{"id":214,"date":"2024-01-02T13:54:49","date_gmt":"2024-01-02T13:54:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/?p=214"},"modified":"2024-01-02T13:54:51","modified_gmt":"2024-01-02T13:54:51","slug":"apples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/apples\/","title":{"rendered":"Apples"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Choices<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the great joys of choosing your apple variety is being able to choose for flavour rather than its ability to withstand travelling!&nbsp;A real bonus is that apples are considered one of the easiest fruits to grow!  However, the choice can be bewildering as there are so many varieties &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rhs.org.uk\/fruit\/apples\/choosing-cultivars\">Royal Horticultural Society<\/a> have more than 700 listed!&nbsp;So a few things to consider are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Size &#8211; if you&#8217;ve got plenty of space, this won&#8217;t be a worry.  However, if space is limited, you can train apples to specific shapes like spindlebush (tall and narrow), stepover (low and narrow &#8211; can be used as an edging), espalier or fan (both against the sunny side of a wall or fence).  There are even varieties which can be grown in large patio pots.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Storage &#8211; some apples keep well but others deteriorate quickly<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Taste &#8211; you may have a favourite &#8220;supermarket&#8221; apple, but if its origin is shown as an exotic country, it&#8217;s best not to try and grow it.  Look for varieties which grow well locally.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Dessert apples tend to be sweet enough to eat straight off the tree (when ripe)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cooking apples don&#8217;t need to be so sweet as sugar is usually added during cooking <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pollination &#8211; in countries where apple trees are very popular, there is a good chance of a nearby tree being a suitable pollinator.  Crab apple trees are also known to be useful pollinators for many apple trees.  The Royal Horticultural Society has created a very useful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rhs.org.uk\/fruit\/apples\/choosing-cultivars\">pollination guide<\/a> for apple trees &#8211; this is based on the flowering times of different varieties.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I planted 3 apple trees shortly after moving into my new garden (2010) &#8211; Discovery, Kidd&#8217;s Orange and Sunset.  At least one of these was bought as a &#8220;stepover&#8221; but I wasn&#8217;t careful enough with the pruning and it became a nice bush!  The three were chosen to be compatible for pollination and to be sweet enough to eat raw.  They all flower from roughly mid April to mid May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_5719-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-215\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_5719-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_5719-656x492.jpg 656w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Discovery apple (flowering group 3) &#8211; early picking, fruit keeps approx. 1 week<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_5725-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-216\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_5725-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_5725-656x492.jpg 656w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kidd&#8217;s Orange apple (flowering group 3) &#8211; late picking, fruit keeps approx. 1 month (the white blossom in the background is from a cherry tree)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_5727-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_5727-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_5727-656x492.jpg 656w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sunset apple (flowering group 3) &#8211; late picking, fruit keeps approx. 2-3 weeks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The beautiful blossom is also great for biodiversity<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"1080\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1920 \/ 1080;\" width=\"1920\" controls src=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_2048.mov\"><\/video><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">honeybee in apple blossom (Discovery tree)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2020 I planted a Braeburn apple.&nbsp; This flowers a little later (flowering group 4) but is still compatible with my other trees for pollinating.&nbsp; The fruit from this tree is harvested later in the year (Oct\/Nov) and the fruit should keep for 3 months or more.&nbsp; I\u2019ve deliberately removed the fruitlets before they developed for the first couple of years \u2013 this is to let the tree develop a strong root system.&nbsp; In 2023, I let it set a few apples, and it can go into full production next year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Thinnning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By early summer, small fruitlets are visible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_6484-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_6484-scaled.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_6484-277x492.jpg 277w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Small fruitlets forming on Sunset apple &#8211; mid June 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During June it\u2019s common to see several fruitlets fall from the tree.&nbsp; Don\u2019t panic &#8211; this is normal and is known as the June drop (although the timing can vary a bit depending on region, weather and variety)!&nbsp; The trees often develop more fruitlets than they can support and this is when the tree chooses which to let go.&nbsp; Even after this, it is advisable to thin the fruit \u2013 this prevents the tree from being stressed by over-fruiting (which in turn can lead to the tree producing fruit every second year).&nbsp; You should thin out to approx. 1 apple every 15-20cm.&nbsp; <strong>Only keep apples that are undamaged!<\/strong>&nbsp; An apple which has issues in June will not get any better during the summer.&nbsp; In a cluster, you may have to choose which healthy apples to sacrifice \u2013 in which case keep the fruit with the best sun exposure.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Don\u2019t throw away the apples you\u2019re thinning!&nbsp; These are perfect for making pectin!&nbsp; In 2023, I used approx. 2.5kg of apple thinnings to create 800ml of pectin from a recipe off the internet.&nbsp; I should have got a bit more pectin but I got distracted while the fruit was stewing and some apples at the bottom of the pot got burned.&nbsp; This pectin is really useful for making jams and jellies for early fruit (eg strawberries!) but you can also freeze some for later in the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Harvesting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Around mid July, I drop the net over the Discovery tree.  This is a truly delicious apple and there&#8217;s plenty of competition between myself, the birds and the squirrels to get them.  Despite installing a cage in spring 2022, there is still a bit of damage to fruit near the net, but there&#8217;s usually plenty left undamaged.  The damaged apples can be used quickly with the damaged bits cut out, the remainder will keep a bit longer.  The harvest for this apple starts towards the end of July\/ early August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_3617-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_3617-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_3617-369x492.jpg 369w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Discovery apples &#8211; a few are damaged, but the rest are in good condition.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Sunset and Kidd&#8217;s Orange trees are generally harvested in September\/October.  Despite these being on the wild edge of the garden, I don\u2019t have so much trouble with damaged apples \u2013 maybe because these aren\u2019t quite as sweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1251\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_3845-crop-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-222\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_3845-crop-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/600\/2024\/01\/IMG_3845-crop-875x428.jpg 875w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sunset apples on left, Kidd&#8217;s orange on right (cucumber in middle along with a plum tomato!)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Pruning <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pruning should generally happen during winter and is useful for keeping the tree in good condition and within the space available.  I particularly like the RHS <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rhs.org.uk\/fruit\/apples\/pruning-made-easy\">pruning advice<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Yield Summary Table<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Crop<\/td><td>Year<\/td><td>Soil<br>Area<br>(m<sup>2<\/sup>)<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Soil <br>Depth<br>(m)<\/td><td>Annual<br>Harvest<br>(kg)<\/td><td>Mass<br>Yield<br>(kg\/m<sup>2<\/sup>.d)<\/td><td>\u00a3<br>Yield<br>(\u00a3\/m<sup>2<\/sup>.d)<\/td><td>Calorie <br>Space*<br>(m<sup>2<\/sup>)<\/td><td>Protein<br>Space*<br>(m<sup>2<\/sup>)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Discovery<\/td><td>2020<\/td><td>10.64<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">&#8211;<\/td><td>4<\/td><td>0.00103<\/td><td>0.004<\/td><td>3739<\/td><td>18695<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Discovery<\/td><td>2021<\/td><td>10.64<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">&#8211;<\/td><td>5<\/td><td>0.00129<\/td><td>0.005<\/td><td>2978<\/td><td>14889<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Discovery<\/td><td>2022<\/td><td>6<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">&#8211;<\/td><td>10.4<\/td><td>0.00475<\/td><td>0.017<\/td><td>810<\/td><td>4052<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><em>Disco<\/em>very<\/td><td>2023<\/td><td>6<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">&#8211;<\/td><td>1.031<\/td><td>0.00047<\/td><td>0.002<\/td><td>8170<\/td><td>40850<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Kidd&#8217;s Orange<\/td><td>2020<\/td><td>6.21<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">&#8211;<\/td><td>6.9<\/td><td>0.00306<\/td><td>0.011<\/td><td>1258<\/td><td>6290<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Kidd&#8217;s Orange<\/td><td>2021<\/td><td>6.21<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">&#8211;<\/td><td>9.6<\/td><td>0.00424<\/td><td>0.015<\/td><td>908<\/td><td>4541<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Kidd&#8217;s Orange<\/td><td>2022<\/td><td>6.21<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">&#8211;<\/td><td>14.959<\/td><td>0.0066<\/td><td>0.024<\/td><td>583<\/td><td>2914<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><em>Kidd&#8217;<\/em>s Orange<\/td><td>2023<\/td><td>6.21<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">&#8211;<\/td><td>1.76<\/td><td>0.00078<\/td><td>0.01<\/td><td>4953<\/td><td>24767<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Sunset<\/td><td>2020<\/td><td>5.29<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">&#8211;<\/td><td>5.5<\/td><td>0.00286<\/td><td>0.01<\/td><td>1346<\/td><td>6730<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Sunset<\/td><td>2021<\/td><td>5.29<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">&#8211;<\/td><td>7.5<\/td><td>0.00389<\/td><td>0.014<\/td><td>988<\/td><td>1938<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Sunset<\/td><td>2022<\/td><td>5.29<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">&#8211;<\/td><td>2.039<\/td><td>0.00106<\/td><td>0.004<\/td><td>3642<\/td><td>18211<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><em>Sunse<\/em>t<\/td><td>2023<\/td><td>5.29<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">&#8211;<\/td><td>0.8<\/td><td>0.000414<\/td><td>0.002<\/td><td>9283<\/td><td>46415<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Braeburn<\/td><td>2023<\/td><td>1.96<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">&#8211;<\/td><td>0.367<\/td><td>0.000513<\/td><td>0.002<\/td><td>7497<\/td><td>37487<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">*space required to supply annual nutrition for 1 adult for a year<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>2023 was not a good year for Discovery &#8211; a long severe winter with late frosts led to a late spring which moved quickly into a hot, dry season in early summer.  The combination resulted in very few apples forming.  Kidd&#8217;s Orange and Sunset were not so badly affected &#8211; the low yields in 2023 were due to my being unable to harvest at the right time.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Choices One of the great joys of choosing your apple variety is being able to choose for flavour rather than its ability to withstand travelling!&nbsp;A real bonus is that apples [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":6888,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grow-your-own","category-urban-farming"],"meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6888"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":229,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214\/revisions\/229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/green-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}