Apples: News, 2025
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Events and our Leicestershire Heritage Apples news are on our Leicester Heritage Apples page. Note that we put updates at the TOP.
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UNUSUAL NEW ORCHARD
A new orchard is being set up: Wilding Mother Orchard, and it is located near Helston in Cornwall. It is dedicated to cultivating wild-grown chance-seedling apples.
William Arnold and James Fergusson worked with the National Trust and with funding from Forest for Cornwall to establish the site.
The project is working with Caitlin DeSilvey at Exeter University in the Environment and Sustainabiliity Institute. NT Lizard & Penrose and SIA jointly manage the orchard. The apples are selected on the basis of the taste of the apples on the original trees, and copies are made by grafting onto a suitable rootstock. About 600 wild trees were investigated and the worthwhile ones selected.
Seedlings are uneven in quality; most are average; perfectly ok but not really worthy of comment; some are small or too tart or both; a few are are bitter; others are good or very good. A lot of English apples were never bred; some of the best ones were discovered as chance seedlings, and every tree of those varieties has been cloned - or grafted - from those originals. Braeburn and Granny Smith are examples.
21 May 25
APPLE TASTINGS
Julie and I did seven apple tastings at the marina last season; the last one was about a week ago. I've put them here for easy reference.
Apple Tasting 1, 4 Sep 2024: Early apples
Apple Tasting 2, 26 Sep 2024: Midseason apples
Apple Tasting 3, 7 Oct 2024: More midseason apples
Apple Tasting 4, 15 Oct 2024: Late midseason apples
Apple Tasting 5, 6 Nov 2024: Late Apples
Apple Tasting 6, 25 Dec 2024: Later Apples
Apple Tasting 7, 12 Mar 2025: Very late apples
17 Mar 25
