Apples and Pears, Sunshine and Rain!
The English weather; 'how often do we debate its influence on our lives?
Since our best summer in years came to an end, the frequency of rain has increased exponentially, at first the occasional wet day, then a few more wet days, then more wet than dry days, now as our growers enter the final phases of apple picking, the threat of high winds adds to the very wet conditions; tractors and other fruit harvesting equipment 'slip and slide' through the increasingly muddy terrain.
What a week we have had; the National Fruit Show last Tuesday and Wednesday and The Festival of British Fruit over the weekend. The weather played an 'integral role' in both occasions.
This year the NFS which is held at the Kent County Showground at Detling was the first occupant of the new (but temporary) layout; the marque(known as The Kent Pavilion) had been moved from its original site at one end of The Thomas Hendry building to the other side allowing a brand new Conference Hall to be built in time for show events next summer.
The temporary position was vulnerable to condensation flapping from the roof of The Kent Pavilion and an ingress of surface water found its way into parts of the areas where stands were located. "Not a happy state of affairs" but lets be positive, in all other respects our 80th anniversary show was a splendid affair with a fantastic display of show fruit and a record number of commercial stands.
For many years the Show Dinner has been held at either Leeds Castle or Turkey Mill. This year the Show Dinner was staged at the show ground in The Clive Emson Conference Centre allowing a much higher attendance than the customary 220 of past years; this year 285 attended an excellent dinner and enjoyed superb service; amazing when one considers the numbers present.
Two very prestigious awards were made at the Show Dinner. Adrian Barlow received The Norman Collett Lifetime Achievement Award; his many years in the top fruit industry supporting our apple & pear growers, either as Marketing Director with major industry suppliers and more recently as CEO of English Apples & Pears has been quite rightly recognised by The Norman Collett Directors.
Below: James Smith receiving his prize from Paul Kennett, Engineering Director at STS and Sarah Calcutt, Chair of the Marden Fruit Show Society.
The Bonanza Prize sponsored by STS REFRIGERATION. was won by James Smith of Loddington Farm. The draw made by Paul Kennet assisted by Sarah Calcutt.
The prize this year was an Energy Survey and £6,000 worth of energy saving devices, custom tailored to the winner's existing cold store refrigeration plant.
Among the many prizewinners at this year's show, a very special award presented by The Worshipful Company of Fruiterers to someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the fruit industry.
Worshipful Company of Fruiterers - Craftsman Award to recognise conspicuous craftsmanship or exercise of practical skills in fruit growing
The Master of The Worshipful Company - Professor John Price presented the . award to Reg Lawrence who has been at Mount Ephraim since his early 30's and was one of the first to be involved with table top strawberries and cherry production using bird nets and plastic covers for rain protection.
The English Apple Man has known Reg for circa 20 years and he has been an integral part of the Mount Ephraim Estate, as much 'a part of the furniture' as the Dawes family who own it.
THE FESTIVAL OF BRITISH FRUIT
This year The Marden Fruit Show celebrated its 80th anniversary of the first show in 1933. Conscious that this very special occasion should be followed by an equally memorable 'post show event' the MFS committee considered their options carefully. Should we take The Festival of British Fruit to a venue far away from our roots in the Kent countryside or find a venue complimentary to the history of the Fruit Show.
The National Fruit Show has enjoyed generous sponsorship for the Festival over the last two years; A.C.Goatham supported our attendance at The Countryside Live event in 2011 at Harrogate, transporting the show fruit, associated equipment and provided financial support for member's expenses. In 2012 the MFS committee chose Wakehurst Place in Sussex as the venue for The Festival and A.C.Goatham again sponsored the event, with physical and financial support.
A conversation between Sarah Calcutt and Theresa Huxley set the ball rolling. Theresa was keen to do an apple bobbing event in conjunction with the National Fruit Show; in the bubble of enthusiasm that followed Sarah suggested we might do something in association with our Festival sponsor - A.C.Goatham. A call to Clive Goatham, and the momentum for a Festival of British Fruit at The Barnyard, Goatham's superb visitor centre at Gore Farm in Upchurch in association with Sainsburys was enthusiastically agreed by The MFS committee.
For anyone who has not visited Gore Farm, The Barnyard is set in 120 acres of very beautiful Kent countryside. Clive Goatham bought the farm seven years ago from the previous owner Mike Blee who had created a farm shop and café with 'pick your own strawberries' and an 'Amazing Maize' as an added attraction for his customers living in the Medway Towns close by. Mike also added a second barn to the original one used as a farm shop, with the new one providing a superb Restaurant setting with its beautiful old oak beams.
Clive Goatham, as many in the top fruit industry will know, does not 'beat about the bush' and restructuring the farm began from day one of Goatham's tenure. New state of the art orchards were planted and almost overnight Gala, Braeburn, Bramley, Rubens and Zari orchards covering 80 acres appeared.
Friday 18th October and we are at Gore Farm preparing for the 2013 Festival of British Fruit.
Preparing for the Festival required moving the pallets of show fruit into the permanent Marque used for Weddings and other functions. Fortunately the weather was dry and with Ross Goatham driving the JCB the fruit was deposited safely inside the Marque. Then it was case of moving the trays from pallets to their destination; either on the Show Fruit Display or stacked ready for the Tasting and Selling tables.
Below: Ross Goatham manoeuvres pallets of show fruit into the Marque and MFS members organise the trays of apples and pears onto the display stands.
The display of show fruit is always an 'eye catcher'
Saturday morning - 19th October.
MFS members and helpers arrive at 8.30am ready for a briefing from National Fruit Show - Chair - Sarah Calcutt at 9am. Sainsburys personnel from JS stores in the south east arrive; their brief to greet the public as they arrive and generally interact with visitors and support members throughout the Festival.
10 am and the Festival is officially open!
With a buzz of anticipation we were up and running and ready for the public to appear; typically the English weather made its presence felt; almost to the minute the dry, but admittedly watery sunshine vanished and the rain started. A mixture of emotions ensued; 'don't worry it will clear up soon' tempered with 'did you hear the forecast' it was a battle of 'glass half full' V 'glass half empty' as we waited hopefully for the crowds to arrive.
In the interim moments the Sainsburys personnel, buoyed by the arrival of Dr. Theresa Huxley - Sainsburys Product Technologist and avid supporter of British produce, were able to 'network' with NFS members, grower helpers and those manning the associated stands.
Apple pies cooked by Adrian Barlow and his team on the Bramley Campaign stand were 'tasted' Cob nuts from The Kentish Cobnuts 'savoured' and the selection of apples and pears on the tasting tables tasted and the merits discussed.
This period of waiting did not go wasted; the networking between the helpers supporting the Festival guaranteed a better understanding of all aspects of British Fruit and Countryside opportunities.
As the visitors arrived, slowly at first but gathering numbers as we approached lunchtime, the Sainsburys Food Wagon brought great interest from the visitors and, indeed from any of the helpers able to leave 'their post' and sample the delights created by Liz and Sian. The 'apple punch' made from Zari apples freshly pressed by Liz and brought to temperature with a mix of orange and lemon slices in a pan with added spices, was an absolute winner; ideal for bonfire night or any other winter celebration requiring warming drink.
Sainsburys support for The Festival of British Fruit included the Food Wagon and staff from Sainsburys stores across the South East of England.
Nearby, face painting, always popular with children, and adults who enjoy a quiet time while their kids are decorated in the most colourful and imaginative way.
Next to the Sainsburys Food Wagon, David LOH a World Champion Melon carver entertained visitors with his consummate skills carving Pumpkins with many designs.
Left: David Loh - World Champion Melon Carver. Right: The ladies manning the Sainsburys Food Wagon produced some delicious dishes
Apple Bobbing, another 'bit of fun' and with an almost guaranteed prize as the Zari apples used have a nice long stalk and naturally float 'stalk up' and with sweets as the prize, children went away happy with 'balanced diet' of sweets and an apple.
This season is a late one, as all in the top fruit industry are well aware. The later varieties are not really ready to eat yet; Braeburn, Cameo and Jazz obvious examples. The choice of varieties displayed for tasting required some consideration by the Chair - Sarah Calcutt, Vice Chairman - Robert Oliver and their support team.
However with the show fruit exposed to ambient temperatures since they were delivered to the National Fruit Show at Detling on Monday, the fruit maturity had moved markedly. True, the later varieties were not at their optimum eating experience, but they were 'edible' and the experienced members in charge of tasting were able to explain the virtues of all the varieties available.
Locating the Festival on a working fruit farm allowed orchard tours; hourly from 10.30am visitors could join an industry expert on a stroll around the Gala, Braeburn and Rubens orchards waiting to be picked. The opportunity to observe 'top quality commercial orchards' at close quarters and learn the finer points of apple production was appreciated by those who went on the tours.
Walking in this Gala orchard at harvest time was a unique opportunity
From the viewing point on the orchard walk, The Barnyard complex is seen to the left while the Gala picking on the platforms can be seen clearly from this vantage point.
In conversation with A.C.Goatham's Technical Director - Nigel Stewart, the use of picking platforms and the perception by many that it is an unnecessary investment; e.g. many prefer to keep the trees at a manageable height for ground based picking only. Nigel explained that by keeping the fruit wall narrow light inception is good all the way down to the lower fruiting areas. The added height adds a considerable tonnage to the yield per hectare and the platform picked fruit (tops) are actually cheaper to pick than the ground based system.
The orchards are very productive at Gore Farm and the Gala have recorded 58.7 tonnes per hectare (72 bins/acre) in year 6, well above the expectations from a standard (close planted with 2 metre height) orchard format.
The use of platforms within the A.C.Goatham business is now well established; their use for pruning, tying in tops, thinning and picking the main part of their capability. Nigel Stewart said they have three platforms at the moment, are in the process of adding one more to finish this season's harvest and are seriously considering adding three more to harvest future volumes at a cost of circa £35,000 each.
This year's Festival of British Fruit did not attract the visitor numbers we had hoped for due to the atrocious weather, however those who came experienced a wide spectrum of apple related attractions.
Next week The English Apple Man will update readers on the harvest progress of the late season varieties.
Last weekend, this little Goat (part of the menagerie of animals) at Gore Farm seemed to be keeping a smile on his face!
Take care
The English Apple Man