Week 2
Let's talk apple trees. Because I'm learning a lot from mine this year.
First of all, our tree is around 16 years old now (just as old as our child!). And I think I've cracked how to prune it. I've been pruning it for the past few seasons, with a little help from a book that's now in my garden and not here so I can't link to it (will edit it in later), and have been rewarded with what I think is a happy tree and approximately a million apples in the making.
That's what it looked like about two months ago, or a month-and-a-half ago. So. Many. Apples. I was already beginning to sweat a little trying to think of ways to process them. But then we had a few blustery days and a small storm or two, and now the tree looks like this:
I think it's obvious where the wind comes from, no? :-) Also, on the side with apples left our neighbors have a hedge.
The wind's not the whole story, however. We have lost so many apples to simple early droppage. I did a bit of searching online, helped by my sister, and apparently our tree is simply very sensible. She dropped the apples she wasn't going to be able to bring to a good end. Next year I can help that a little by some careful 'early selection', which I hate to do but needs must. Now one bough is so laden it's practically on the ground!
For the rest of this year I'm just observing. The apples are almost ready to pick - what's left of them - and, like strawberries, I love a fresh apple from the tree, but once they're picked I need to make pie or crumble or sauce of them. And I'm happy that the birds and the butterflies and the rest of the critters are hopefully happy with all the droppage this year, which is the most important bit.
This week was again so full that I hardly had time to go out to the garden. I only managed it on Friday evening, when we had an impromptu BBQ. I did the most superficial bit of weeding in the front flower garden, saw how beautiful the light was on the hydrangeas (such an easy shrub! So grateful to have it), and otherwise sat on our little terrace and read. Lovely!
In harvest news: more tomatoes! And a courgette, and some strawberries, which we donated to my mother-in-law, whose birthday it was this week. That still left me with a ton of tomatoes, of course, and this time I was clever enough to pick some rosemary, thyme, oregano and lavas to make something between a sauce and a puree, which I've frozen. Just cut the tomatoes if they're very big, add salt and pepper and the herbs, slosh over some olive oil and pop in the oven (I used 200C, for about 30-40 minutes). Then chuck everything in the blender/food processor/passe-vite and voila, pure and healthy tomato-y goodness for in the dark months. I love my garden.
I forgot to add in garlic but undoubtedly next week we'll have another big batch so I can try to remember it then.
And now I'm off to another birthday (my sister's). Hip hip hooray for all the Virgos!
First of all, our tree is around 16 years old now (just as old as our child!). And I think I've cracked how to prune it. I've been pruning it for the past few seasons, with a little help from a book that's now in my garden and not here so I can't link to it (will edit it in later), and have been rewarded with what I think is a happy tree and approximately a million apples in the making.
That's what it looked like about two months ago, or a month-and-a-half ago. So. Many. Apples. I was already beginning to sweat a little trying to think of ways to process them. But then we had a few blustery days and a small storm or two, and now the tree looks like this:
I think it's obvious where the wind comes from, no? :-) Also, on the side with apples left our neighbors have a hedge.
The wind's not the whole story, however. We have lost so many apples to simple early droppage. I did a bit of searching online, helped by my sister, and apparently our tree is simply very sensible. She dropped the apples she wasn't going to be able to bring to a good end. Next year I can help that a little by some careful 'early selection', which I hate to do but needs must. Now one bough is so laden it's practically on the ground!
For the rest of this year I'm just observing. The apples are almost ready to pick - what's left of them - and, like strawberries, I love a fresh apple from the tree, but once they're picked I need to make pie or crumble or sauce of them. And I'm happy that the birds and the butterflies and the rest of the critters are hopefully happy with all the droppage this year, which is the most important bit.
This week was again so full that I hardly had time to go out to the garden. I only managed it on Friday evening, when we had an impromptu BBQ. I did the most superficial bit of weeding in the front flower garden, saw how beautiful the light was on the hydrangeas (such an easy shrub! So grateful to have it), and otherwise sat on our little terrace and read. Lovely!
In harvest news: more tomatoes! And a courgette, and some strawberries, which we donated to my mother-in-law, whose birthday it was this week. That still left me with a ton of tomatoes, of course, and this time I was clever enough to pick some rosemary, thyme, oregano and lavas to make something between a sauce and a puree, which I've frozen. Just cut the tomatoes if they're very big, add salt and pepper and the herbs, slosh over some olive oil and pop in the oven (I used 200C, for about 30-40 minutes). Then chuck everything in the blender/food processor/passe-vite and voila, pure and healthy tomato-y goodness for in the dark months. I love my garden.
I forgot to add in garlic but undoubtedly next week we'll have another big batch so I can try to remember it then.
And now I'm off to another birthday (my sister's). Hip hip hooray for all the Virgos!
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