red stripes. A cooker.

The rain last week was a welcome 2inches including todays downpour.

Variety No.3 Bright Future
Despite freezing nights and next to no rainfall, blossom has opened on one of the trees. This late dessert fruit was bred by Hugh Ermen, a well known apple breeder, in 2008. With an attractive flushed red/orange skin and a dense crisp, juicy flesh. The flavour is rich and aromatic with a sweet acid combination that sweetens the longer that it's left on the tree. It's very disease resistant and was introduced to celebrate 50 years of 'Garden Organic', the UKs largest organic gardening organisation.
This variety was recommended to us and supplied by Walcot Organic Nursery in Worcestershire. They are UKs only organic nursery and also supply HRH Prince Charles. We look forward to growing this variety for the first time.

The cowslips all lost their heads today! The council mowed the grass out of the blue this morning before I noticed, saying the land was still on their mowing rota. Some of the cowslips should make a come back in a few weeks and we'll make sure this doesn't happen again. They didn't mow it once last year and just when you don't expect it....ah well, no real harm done.

Variety No.2: Christmas Pippin.
The original tree was found close to the M5 in Somerset by Geffrey Rowson in 2003. Either from a core thrown from a vehicle or a pip from an orchard previously on the site of the motorway. Named by Mr Rowson, introduced by F P Matthews, it has some potential for commercial growers and as a disease resistant cox-type apple for the garden. It's ready for picking in October and ripens in storage during November and December.
The bug box was put up in the hawthorn this week, just in time for the masonry bees that are already emerging and seen breeding this week too.
The box, like the bird box, was made by our neighbour Chris Winton. Thank you for this, we're really looking forward to what it will attract. Now is the time to get your bug boxes up in a nice position, fill them with canes, cones, straw etc.

Let me start to introduce you to our orchard apple trees.
'Rosette' is the earliest that will ripen and is a mutation of the popular variety 'Discovery.' It was recently found in a garden in Worcestershire, 2011. The only real difference between the two is 'Rosette' has redder flesh, making an attractive pink juice as well as an august dessert apple.
Chef and apple enthusiast Raymond Blanc recommends 'Discovery' for culinary use in his book The Lost Orchard (a great book). I'm sure we will find 'Rosette' has the same qualities.

In yesterday's warmer weather there were loads of bee's foraging on the flowers in the grass. I saw bumble bee's, red mason bee's, honey bee's and tawny mining bee's. These species and many others are important pollinators of fruit and so a diverse grassland understory is a vital part of the ecosystem.
We've been watering in the newly introduced plants to get them established whilst we have no rain.
We'll keep the grass just long enough so that things keep on flowering. The cowslips are really standing out and so they clearly like their new home!