Category Archives: Soft Fruit

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!

 

Wow, what a summer!

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The trees and fruit bushes are now looking for some rain which no doubt will be upon us imminently. What a summer we’ve had! From the end of May to the start of July the heat wave has given us a such a glorious long dry spell. All the hay has been cut in surrounding fields, and the apple fruit is coming on and thinking about growing and starting to ripen.

Due to the timing of the blossom this year we’ve had no pears, but so far a bumper crop of raspberries and redcurrants, blackcurrants and gooseberries. The raspberry jam has been delicious and our bees are excited by this long dry spell so we’re crossing fingers for a strong honey harvest.

The bees are now pollinating the blackberry and broad bean flowers in nearby fields, and there is the promise of some plums and apricots.

Despite the long dry spell, the growth of the willow each year staggers me and we’ll cut it as usual later in the year once the shoots have shed their leaves.

Our apple trees are starting to put growth into their side lateral branches having pruned their top shoots during the winter period and now our pruning has meant the growth in the trees is impressive. Our five year old fruit trees may produce a crop!

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!

 

Soft Fruit

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Having remembered to net the fruit this year we were rewarded with a good crop of soft fruit – blackcurrants, redcurrants, raspberries, strawberries and gooseberries all picked so far this year.  Most of it made it to the freezer for jam making later on.Soft fruit