A Bumper Year for Apples

 

apple blossom

apple blossom

Here in the UK we love to talk about the weather, and boy did we have plenty to talk about in 2011. The effect of our climate on garden crops has never been more obvious – and apples are a very good example.

The start to the year was the coldest for thirty years. This was just the thing for apple trees to make them flower well and produce fruit of good quality.

Then came a hot dry spring. This helped to produce abundant blossom which was pollinated well. Perfect conditions continued with a rainy and cloudy summer; the fruit was able to swell and it prevented the apples from dropping early.

The two old trees at the bottom of my garden, a type of russet, certainly produced a huge crop and the poor old branches were in danger of breaking.

I now have a freezer full of really tasty prepared apple ready for the next delicious pie.

apple picking

apple picking

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