Help MBE grow his dinner 2013.

zafiro1984

Advice please from all you knowledgeable gardeners.

I have identified two places here where I (sorry OH) can plant some productive trees. I rather fancy in one of the areas a mulberry and a medlar. I know they take ages to come into fruit and they are 30+foot high but the area is well away from the house and I was looking on them firstly as decorative trees but if they give a crop I shall consider it a bonus.

The next area is where I need help/advice. It's closer to the house and classed as the 'garden' I want to plant some apple trees, about 4 in total, There are already two different crab apples growing. I would rather plant dessert than cookers as I use dessert apples to cook with anyway. The land is very sheltered, however, the soil is poor, acid sand, but my OH said he will bring the digger in and do large planting holes which we can fill with very old rotted manure.

I know apples will grow here as it used to be an orchard many many years ago and there is still a struggling ancient bramley.

Do any of you know of a decent website listing apples and their attributes or can recommend a variety. I don't particularly want 'the latest fashion' just apples that will give a decent crop, have fair resistance to disease and maybe juice well. Any advice gratefully received

Badrick

zafiro1984 wrote: »

Do any of you know of a decent website listing apples and their attributes or can recommend a variety. I don't particularly want 'the latest fashion' just apples that will give a decent crop, have fair resistance to disease and maybe juice well. Any advice gratefully received

THIS website has a list of UK apple trees, it also gives their primary use, pollination groups and a little bit of the history of each variety.

zafiro1984

Badrick:- many thanks a very comprehensive web site, I will enjoy trying to decide and making lists. I notice they also do cherries and plums amongst other things. I'm trying to get my OH to agree to planting up a mixed mini orchard but I have to seed the idea in his mind and wait for it to come back as his idea - know what I mean

Update:- just ordered a James grieve. Ok so That variety is boring but I've grown it before in our last place and it always gave a reasonable crop. Also ordered a Red Falstaff and Sunset all on 106rootstock so they should grow no bigger than 12 - 15ft. Also ordered a medlar and mulberry. Getting quite excited and can't wait to get them in the ground.

annie123

Zafiro, edit your order to add a cherry, they are so tasty and dead easy to look after.

A fox has squashed my leeks :mad: had to go out and shoo him off this morning. The bigger ones look like they'l be ok but the smaller ones look very flat.

One last squash left outside nearly ready but as long as this mild weather lasts I'll leave it there.

My chilli munching son popped round, looked at mums bright red chillis on the kitchen window, picked one and took a bite.
He thought they were the milder ones that he munches on every year. Unfortunately I lost the label on transplanting so I've no idea what they are, except that they are VERY VERY HOT apparently. Never seen him run for a glass of milk so quickly, didn't take a second bite, I wonder why?

MBE how's this years competition entry looking?

Little_Vics

hello...sorry I've been a bit quiet.

I have a dilemma. Our neighbour is putting their house on the market in the next couple of weeks. We live on the end of a terrace, where there's a right of way along the back to access the back doors and their yard - which essentially means people viewing will be walking through my garden WHICH IS A JUNGLE.

The issue is this - our local recycling centre is closed at the moment and there's nowhere to put green waste. So I have options:

1. Do nothing
2. Chop stuff back, and pile it up somewhere to make a make-shift compost

If I take option 2, is it too early to chop back berry bushes, peonies and fushias?

Gah.

zafiro1984

Little_Vics wrote: »

1. Do nothing
2. Chop stuff back, and pile it up somewhere to make a make-shift compost

If I take option 2, is it too early to chop back berry bushes, peonies and fushias?

Gah.

I think I'd hope for rain when folk are viewing, then they are unlikely to want to go 'out the back'. Sorry, I know it's not much help.
I don't know about peonies and fushias but I've already thinned out my black and red currents as I needed some cuttings, but then again they are currents not berries.

Annie123 I did think long and hard about a cherry and was very tempted but I'm not sure the soil is right for one around here. We have very acid sand - hey - blueberries would grow, wouldn't they??

annie123

Little_Vics wrote: »

hello...sorry I've been a bit quiet.

I have a dilemma. Our neighbour is putting their house on the market in the next couple of weeks. We live on the end of a terrace, where there's a right of way along the back to access the back doors and their yard - which essentially means people viewing will be walking through my garden WHICH IS A JUNGLE.

The issue is this - our local recycling centre is closed at the moment and there's nowhere to put green waste. So I have options:

1. Do nothing
2. Chop stuff back, and pile it up somewhere to make a make-shift compost

If I take option 2, is it too early to chop back berry bushes, peonies and fushias?

Gah.

I'd clear a pathway for them and leave the cuttings for wildlife to overwinter in, then take to dump when it reopens in spring.

What berries are they?
no idea about peonies, but fuchsias are spring pruned as a rule. If pruned now disease can get into the open cut.

The heavy rain and wind has finished off the sad leeks that got sat on, some are now stumps in the ground. The rest are ok but sad looking.

Zafiro, Only grown blueberries in pots but I would have thought a hand full of compost in that soil to retain moisture and they'd be very happy there.

zafiro1984

annie123 wrote: »

Only grown blueberries in pots but I would have thought a hand full of compost in that soil to retain moisture and they'd be very happy there.

Annie:- I think I'll do just that, need to go and find an online blueberry nursery as I don't fancy the prices of the main seed companies.

The last - no sorry - the only remaining apple tree on this place has decided to start and shed its crop, (DH 'accidently'!!! knocked over the old bramley tree a couple of days ago) I think it is a cider variety, small apples, dry and tart, no good for eating, so I have scrubbed the apple press this am after it's been languishing in the workshop for nearly 3 years. Hopefully cider, if not, apple juice. I have sucessfully frozen apple juice in the past so I'll see where these apples take me.

I do hate things going to waste. I used to try and use everything I possibly could, cheaper and it keeps me away from the shops. Now I'm back to 'normal' I want to get back to that idea.

Tashatutuw

New here and been lurking a while whilst I plan my next years endeavours.

Queen of Cheap thanks for the heads up about the bulb order - what a fantastic price!!!! And I must admit, I have an alterior motive to wanting them! I am getting married next year and have seen that giving flower seeds as in 'plant the seed of love' is very popular at the moment, but I didn't like it as lots of seeds just die off never to return again after the first year, I don't want this to be an analogy of my marriage so want to give everyone a bulb (a rather large seed) as they will come back for years (which I take as a good sign for my marriage)

Sorry to go so off subject!!

To bring it back on topic! I am rather lucky having a mini orchard and field (rented by DFs family for 25yrs and kept at the same rent all that time!!). After some brutal chopping this year I have left a pear tree, a plum tree, a very sorry for itself apple tree (which got hideously pruned by our neighbour as it leant over their side of the fence), a few crab apple trees and a mahoosive cooking cherry tree that the birds always beat me to. I have a friend borrowing a work digger coming in the next few weeks to dig me out a trench as our field tends to get a bit sodden to the one side in winter and we have a goat and plans for pigs in the new year. I have a preplanned strawb and raspb plot (which used to be the old chicken pen before they were relocated) for next year. I am in the process of trying to decide where to put the rest of my goodies as I have to avoid chickens, ducks, geese, goats and pigs as well as all the usual garden nasties

Still - I am excited for my project and hoping to do well. Has anyone got any advice for a novice with a big task ahead?! :rotfl:

mrbadexample

Tashatutuw wrote: »

Has anyone got any advice for a novice with a big task ahead?! :rotfl:

Yes. Don't try and do it all at once. Little and often.

Oh, and welcome.