After the sun and warmth in Malta, it was back to a typical mixed bag of English weather.
One of the the first impressions we had as we drove home from Gatwick was the lush green of the hedgerows. On arrival home our lawns have grown exponentially. It was Wednesday before the opportunity came to get the lawn mower out.
First impressions........
In English orchards the wet conditions have been perfect for scab infection, however talking to an agronomist friend it seems Scab is 'at the moment' not prevalent, but Mildew is causing concern with above average levels of infection. The widespread hail storms which fell two weeks ago are now being evaluated; it seems most growers feel the damage is minimal and any hail affected fruit will be removed as part of the 'quality thinning' operation later in the summer. Some 'unprotected Cherries and Plums have been damaged by the hail which fell around 19th May.
On Thursday The English Apple Man managed to pop into some orchards in East Kent.........hail damage can be found, but it is minimal and can (where necessary) be removed as part of the quality thinning operation. The damage on the apple fruitlets below will almost certainly grow out and be of no consequence by harvest time.
Below left: hail damage can be seen on two apples - and Below right; this hail damage will almost certainly 'grow out'
At this time of the season, speculation over the potential crop is the subject of many a conversation, tradition dictates; go away and resist looking in your orchards until after Derby Day' - of course with TV dominating all major sports events, the Derby is now held on the first Saturday in June, rather than the first Wednesday.
I mention this 'old adage' as in conversation with a friend representing a large area of orchards in Kent, he said; 'best we leave it until after Derby day!
The consensus to date is the potential crop looks promising; Gala in 'some areas' does not carry a full set on the older wood, but has plenty on the 'one year' wood. This may reduce thinning costs. Braeburn is more difficult to estimate with the green fruitlets hiding among the leaves, but the general feeling is for a good crop. Both Gala and Braeburn carry the best quality on the older 'spur' wood while the one year wood tends to produce smaller fruit.
In East Kent yesterday there was no sign of a lack of fruit on older wood on Gala and Cox looked to be carrying a decent crop.
The view on Bramley is 'overall' not a heavy set, but sufficient apples; well spaced' to produce a decent, if not heavy crop.
Below: these Bramley show the initial set 'sorting itself out' and in the second picture a lot of secondary bloom - which if it sets, may be more of a nuisance than a benefit
Below left: Early Windsor - always produces a good crop and these trees in East Kent carry a very promising set. Below right; Nearby a Red Delicious orchard looks more than promising.
Below; my day in East Kent was spent under a fabulous sky, blue with wispy white clouds......
SHOCK........HORROR........
The weather forecasters have been predicting hot humid conditions for today....Friday, and the risk of thunderstorms moving up from France through South Eastern England..........
Breakfast time TV reported torrential rain and large hail stones in SE England......with trepidation I rang friends for their experiences.......
The trail of the storm seems to have swept through Kent from early on Friday morning causing flooding and hail damage to fruit crops.
"The tropical storm hit Kent this morning, with people in Tunbridge Wells reporting huge hail stones; just after 6am residents began to feel the beginning of the storm with thunder and heavy rain. Hail followed with reports also of surface flooding on Pembury Road.
Communications director Christian Ball, 40, caught some of the hailstones as they crashed down over his home in Wateringbury and posted a snapshot to Twitter.
Christian, a communication director, said: "The hail started around 6.30am and was intense for around ten minutes.
"The hail captured was the size of a 50p coin - I was slow getting my phone and surprised at the intensity. Previous hail was possibly bigger, even golf-ball sized.
"The strangest part was before it started, because there was a low continuous rumbling whilst the sky went from blue to grey to dark grey.
"It was one of the strangest weather events I have experienced, albeit short-lived.
"I live in an old weather boarded cottage and the noise was incredible.
"Gutters filled with hail, flash flooding on the road, and some of the loudest thunder I've heard.
For a detailed account of the weather pattern over the last 24 hours visit Kent On Line
After all the media news of thunder, lightening and hail, and with some trepidation, I rang friends for their experiences.......
The full picture will not be known for a few days as the severity of hail damage is assessed, but it is clear the damage is variable with some farms suffering very heavy rain, but missing the hail; others have hail damage which will require serious 'quality thinning' and the residue of marketable fruit will depend on the crop load; e.g. some orchards enough fruit after thinning for a decent crop, while others will be short.
Tragically it would appear some farms may have suffered a 'wipe out'.........
Having suffered severe hail damage on my farm back in 1978, my heart goes out to any fruit grower who suffers hail damage. Growers work so hard to survive in face of intense global competition; it is hard to make a living at the best of times, but when 'mother nature' inflicts 'random' weather events on those struggling to cope with all the annual challenges, the only option is to 'hang on in there' and hope for a better year - 'next year'...............'hail is so cruel'................and its a long time until next year!
That is all for this week..........
Take care
The English Apple Man