Dont know what to do about our HUGE Apple Tree?!

lolo06

any advice would be appreciated. we moved into our house last Jan and about May last yr the apples started to grow. Now i love apples but i cant stand the tree!
its so big the braches are so long and theres just too many apples. my back garden smellt like cider for like 6 months. the apples are not eating apples they are green and are about the size of my two hands put together. Now its that time of year again i need to know what to do. i can see them starting to grow again.

also am i being paranoid cause im too afraid to eat the apples. theres a lot of strange weeds growing in the garden and the soil is very poor to say the least. no matter how much we try theres nothing we can do to improve the garden except forking out about £2000. The garden is very big and we have been de-weeding for nearly 18mths and we have no joy.

thanks

Pink.

Hi lolo,

Personally I'd see it as a bonus to have a large apple tree growing in the garden. It sounds like it could be a bramley apple tree so I'd be out there gathering them and cooking and freezing. The weeds shouldn't affect the quality of the apples.

Clearly the tree is a problem for you so I think the best people to help are those on the greenfingered board so I've moved your thread over there.

Pink

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere (please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com"]forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Dippypud

I'm afraid you've missed it this year:

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=90

apple trees need to be pruned in the Autumn to Winter period.

You haven't said how big 'huge' is...

it may pay to do this in stages or to get a proffessional in, if only for his opinion.

Always get 3 quotes for any work.

Any apples this year can be offered on freegle or something similar, I'm sure someone on here will come up with a good idea.

valk_scot

Yes, sounds like a Bramley cooking apple tree. Lucky you! I've got three apple trees in my garden and they're all very mediocre eating apples.

It's not a great time of year to be pruning but if you find the branches are too long, cut them back a bit! Just give it a trim now and in the early winter do it properly. If the tree is really huge, pay a tree specialist to do it. Or get it taken out if you really can't bear the sight of it but really, that would be a pity. Mature trees of any sort are real features. You can still get it tidied up a bit though. If you don't want the apples at harvest time (they'll still be green and quite tart) then advertise them on Freecycle or do a deal with the neighbours to come and pick them up. I give all my windfalls to a friend who keeps goats.
Goats adore windfall apples!

As to weeds and poor soil I do hope you're using the weeds to make compost which you can then add back to the soil as an improver? That's an easy and free way to up soil fertility. Read up on a few books from the library too. There are lots of ways you can improve a garden without spending too much.

lolo06

sorry i use this forum alot didnt think to put it on the greenfingered threads.
The tree is the same height at my house and the branches reach over to my neighbours house. so you can see its a bit of a problem. thank you all for your advice.
My freezer is not big enough to even store apples from one branch in. lol

pompeyfaith

Yup, if you have an amimal charity/shelter in your area give them a call and see if they are interested in the apples and if not ask if they know of anywhere that is.

I'm sure you will soon find takers.

lolo06

valk_scot wrote: »

Yes, sounds like a Bramley cooking apple tree. Lucky you! I've got three apple trees in my garden and they're all very mediocre eating apples.

It's not a great time of year to be pruning but if you find the branches are too long, cut them back a bit! Just give it a trim now and in the early winter do it properly. If the tree is really huge, pay a tree specialist to do it. Or get it taken out if you really can't bear the sight of it but really, that would be a pity. Mature trees of any sort are real features. You can still get it tidied up a bit though. If you don't want the apples at harvest time (they'll still be green and quite tart) then advertise them on Freecycle or do a deal with the neighbours to come and pick them up. I give all my windfalls to a friend who keeps goats.
Goats adore windfall apples!

As to weeds and poor soil I do hope you're using the weeds to make compost which you can then add back to the soil as an improver? That's an easy and free way to up soil fertility. Read up on a few books from the library too. There are lots of ways you can improve a garden without spending too much.

I wouldnt dream of cutting the tree down, im actualy thinking of growing more fruit and veg. thanks for you tip on the soil.

rosie383

Bramleys are the most delicious cooking apples. So peel them and cook them in a very tiny bit of water, sometimes you don't even need water. Add sugar to taste and freeze in portions. Perfect for apple pies and crumbles, or with custard.
I am lucky enough to have 2 friends who also had Bramleys in their gardens, and like you, had tried the apples and thought they were inedible. They couldn't believe it when I appeared with bags and picked up all the windfalls and came back with apple pies. Now they give them away, rather than leaving them to rot.
Believe me, if you offer them on freecycle they will be snapped up so quickly.
Enjoy your tree.

lostinrates

lolo06 wrote: »

I wouldnt dream of cutting the tree down, im actualy thinking of growing more fruit and veg

You might find, with the apple and then starting to grow your own, that a chest freezer for produce becomes more useful.

Aslo, different types of storing for different uses. Some apples will keep stacked in boxes. Bob flowerdue even recommends an old freezer that no longer works for fruit storage, and its a great idea and youd certainly find one free. I stack them for a few weeks in the utility room, which is cold and dark. The fruits must be separated from each other though.

For the freezer I used to think you had t process everything, now I just peel, core and cut into wedges mostly. Then freeze on an open tray, then slid the frozen segments into a bag to scoop out of all winter/early summer for pork chops, apple sauce, puddings: whatever I want to cook with apples. Its a much more flexible way to freeze. And you can often quickly do a couple of apples, for example, waiting for the kettle to boil, or while cooking, just do a few while stirring a pot. I still turn some into sauce but fewer. And I LOVE apple sauce.

But one of the most useful ways of storing if you have children of visiting children is juicing then freezing the juice. I do this in washed out plastic milk bottles. Label well, because frozen milk also sometimes loks like apple juice! Apple juice also is a good base for a sumer cocktail with apple vodka

*miaomiao*

You don't say where you live, but this group (there are several across the country) might be able to help. They are known as 'Abundance' and they collect fruit for free from people's trees to donate to charities and to make chutneys from to sell for charity.

See here: http://abundancenottingham.wordpress.com/about-2/

If there isn't a group in your area do as suggested above and offer the fruit to animal sanctuaries, etc in advance but let them know they might have to collect it. Or offer on your local Freecycle or Realcycle or Freegle boards.

RAS

Hi

Sounds like bramley, Newton Wonder or Howgate Wonder, all big greenish cookers.

Pruning needs to be undertaken in Winter as a rule BUT if you want to restrict the growth on an apple or pear tree, then you need to remove wood in the summer - late July or August.

This could be nearly tree surgeon work, so it dpends on what you feel safe doing. At the very least wear a harness and strap yourself to a bit of the tree you are not cutting off.

Take out one or two of the very tall verticals, leaving a stub where they join the main branch. Then cut back just above the collar. Cut any long whippy side ways growth back to a joint with at least one third the diameter of the branch you are removing.

Then go round the outside perimeter of the tree and push the spade in as afar as you can, bascially a bit of root pruning that will reduce the trees desire to replace that top growth.

There are a number of groups that collect fruit from gardens and distibute it to charities and make juices and preserves. Where are you based?

And to pick up on the cider comment; make your own?