Below: Smitten and Bladon Pippin at Simon's
On Tuesday The English Apple Man drove to Norton in East Kent to see my good friend Simon Bray. On the farm picking Smitten was in progress and the quality and colour of the fruit, superb!
My primary reason for visiting that day was to pick Bladon Pippin, a variety 'of which' I have been very involved with over the last decade or so!
Some years ago I asked Simon to plant a couple of BP for me and annually in September I return to pick the Bladon Pippin fruit for tasting and promotional purposes.
Click on: Bladon Pippin to read about the history of this special apple!
Bladon Pippin trees are produced by Frank Matthews Nursery and distributed countrywide to Garden Centres or can be purchased directly from Frank P Matthews.
While in the orchard picking my Bladon Pippin, I managed to take some nice pictures of Cox and Gala
in the same orchard in alternate rows.
Below: Gala on left. and Cox on right.
Below: left. Gala tree at the end of a row and right. A Gala row
Below: Fendt Tractor and Trailer with full bins of Smitten arriving from the orchard
Below: left. Smitten in bin and right. Bins of Smitten ready to be placed in storage chambers
News from British Apples and Pears - Orchard Watch
"You might be surprised to learn that not all Gala apples are the same. Growers often plant different "clones" of Gala, like the deep red Devil Gala grown by ACH Farming and gorgeous Schnico Gala grown by Mansfields photographed here. Why? Each clone ripens slightly differently, or develops unique colour characteristics, which helps growers spread the harvest and ensure a consistent supply of high-quality fruit.
It's a fascinating example of how modern orchards combine science, tradition and grower know-how to bring us the very best British apples, season after season".
Below a collection of pictures sent to BAPL Orchard Watch by British apple growers
Below: red 'Devil Gala' grown by ACH Farming left. red Devil Gala row and right. Close up of Red Devil Gala
Below: 'Schnico Gala' grown by Mansfields
Below: Left. Crimson Crisp row and right. Crimson Crisp apples grown by Robert Hinge
On my way home I popped into Ringden Farm Shop to leave a sample of Bladon Pippin with brothers John and Nathan Dench. John was busy in the orchards with harvesting, but Nathan was manning their farm shop. Ringden grow circa 40 different varieties of apples, produce apple juice on a large scale, sell their produce to Farmers Markets and make jars of preserves.
Below: Ringden Farm Shop with Nathan manning the sales counter and Scrumptious Apples on sale
Click on: Ringden Farm Shop
That is all for this week, next week The English Apple Man will be attending 'British Apples and Pears (BAPL) launch of the new season, which will feature in next week's Journal!
Take care
The English Apple Man