Category Archives: Blossom

Fruitfields 2022 pre-apple blossom update

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The cherry and pear blossom is in full bloom at Fruitfields and beautiful. We’ve already enjoyed the apricot, greengage and early willow catkins and blackthorn blossom.

Our Fruitfields honeybees have been bringing in the pollen from these different trees and shrubs, which varies in colour as they transport it in their ‘paniers’ back to our Fruitfields beehives. We have started our Fruitfields bee experiences this year and are now fully booked through to the end of the year. We do love introducing people to our Fruitfields honeybees.

We have ‘blossom walks’ and open afternoons taking place on Friday 6th and Saturday 7th May. All are welcome and we will be selling our cider, apple juice and honey from our orchard. There is no parking but it is an excellent walk or cycle from the canal or Upper Bittell reservoir.

Over the last 3 months we have pruned the whole of our plot closest to the reservoir. As a result we hope to have given these trees the best chance of a bumper fruit crop. We’ll see!

 

Winter & Spring 2021 at Fruitfields

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We have had a proper Winter with good amounts of snow. Due to the Global Covid Pandemic we have not been able to host our annual Wassail in conjunction with Barnt Green Parish Council or progress our Fruitfields stall at any Farmer’s markets or events. All retail outlets have been closed through to April in line with Government guidelines.

However, positively, the local community have been extremely supportive of our direct delivery of apple juice & honey on Fridays and as the restrictions ease, events are to recommence externally from May 17th and normality should resume from the 21st June (but we will see!).

We managed to prune all our trees from January – March and all but one of our beehive colonies survived the winter. We have re-planted replacement trees where they have succumbed to deer and rabbit damage. We are now enjoying the first of the 2021 blossom and have made a start splitting our beehive colonies and on our ‘bee experiences’ which are proving popular.

We look forward to the summer and seeing the effects of the pollination of the blossom and the fruit buds coming on.

 

2020 at Fruitfields

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What a year it has been at Fruitfields! Despite the challenges of the COVID pandemic, Brexit, the American election and more we are not just surviving but thriving due to focusing on our bees and trees and the support of our apple juice & honey stockists and everyone who has bought our products.

Throughout the Spring and Summer we tended to our fruit trees and beehives. We are pleased to have doubled the number of honeybee hives we have and our fruit trees are starting to establish themselves. We caught a couple of honeybee swarms at the end of May and one of these stocks has become quite prolific with a strong laying queen. We cross fingers they over winter well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During mid-summer we took advantage of the season, and were able to carry out a great amount of work in the orchard soon after sunrise. We have always thought it a stunning location with the combination of the North Worcestershire Countryside and Upper Bittell Reservoir adding to the surroundings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have been able to develop some nucleus bees from splitting our existing beehive colonies to help prevent swarming and to grow the number of colonies we have. It has been good to pass on beekeeping skills and introduce members of the public to our honeybees via our beekeeping experiences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From August on-wards we have been extremely busy with the harvest. Starting with the extraction of our Fruitfields honey in August before apple picking throughout late August, September and October. Having picked the apples we then wash, mill and press the fruit before bottling and pasteurising the apple juice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are part of an amazing local community. Apple pickers included friends and colleagues, the Barnt Green Girl Guides and many families, individuals and members of the network of villages which we form a part.

We used the facilities at Tardebigge Cider in order to scale up our position to process the 5 tonnes of apples collected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have also invested in bottles fillers and our own mill and hydropress which give us the ability to process smaller runs of apple juice such as a limited number of pink juice using a single variety called ‘Red Devil’. From our harvest this year we are delighted as a business to now be offering the following products:

A medium sweet apple juice (Made from Browns & Dabinett)

A medium sharp apple juice (Made from Bramley, Sandlin Duchess & Ashmeads Kernel)

A single variety Ashmeads Kernel apple juice

A single variety Red Devil apple juice

Honey in both 1 lb and 8 oz jars and either liquid or soft set. All these products are subject to availability!

Spring has sprung & the blossom is fun!

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Ok, we’re never going to make proper poets, but we’re tickled with excitement at this time of year with the blossom appearing. There’s the prospect of a crop to look forward to subject to the flowers being pollinated and no heavy frosts…

All of the early fruiting trees such as cherries and pears are blossoming, including the early apple varieties of James Grieve and Red Windsor. We’re now onto the mid-season apple varieties blossoming such as Worcester Pearmain and Red Devil. Our cookers such as Bramley & Edward VII are later, as are the cider trees and other late sweet varieties like Ashmead’s Kernel and William Crump. 

Pollinators such as solitary bees, bumbles and honey bees as well as our natural predators (keep the aphid population down please Mr Ladybird) all appear hard at work!