A GOOD YEAR FOR APPLES
This year
has created a massive problem for the gardener with a few apple trees. The
crops have been so heavy that we just don’t know what to do with all the fruit.
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During
the warm sunny summer we got just enough rain to keep crops growing, though I
did bring the hose out on several occasions when rain just refused to come our
way. In Scotland that really is a rare occasion. The dry atmosphere kept scab
away, and mildew is not a problem with me as I only grow strong healthy
varieties.
My first
earlies, the Oslin, lasted for two weeks at the end of August, and then
Discovery ripened and gave us fresh apples till mid October. This was followed
by Fiesta and Red Falstaff, both of which will store for many weeks. However my
late Red Devil will store for many months keeping us supplied with fresh apples
till the end of winter.
I don’t
harvest my Bramley cookers till the end of October or early November. They are
fantastic in store and will be fine till next spring provided you keep checking
them and removing any that go brown. Otherwise they start to give off ethylene
gas which causes other fruit to ripen rapidly.
I store
my apples in boxes in my frost free garage and should have enough to keep us in
apples till well into 2014.
Eating an
apple a day will be no problem, and apple sauce, crumbles and apple tart will
appear regularly. They are also excellent added to curries, pastas and I just
love to slice some for adding to the pan when frying up my bacon, eggs,
tomatoes and mushrooms.
The
windfalls and damaged fruit is chopped and simmered before straining off the
juice which is retained as natural pectin to help jams set.
I always
manage to keep back 30 lbs for wine, giving me three demijohns to brew. I add
some bananas for body and raisins to create some vinosity then try to leave it
alone for a year once fermentation has stopped, but it is hard. It really makes
a brilliant dessert wine.
Health benefits of apples
Apples
are one of the healthiest fruits to eat and as they are readily available and
cheap they should always be in the daily fruit bowl. This fruit is packed with
soluble dietary fibre, i.e. pectin, vitamins B, C, E, A and minerals potassium,
iron, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus. A lot of the goodness is in the skin,
so don’t peel it off, though wash all bought apples very thoroughly as the skin
has been bombarded with chemicals while growing in the orchard, then coated
with wax to preserve it while in the store.
If you
grow your own fruit it will be chemical free and extremely healthy.
Plant of the week
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Painting of the month
Random Thoughts is a painting of a pure abstract
subject. The need arose as several of my art class students wish to go down
that road, so I needed some experience first so I can teach others.
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I will
work up a body of images for an exhibition later on this year.
END
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