Mansbridge Community Orchard Campaign #3

On my third visit I cycled down in my lunch hour on my back-up bike. My number one bike had received a smashed rear wheel on my way to work the previous week, courtesy of a careless driver. If I had been cycling any slower it could have been bye bye Urbane Forager!

This time I had added guidance thanks to local explorer, Bob Painton, Bob is also a very good nature photographer and when I asked if he could take some shots of the fruit in Mansbridge, he did an outstanding job. You can see some of Bob's shots on the Campaign Page or visit his photo stream.

This trip, the third area by the deer stop (next to the fen) revealed itself. It was filled with apple trees with some pears amongst them. I met a local woman named Natalia, she was photographing the apples, I was picking a few and exploring the area.

Massive Comice Pears

On the way home I met Penny and her dog who kindly took this photograph for me – that is the Man’s Bridge behind me and yes, my pannier is filled with Mansbridge apples.



A Rainy Day in Mansbridge on my Back-up Bike



In total there must be at least 50 fruit trees on this Green Space. They are all on the Council's carefully managed land.

The apple and pear trees have grown wild for a number of years now and consequently some of the fruit is quite small but others are full of big red, yellow and green beauties. If the trees were properly pruned the harvest would be greater and the apples bigger and better tasting.

Apples Amongst Flytipped Rubbish - Such a Shame

I do not think that it would take too much time, with the help of a small team of local volunteers and the backing of the City Council with the Park Rangers, to clear the rubbish from this delightfuly wild space and create a Community Orchard.

This proposal will can benefit the area, as well as anyone in the city that cares enough to be involved. It can be used to educate school children about healthy eating and to engage with the natural environment. We could even supply local schools with juice to drink and fruit to eat or cook with.

Establishing a Community Orchard will require permission from the Council as well as working together with advice from the Park Rangers. Some fencing/hedging could be used to protect environmentally sensitive areas and pathways could be carefuly cleared for improved access. The trees will need to be gradually pruned to promote suitable growth and larger fruit. We could plant some plum and cherry trees, to benefit from their earlier fruiting and possibly develop a hazel coppice to use for fencing and nuts.

The Community Orchard can be a beautiful blossom-filled place to walk in the spring. It could be used for picnics and outdoor events in the summer. In the autumn of course we will all be able to benefit from free fruit. All this needs to be carefully balanced with the need to protect the wilderness for the good of plant and animal life.

Beautiful Autumnal Leaves

Anyone willing to offer support of any kind (physical, financial or advisory), please contact us here.

Your Community Orchard Needs You!

Mansbridge Community Orchard Campaign #2

On my second visit I investigated the other side of the green, where I met Richard, a local man, in amongst the trees.

Richard said that people constantly moan about the economy but he has never seen anyone else (apart from me) picking the abundant free fruit available here. He has three small freezers in his flat – filled to the brim with stewed apples, blackberries and other fruit. He also makes jams, chutney, pies and anything else he can find recipes for.

Like myself, Richard had created his own fruit picking tool kit, he also advised me where another local walnut tree was - and a big cranberry bush.

In exchange, I shinned up the apple tree and dropped fruit down for him to catch until we had filled his bag up.

I then showed him the huge Comice Pears on a nearby tree.

So he helped me pick enough Sloes to make Sloe Wine and Sloe Gin.

Reciprocation, cooperation, teamwork, collaboration sharing community – call it what you will - it is always a potent thing.

If you are a mover or a shaker - please visit the new Campaign Page and get involved in the Campaign for a Community Orchard in Mansbridge.

Picknik # 3

St. Mary's Church -  Perfect Location For A Picknik

After the last Picknik's cut-down catastrophy, I was a little concerned that these enjoyable family events might lose some of their momentum but my doubts were unfounded.



Lots Of  Interesting Places



On our arrival we were promptly informed that the variety found here were named the Devils Apples, presumably due to their flame-red skin and flesh (well - let’s hope that’s the reason anyway).



And Here Is The Tree



St Mary’s church is the perfect location for weddings, praying or Apple Pickniks. It is a beautiful quiet, wooded spot out of the hubbub and traffic. My friend Diane had led us to this spot and we had the vicars blessing too; especially as naughty children had been abusing the lovely old church with fruit based projectiles.



Lovely Red Apples



We had a very good turn out with lots of small children running around the churchyard and hiding behind gravestones and bushes.

It's An Initiative Test

There was a nice cherry tree in the yard too and I even spotted a solitary pear on a small tree.

The Pear - I Picked It, Of Course

The buckets, bags and baskets gradually filled up amidst the friendly chatter and the crunching of apples being consumed; they were very sweet and quite ripe, so we must remember to come earlier next time.

This Might Just Work

Then, as we all trooped off down the lane to pick blackberries and check out the sloes we spotted some more apple trees, very much overgrown in the bushes.

That's A Cherry Tree Too

I decided to pop back for my picker and on my way spotted several more in the vicinity.

The Red Devil's at St. Mary's (ho ho!)

I picked a few samples from each tree and photographed them to document the evidence.
I do believe that we may have unearthed the Lost Orchard of Mansbridge and I will be reporting further on these findings in due course...

Apple Attack

The autumnal equinox passed last week and for anyone harvesting apples this means that you are going to be busy. There was to be no exception for the Urbane Foraging family, not least because I wanted to stock up my apple store, arrange an Apple Picknik and pick and press enough apples to fill my second 5 Gallon barrel with cider.

I knew it was going to be very, very busy.




Half an Hour on the Little Common

 

To add to the logistical problems, the girl needed ballet classes and to be taken to a friend’s birthday party, the boy had to go to swimming lessons, Grandma was coming for lunch, I had promised to take the Head Chef out for a meal and we had all the normal weekend chores to perform.



Half an Hour on Woolston Foreshore



I did phone around to see if I could garner any support for the cider pressing but inevitably, everyone else was very busy too.



What am I Going to do With All This Fruit?



Call me crazy but when I set myself a target (even an optimistic one), I always try to attain it. So, with this in mind, my weekend actually started on Friday lunchtime; I borrowed the car and took my fruit picker to work.



Put Some In The Apple Store



During my lunch hour I gathered enough apples (from the Lost Orchard of Hedge End) to stock up my store and still had half a bucket load left over (about 10 Kgs) to supplement my cider making efforts.



Green/Yellow Apples from Hedge End



On Saturday morning, while my daughter danced, my son and I gathered a bucketload of apples from the big tree on Southampton Little Common. There is still a Huge amount of fruit left on this fabulous old tree.



Red/Yellow Knobbly Apples from Hedge End



Then, while my son swam, my daughter and I cropped another load from a lovely little tree covered in crunchy, deep-red eaters, from the foreshore near Woolston.



Red/Green Apples from Hedge End



Both of these were manic picking sessions, with only about half an hour to spare each time but together they produced about 40 Kgs – I estimated that we would need about 60 Kgs to make 5 Gallons of juice.



Green Apples from Hedge End



Saturday PM was the Apple Picknik # 3 - this will be reported separately here but I can say that we all had a great time and I took home over 10 Kgs, so I was still on target.



Red/Yellow Apples from Hedge End



During the Picknik, I also discovered the Lost Orchard of Mansbridge, which is another interesting story for the future.



Russety Apples from Hedge End



Saturday evening we went out for a well-deserved relaxing meal. By the time we walked home I realised how tired (and happy) I was from all my exertions and I slept very well.



Crunchy Red Eaters from Woolston



Pretty As A Plum

Better For You Than M & M's

We decided to check out a road where I had spotted lots of fallen fruit last year, to see if any wild/cherry plums were ready to drop yet. As we arrived, we saw quite a few plums on the road and pavement. We also found that the road bordered a cricket pitch, which was even better news.

A tree-full of yellow plums or mirabelles

We found small, slightly pointy, yellow plums (possibly mirabelles) – they looked a bit like pixie hats. We also found reddish orange plums, which were slightly rounder. There were also some green fruits and purple ones but these were still a week off being ripe.

A Tree-full of Red Plums

I find it a real pleasure to gaze up into a tree laden down with colourful fruit – just to appreciate the sheer beauty that Mother Nature can conjure up. This wonder is only enhanced when you know that you can also pluck and eat this sweet, candy coloured cornucopia and it is all hanging there for free.

You Little Beauties

The easiest way to get the ripe plums off the tree is to shake them into a blanket, this way you only get the most ripe ones. There are bound to be a few that miss the blanket or fall on people’s heads, so it’s best to get children to hold it. It takes a while to train them to keep their arms out wide and straight but once you have achieved this, you can martial them into position and give the appropriate branch a good old Heave Ho!

The Good, Old-Fashioned, Blanket Method

What seems odd to me, is that hardly anyone else is going to utilise this gift; and that they will fall onto the ground to be consumed by the birds and wasps. Well, today we saved a few Kilos from this inglorious fate and ate quite a few on the way too.

A Few Kilos of Colourful Fruit

They look so gorgeous and colourful; it almost seems a shame to eat them.

A Real Plum Spot

Miraculously, just as the cherry trees were starting to look a little empty – I spotted a Cherry Plum tree that was laden with ripening fruit. I tried a couple, then quickly filled my empty sandwich box and headed back.

My First Cherry Plums of 2011

These beautiful little fruits are always simple to spot because people do not often bother to crop them at all, hence you tend to notice the fruity mess, squashed all over the pavement.

Squashed Messy Fruit - Look Up!

Cherry plums come in many colours and will differ likewise in taste but they will all cook nicely. I have seen Red, Yellow Purple and Green varieties, all of which taste great straight off the tree. It is easy to tell when they are ready for harvesting, as they will be falling of their own accord and should come off into your hand just by touching.

Many Colours but all Plums

Closely related fruits are the Greengage, Damson, Bullace and Wild Plum. Again, they vary greatly in size, taste and colour but all can be eaten or cooked.

The Usual Suspects

It’s worth remembering (especially if you have young children) that the pavement is not always the best place to pick from, especially if it is beside a busy road. Fortunately, there is often a field on the other side of the hedge, so this is where your young pickers should be installed.

Green Plums - Possibly Bullace

These tasty hedgerow fruits can be eaten straight of the tree or made into Pies, Jam, Chutney, Cordial, Schnapps, Wine and a hundred other lovely things. Most recipes that I know do not include the stones, so you might as well take them out as soon as you get home, if you intend to cook with them.

Red Cherry Plums

You can then freeze the halves in the same way as I described for cherries. Of course, they will keep on the windowsill (as they are) for a while, if you just want to eat them as the fancy takes you.

Pitted and Ready to Freeze

It might be worth experimenting a little with drying these fruits – home made prunes anyone? Actually these things often taste a lot nicer than they sound.

Another Loaded Tree Waiting to be Turned into Chutney, Jam or Pies

I think it may be about time to get the child supported blanket out again and shake a tree or two this weekend.

Summer Plum Recipes