Autumn Arrives

This year we have seen one of the longest and hottest Summers on record, but now, finally Autumn is upon us. We are having cooler mornings with dew on the grass, the wind is whipping up and the long awaited rain is arriving, cheering allotmenteers, gardeners and ducks alike.

We have been busy hunting down Hazlenuts, Apples and Pears, in all our familiar and favourite locations. 

It seems that all the lovely snow, bought to us here earlier this year via the Beast from the East, must have affected the pollinators and blossom of the trees because the fruit count is relatively low.

This massive and sustained Spring storm, followed by the long hot dry Summer may have caused the trees to change their normal patterns. Many trees also appear to have smaller than normal fruit that is ripening and dropping earlier than I would have expected.

I'm quite sure that there will be some trees that have managed to overcome the trials of the weather, but a cursory glance around our normal haunts shows a distinctly diminished harvest.

Having said this, we do know where a lot of trees are locally, over time we have located and monitored hundreds. As a result we are still managing to gather enough apples to store for the winter, press for juice and to create a good stock of cider.

Blackberry & Apple Crumble Season

Autumn seems to have arrived and with it (in our household) the traditional rush to harvest a good crop of local apples to be put to various good uses throughout the forthcoming year.

Some apples seemed to ripening early this season but others seemed to be quite small for the time of year. Our policy has been to pick the biggest ones and leave any runty remainders, to see whether they fatten up at all after the September rain.

My initial priority is always to fill the apple store in my shed with my favourites, beautiful unblemished fruit that will keep us in apples until march next year.

Of course, we always look forward to a regular sequence of, delicious Blackberry and Apple crumbles too.

After the shed store is filled, it comes down to - more a matter of quantity than quality. We are looking for a good weight of various types of apples to smash and crush down into about 50 litres of the tastiest juice and scrumptious cider.

In our first week this September, we collected well over 150 Kgs of fresh free fruit. By the time you read this, it will be around 200 Kgs.

People who see me as some kind of an expert in the field, frequently ask me if I am able to identify all the different types of apples. Well, the truth in my eyes is that that this process is more easily accomplished than they seem to think. 

My daughter is the official Apple Tester. She takes a bite - if her face lights up with a smile, it is an delicious eater - if she pulls a sour face, it is for cooking... Simple!

Important Diary Dates

• I will be giving a talk to Highfield Women's Institute, about the Urbane Forager project on Monday September 25th.
• 2017 Apple Day at Mansbridge Community Orchard is initially programmed for Sunday 1st October. Keep an eye on this blog or on our social media for updates/changes. Dates can be subject to change at short notice, according to local weather conditions.
  

Don't forget to put the Urbane Forager book on your Xmas present lists!

Autumn Arrives

Autumn has arrived and with it the normal flurry of fruit and nut based foraging activity. Recently we have been collecting Sweet Chestnuts and toasting them in an old syrup tin inside our garden fire. Perfect for those chilly evenings as the dark season approaches.

There are still plenty of delicious Apples in the trees and we have been out gathering extra stocks for Apple Bobbing and other All Hallows/Guy Fawkes based events and activities.

We have picked close to 300Kgs of Apples this year, a new family record but there are still lots of trees, filled with fruit, out there that we have not tapped into. Remember that the later Apples tend to be harder, more dense and these fruits will be better for keeping throughout the Winter. Our store is already over-flowing.

The colours of Autumn are always a pleasure to behold and this is a great time for a walk in the woods in order to fully appreciate the russet/red/gold spectrum that is waiting for us, out in the wilds.

Crab Apples are still available for collecting in their thousands, they can be red, yellow or green. There is of course a true bounty of wonderful preserves and drinks that can be made with Crab Apples.

Whilst we wonder at the mists and mellow fruitfulness of our Autumnal world, the leaves are turning to gold and falling, flickering from the darkening branches, spiralling down to the roots that poke through the ground like bones of the earth. 

Each yellow/brown leaf is a wonder in its-self and it is all too easy to miss this beauty. So, take the time to appreciate the detail. Pause your busy life. Go out for a wander (not a march), You do not need a car, you do not need a plan; even the city holds beauty in its roadsides and parks.

And don't forget those Apples! There are loads left and they are free for the taking. Check out the Falling Fruit map and zoom in to your area. This picture here was taken in the Makro Supermarket car park in late October and we have already had about 30 Kgs off this tree. 

The Many Apples of Mansbridge

As soon as October arrived, the temperature dropped. This is normal but this year it felt like someone had thrown a switch. However, when Apple Day @ Mansbridge Community Orchard came around, the sun was shining and the sky azure.

As soon as we had set up the equipment, the local children were asking what were we going to be doing. Once we had explained, they quickly recruited themselves into the communal effort.

The stages of this process are very simple...

1. Picking, grab the apples, fill the bags and return to base.
2. Slicing, chop the apples into segments and remove any really rotten parts.
3. Scratting, milling the apple slices into a finer pulp
4. Pressing, turning the screw on the cider press and watching the golden nectar flowing into the bucket.
5. Drinking, glugging down cups full of  gorgeous Apple juice & filling containers to take home.
   

I even found time to scurry off and harvest a huge bag of Pears. We will combine these with some of the Walnuts we have collected to make Pear & Walnut chutney - unless they get used up making Pear Chocolate Upside-down Cake!

We have been holding seasonal Apple based community events for five years now and every year we have more fun and involve more people. 

Our message is simple; the fruit is out there, you simply need to locate it, pick it and process it (or eat it straight off the trees). It is not difficult, it is fun and anyone can do it.

Autumn + Apples + Friends = Fun

September and October are crazy season for many families, with the holidays over, children back to school and the Autumn creeping in to remind us that Winter is on the way. 

For Urbane Forager family this busy period is exacerbated by the fact that we have a huge amount of fruit and nuts to gather and process. It can be difficult to find the time, what with work, shortening days, the after school clubs etc. It can also be hard work; we have already picked and processed over 200 Kgs of apples for example, but it is always fun and it is all free.

We have had two afternoon sessions of pressing apples in the garden with friends and this year we were fortunate to have the loan of a weatherproof gazebo for the day. Once the brief but essential health and safety talk is over, the small army of juice-fuelled children takes over the process and, once they get going, they require only a minimum amount of supervision.

Over these two events, we managed to produce about 50 litres of the most gorgeous apple juice, some of which will be Pasteurised and bottled for drinking/keeping and some of which will become refreshing, golden cider, for consumption throughout the year.

Walnuts have also been falling and we have been collecting these too from our favourite trees. I will combine these nutritious nuts with delicious Pears, harvested from the Mansbridge Community Orchard, to make enough of Pear and Walnut Chutney to last the year.

Community Apple Day

Apple juice, straight from the press, is the best tasting treat of the Autumn (followed closely by Blackberry & Apple crumble). 
If you want to experience this wonder, get yourselves down to the Mansbridge Community Orchard Apple Day. 

This event will take place on the afternoon of 9th October 2016 from about 2:00 pm.  Bring some stout bags or buckets to collect fruit, and join in with the family-based fun, on Octavia Rd Open Space.

If you have any spare fruit from your garden bring it along and we will turn it into delicious juice. The Apple Day is an open air event, do wear robust clothing and footwear (wellies/hiking boots are de-rigeur).

N.B.This is an amateur/volunteer/community based event – as such everyone is responsible for their own health and safety and parents/guardians are accountable for their children.
Remember to order a copy of the Urbane Forager book (now also available for Kindle) as a Christmas gift for your friends and family.

Apple Experts

Around this time of year, it is not unusual to spot families picking blackberries from the hedgerows. Occasionally you may see someone collecting hazelnuts off the floor or from a tree; you might even see a person thrashing away with a stick at a wall of brambles or stinging nettles, attempting to improve access to a solitary apple tree.

But how can you tell when the apples on the tree will ripen?

You do get Summer Apples, they will ripen in late August, they tend to be softer, sweeter and can be eaten straight off the tree but they will not keep or cook well. We have picked a few in readiness for pressing into juice.

More common Autumnal Apples will ripen in late September or October. The simplest way to check them for ripeness is to cut an Apple in half and inspect the pips; if they are brown or black, the fruit is ripe, if they are white, green or yellow it is unripe.

Some apples will naturally fall from the tree prior to the bulk ripening, especially if it has been windy; this is quite normal and you can assist nature by picking off any under-developed, diseased or vaguely runty fruit. By doing this, you help the tree, by allowing it to put its valuable energy resources into the better quality fruit, which will fatten up as a result. Each tree will produce a certain weight of fruit – it can be fewer larger Apples or lots of smaller ones.

People do ask me how to identify Apple types and specific “heritage varieties” but to be frank; I leave this kind of thing to the “Experts” or pedants as I prefer to call them. Every time an Apple pip grows into a tree, it develops a completely new type of fruit, a totally new variety is born (How exciting!).  The original Granny Smith tree still lives and all other Granny Smith fruit is grown from cuttings grafted onto root-stock. Crab Apples are actually the only native UK Apples; the others were introduced by the Romans, along with a few other things!

To me the most important Apple questions are these…

• What do they taste like? Are they eaters or cookers?

Followed closely by…

• Will they keep well?

If not…

• Will they make nice juice or good cider?

Simple!

Family Eat Ancient Apples!

In our latest shocking news we have finally finished using the Apples that we picked last September! This nine month old fruit was turned into apple-sauce to accompany a splendid roast dinner.

This may come as a surprise to people who are used to buying apples with a sell-by date stamped on the cellophane wrappers, but some types of freshly picked Apples can keep for several months, given the right conditions.

We picked over 200 KGs last year, for free, from urban trees around our city and then stored them in our lovely old wooden apple-cupboard that lives in my garden shed.

The bucket-loads of apples that would not fit into the store were crushed, pressed and Pasteurised, turning them into into several gallons of delicious juice which, I'm pleased to report, we are still glugging down now and couple of gallons of golden cider, which have already been heartily consumed.

However, you do not need a lovely wooden apple cupboard to make apple keep for a long time. My mum still keeps hers in greengrocers boxes wrapped up in old newspaper and, to be honest, this method works just as well and actually makes it easier to remove any bad apples to the compost heap.

Apple Day @ the Orchard

Cider Press in the Foreground - Conker Contest in the Background

We are delighted to report that Apple Day at the Mansbridge Community Orchard was a massive success. Thanks to everyone who turned up, joined in and helped make it a truly fantastic day.

Slicing & Dicing

The sun was shining, the trees were loaded with apples, lots of new people (57!) of all ages turned up and joined in. Everyone had heaps of fun and drank/left with gallons of scrumptious Apple juice.

the Apple Conveyor Belt

The basic process goes like this...

Another Load Arrives

Volunteers pick apples and bring them back to the base, then other volunteers cut and mince the apples, using the "scratters" (fruit mills). The pommace (crushed fruit) is then poured into the presses and squeezed, squashed, crushed and compressed until the delicious juice pours out into buckets. This juice is then fed back to the volunteers to keep their energy up and the surplus stashed in various bottles, and containers to take home.

Good Work Girls

This is not going to be a long wordy post, there is no need, I will let the images and films do the talking.

Juiced Rewards

Operating the Big Press

Returning with Another Healthy Hoard

the Evil Quince Pimp Wuhahaha!

Marching Back from the Trees

Team Work

Fun For the Young Too

Sensible Transportation

This Young Man Likes Apples!

Not Pyramids, Sunset Over Southampton Roofs as I Washed the Kit

Now, it must surely be nearly time for Sweet Chestnuts...