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.

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.

Cherry, Apple and Pear Blossom

"I know very little about the distance between stars or about the motives of Pepys, but I can always smell the Summertime at the latest by early Spring."

This evocative little lyric comes form an obscure song that I enjoyed as a teenager. It has always stayed with me and seems to become more pertinent with time.

Cherry Blossom

We are experiencing an unseasonably warm April, not that I'm complaining. The Cherry trees have been springing into flower and the blossom filled branches are stretching skywards. Pruned Cherry trees are normally kept to a few metres height but they can reach far further when left to their own devices.

It Will be Difficult to Pick These Cherries

Cherries are a native tree in the UK but it never ceases to amaze me how many there are in the parks, woodland and hedgerows. We started spotting the florid limbs poking up through the hedges along the motorway recently, not that I advocate advising picking them from the verges of arterial roads. 

Cherry Blossom

Cherries are the first fruits that we pick in the Summer. There are plenty to be found in the city's lovely parks and the pavements of quiet streets. We even pick them from industrial estates at the weekends, when they become peaceful places.

Pear Blossom (I Believe)

The exceptional Spring weather is also bringing Apple and Pear trees into bloom, which makes me think that I should organise a Blossom Walk at the Mansbridge Community Orchard fairly soon.

In other news... We have finished putting the final touches to the new Urbane Forager book and will soon have an approximate release date for you. This blog has received over 100,000 page views and now contains over 250 posts! A Great Big Fat Thank You to all our readers, please tell your friends and help spread the word...

Spring into Action

It's 7:15am, my train has been cancelled and it's raining. Another train will come but I choose to cycle the 11 miles to my employment, through April's finest showers. A"man" in a black Audi tries to run me over halfway through my journey; hopefully he is still stuck in traffic somewhere. As I work, I sit in my office in the midst of the massive, soulless industrial estate that is Segensworth, near Fareham. I occasionally gaze wistfully out of my window at what is possibly the least inspiring view I have ever had to endure.

Toward midday the grim grey clouds gradually break and the sweet azure begins to brighten my mood. Suddenly my heart is dramatically lifted as I spot and instantly recognise a Kite, slowly gliding over the drab grey buildings opposite. Lunchtime looms and as always, I get out of the building. I jog out of the estate, dodge the speeding motorists and slip through a hedge. Within 10 minutes I am standing in a field and my tightly coiled mind begins to unwind.

I find a footpath and follow it. I spot Plum blossom and Blackthorn too. Most of the white flowers in the hedgerows now are Blackthorn, so I predict a good year for Sloes. I make a mental note to add the locations to the fruit map. Further into my walk, I spot some old neglected Apple trees, or are the Pears? It's hard to tell in Spring. I also note several Cherry trees about to burst into bloom. After a brisk 10 minute walk I reach my intended target, a ruined abbey that I have noticed on a map, it is pretty impressive. In the grounds I locate several fruit trees, one of which is covered in delightful flowers, I think/hope it is a Peach tree.

After a short explore and a wander about it is time to return. I retrace my footsteps back to my office and work but now I am rejuvenated and refreshed. I'm looking forward to my journey home - It's a Bank Holiday weekend coming up. I'm looking forward to stepping off the treadmill, ricocheting about with the family, cultivating our allotment and hopefully scoffing an Easter egg.

As a sad postscript to this little tale, the large field that I got into via the hedge is shortly to be "developed" into an enormous care village. So, yet another green field site is to be decimated for private profit. I spotted a planning notice pinned to a lamp-post (hidden in a hedge where there was no pavement). I really cannot understand how these decisions can get past the local councillors. Although, we could probably guess...

Pendulous Pears, Thanks to the Major

I was just thinking that the harvest season had pretty much drawn to a close, when a trip to Woolston, passing Peartree Green en-route, revealed that we had missed a trick.

They do say, Walnuts and Pears you plant for your heirs, and the ancient Pear tree that was planted by the Mrs Cutler OBE Mayor of Southampton in 1951 was absolutely smothered with ripe fruit.

We discovered this lovely tree a few years ago and have been visiting it ever since. The pears are small, firm, round and beautifully sweet. My children call them Snack Pears. Mrs Cutler is no relative of ours, but we figured that she would be delighted to find that the fruit was going to be put to a good use.

My son and I zipped back up to the tree after his Sunday rugby training, there was a fair few Pears on the ground already and the fruit was suitably ripe, so we set about picking a large bag full.

In about 20 minutes we collected about 15 Kgs, which is quite a lot for a fully grown adult to lug back, let alone a 9 year old boy. However, I’m sure that my fruit based strength and conditioning program will eventually benefit his contribution to the Trojans team.

There is still heaps of fruit left on the tree, if anybody else wants to pick some but you would be wise to use a fruit picking pole, as you should not climb old fruit trees as the branches can snap catastrophically without warning.

Picking the Mayor's Pears

Best Place For Them!

Several friends of mine have recently expressed an interest in brewing cider. As a result, the Mansbridge Community Orchard cider press has been working overtime. We pressed another 15 gallons of juice this weekend.

My chums used fruit they had picked from home and I had some left over from a quick trip up the Southampton Little Common with my friend Andy. It is always a good plan to have a variety of in your ingredients and so, I  added a few pears I found lying about in the kitchen. Andy did make his own cider press, but the bottle jack employed in its construction, proved too powerful for the frame! He kindly donated his excess fruit to the Mansbridge Community Orchard Apple Day.

Andy Goes Ape

After a busy morning juicing apples, we took a trip with the children to explore Peartree Green, where a work-colleague had reported seeing lots of loaded apple trees.

Hard Work but Great Fun

Our first port of call though was my daughters favourite “snack pear” tree, planted by the Mayor of Southampton several decades ago. As it turned out, there were not many pears on the tree; either it was a bad year or someone had been there first. The kids enjoyed it none the less.

Look Out, They Have Escaped!

After hiking about Peartree Green for a while and asking a few locals, we spotted a big tree that was filled with fruit; we circled around the bramble barriers until we found a path in and the kids were soon scurrying up and around the branches. These were lovely tangy red eaters that tasted a bit like sweet Coxes. Despite the bramble scars and stinging nettle welts, we filled a couple of large bags. This was about as heavy a load as we could climb back up the hill with. Apparently, there are loads more trees that we failed to locate.

Most of this little lot will go into lunch boxes and the apple store, as they look like they will keep well. We grabbed a few little pears off the Mayor’s tree before heading back home, pausing only to buy a bag of charcoal for the last bbq (probably) of the year.

The Mayor's Pears

Have Pears Will Poach

A couple of years ago we had a glut of pears and a friend donated a load of Kilner jars; so I made Poached Pears. 

They turned out to be a surprisingly tasty treat, when we cracked a jar open in the depths of mid-Winter. They were then heated up and served with vanilla ice cream, yummmm…

Our friendly neighbour recently asked if we wanted some surplus from their tree, so I decided to reprise the recipe. However, in between preparing the simple ingredients, putting the kids to bed and listening to something terribly interesting on Radio 4, I forgot to add the cinnamon sticks.

Based on the delicious smells I created in the kitchen though, I predict it will be just as tasty this time around. I can't wait till it gets a bit colder...

Apple Day Announcement!

Apple Day at Mansbridge Community Orchard

Let's enjoy our fantastic local resource together next Saturday!

Southampton Woodcraft Folk will bring Apple Pickers, a "scratter" (fruit crusher) and Apple Press. I will bring the Community Orchard equipment and other community groups will also be represented.

Bring yourself, your family, your friends and perhaps also

- your own apples (or pick some there)

- sandwiches

- stout apple-picking clothing and foorwear

- collecting bags, chopping equipment, empty bottles for juice etc.

Enjoy the wonderful community atmosphere of an Apple Day! Time 1:30 - 4:00 pm 

Park on Octavia Rd or at the Swan Inn, Mansbridge.

N.B. Attend at your own risk - please be aware of the safety of others and take care of our environment.

The weather may be a bit wet and windy, so wellington boots and waterproofs will be de-rigueur...

Pair of Pears Repair

I was delighted to notice that work on the new allotment site on Somerset Rd is nearly finished; it looks like it will be a lovely site/sight. I was even more pleased to observe that the pear tree that had been cut down in its prime has now been left to regrow (something it is undertaking enthusiastically), on the outside of the new fence.

The Pear Tree is the Dark Green Bush in the Centre

I rowed past the Pear Pirates scene too recently; despite being felled, this poor tree is also trying its best to regain its former glory. But pear trees, like walnuts, grow very slowly. So, despite my renewed optimism, I can’t help thinking that it would have been better not to have chopped them down in the first place.

Pair of Pears: Urban Regeneration

Like a Phoenix from the flames, my two favourite pear trees, which were so misguidedly chopped off in their prime, are trying their damn best to raise a stubborn two fingered salute to their arboreal oppressors.

Both the pear tree by the bank of the Itchen River and the pear tree by the proposed allotment site in Somerset Road, Portswood, are making significant regenerative progress.

Fresh branches and leaves are already forging their way skyward in an effort to replace the lost limbs and trunks that were so casually cut down. Whether they will eventually be allowed to continue this dramatic regrowth is as yet unknown.

I think we should label the stumps in some way, to make it quite clear that they are fruit trees that should be preserved and encouraged to grow-back to their former productive glory.

Up the Apple & Pears

A Lovely Big hedgerow Apple Tree

Now is the easiest time to spot fruit trees in the hedgerows and parks and common land, even if you do not have much knowledge of tree types. This weekend we stopped under a small but florid crab apple tree to shelter from the April rain (this is certainly the wettest drought I’ve ever seen). The prolific buzzing of bees in the canopy made a welcome change from the constant background drone of traffic.

A Great Spot For A Picnic; by a Canal, with Free Fruit and Walnuts

Apple and pear trees are coming into bloom and the blossom will be abundant, which is why, like, Cherries, they are sometimes planted as ornamental trees.

Apple

Many countries celebrate the flowering of fruit trees in Spring. It is a time of rejuvenation and transformation.

Pear

So, when you next spot a tree covered in flowers, take time to look a little closer and see if you can identify what fruit it will bear.

Apple

Structurally, apple and pear trees can look similar although pears tend to be taller and more upright in their growth. Apple trees often show signs of previous pruning but if they have been neglected they can get very gnarled and busy.

Apple

The flowers of pear trees do look similar and both trees begin to grow leaves before flowers but the buds of apple blossom are often tinged with pink; whereas pears are likely to be pure white

The easiest way to determine apple from pear, before the fruit is visible, is by examining the leaves. Pear leaves are more pointed in shape and have a more sharply serrated edge. Apple leaves have more gentle serrations around the edges and a more rounded appearance.

Pear

Of course there are many diverse varieties within any type of fruit tree, so differences will always need to be accounted for. The Urbane Forager’s free Seasonal id Sheets are still available for download to your computer and printing off for convenience…