Lucy Chamberlain’s Fruit and Veg
It’s crunch time for many apple harvests, but if you want to ensure the healthiest, tastiest and most prolific eating apples year after year, let Lucy be your guide
GROWING plump, crunchy apples to pick and eat straight off the tree is the epitome of living your best life in the garden, so how do we ensure this dream becomes a reality? With so many enticing eating apple varieties maturing now, you might be tempted to plant some this winter, so let me help you. Aside from following my essentials checklist on the following page, what else is there to know?
Choosing shape, size and site
While very dwarfing rootstocks (such as M27) will sound tempting on smaller plots, I have found M26 easier to manage as the slightly greater vigour gives the trees more ‘pep’, and they can still be pruned to keep them compact. With flowers opening in May and bees essential for pollination, shelter is key (blooms can be damaged at temperatures of 2°C/36°F).
Understanding the difference between tip- and spur-bearers helps to guide you on pruning: tree varieties that freely produce fruit spurs rather than yielding apples at their tips make far better cordons, espaliers and stepovers (these shapes are great space-savers) as they can tolerate the more involved pruning. Such tree shapes appreciate summer as well as winter pruning, to keep them compact.
“Consider a few varieties grafted on one tree”
Pollination and fruit size
While some varieties claim to set fruit on their own, all set their best crop with cross-pollination from another variety. If space is an issue, consider buying a family tree which has three or four varieties grafted onto the same tree.
Some varieties ripen quickly, while others mature in storage (see page 20), but all benefit from watering between July and September to boost fruit size (thinning also achieves this). Irrigation also helps set maximum fruit buds, to ensure a heavy yield the following year.