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How to care for old apple tree
in Fruit & veg
I have just moved house to a garden with a large old apple tree.
I have already harvested some windfalls which were very popular in crumble (Nigel slaters recipe from Internet) but there are only a few left on the tree (about thirty) and it seems rather early for them to be all gone! The house had been empty for several months before we moved in, and with a hot dry summer maybe the tree has suffered and will be fine next year? Anyway, never had an apple tree before, any tips on getting a good crop next year?
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Thank you for your reply, I'll do a photo tomorrow when it's light. I'd say cooking apple, but not huge like you buy in the shops. Fruits are along the branches and at the ends. Fruits are 'Granny Smith' green when unripe and only a little yellower when ripe.
That's great so it's just an early one, nothing wrong with it, I'll look forward to next years crop then!
I'm finding I have a bit of a problem with earwigs, are they eating the fruit, or just living in the holes made by other creatures?
Thanks so much for your help.
This might be a bit obvious because I know hardly any apple varieties but its not our well loved Bramley, is it? 'Cos Bramleys are also tip bearers (I at have least learnt that this year!)
I'm gathering Bramley's as they fall off the tree, lots with earwigs, and to prevent the little b***ers moving from damaged apples to the sound ones that have also come off the tree I leave them all in a full bowl of cold water. The pests come out of the apples to breathe then drop into the water.
If only all garden pests were so obliging eh, Waterbutts?
Many old trees are biennial croppers - that is they give a very heavy crop one year, and virtually nothing the next. I'm lucky, with three very old trees (no idea of variety) when one is cropping heavily the others are "resting" so we always have plenty of fruit to spare. The extreme weathere of the last few years has upset a lot of old trees though as they have struggles to cope first with waterlogging then with drought.
Perhaps you should just leave it be - and maybe wassail it with s few friends for encouragement!
These Bramleys are about the size of a healthy cricket ball, admittedly I well below the sizes they can reach. But they seem to be ripe - they certainly make wonderful stewed apple or a fruit compôte, and have just the right amount of tartness before adding sugar.
It's a question of knowing how to pose the subject to optimise the visual effect...
I only show off my best ones, Waterbutts.
I could've shown you the manky old windfalls but that wouldn't have done it for you, would it?
Lovely. They don't look anything like the apples on my tree though. There's no hint of red on any of them, and they are about tennis ball rather than cricket ball size! Tried to get a close up of one on the tree but it hey are all too far away! Btw We are in Cardiff so way down south.