Editorial / 1
Forthcoming Events / 2
Recent Events / 2
SLOG Orchard Update / 3
Quick Quiz / 3
Plagues & Pestilence: Fireblight / 3
Applewood Furniture / 5
Heritage Apple Variety Review: Catshead / 5
The Brian Fereday Westmorland Pear Collection / 5
Quiz Answer / 6
Apple Sports / 7
Poetry Corner: Summer Shower / 7
DNA Analysis / 7
SLOG Shop / 8
SLOG discount at Suppliers / 8
Editorial
STOP PRESS – SLOG Orchard Opening Day! Now that planting is virtually complete and the information board installed, the Deputy Mayor of Kendal has been invited to perform the Grand Opening Ceremony! Join us on Saturday 13th May at 1pm for a taste of Bob Bradley’s famous cider, our full-bodied apple juice, and apple-based cakes, tarts etc. The apples are in full bloom and looking at their best.
A New Orchard! SLOG has been offered the opportunity to plant up and manage a new orchard on the Halecat Estate at Witherslack. This will be totally different to our existing orchard in Kendal in that it will consist of standard trees of a wide range of top fruit species: apples, pears, plums, damsons, cherries, medlars, quinces, walnuts, mulberries etc. An application to Natural England for a grant is currently under preparation which should permit planting to start in November.
People Power! Hugh Connor reports that Tameside (Manchester) Council planned to sell off the land occupied by Mossley Community Orchard. A petition was signed by 1300 people which resulted in the Council withdrawing the land from auction thus saving the Community Orchard. A point for all Community Orchards to note.
The Weather! Unusually for this area, we’ve had virtually no rainfall in the last four weeks since Easter. This means that any newly planted trees will be under moisture stress, so will need help. A good soaking once a week is better than little and often. In fact rainfall for the first four months of the year so far is only 15”, 25% down on recent average. Good weather over the blossom period should lead to a heavy fruit set, so trees may need hand thinning in July. The dry weather has also allowed apple mildew to flourish, symptoms are a white chalky dusting on affected leaves – just nip them off before it spreads.
A Gooseberry Show! A hundred years ago, gooseberry shows were hugely popular and very competitive all over the north of England. But like many country customs, they fell into decline in the face of other more modern pursuits. SLOG aims to revive this custom here in the South Lakes by holding a gooseberry show at our AGM on 25th July.
So cultivate and feed your gooseberries carefully this season and bring your biggest gooseberry to compete at the AGM. Also, if you grow currants, bring along your best entire strig of blackcurrants, red & white currants for judging. Also raspberries etc. Keep an eye out for gooseberry sawfly which can strip the leaves off your bushes in just a few days.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
For the most up-to-date information look in: http://www.slorchards.co.uk/SLOGevents.html
Saturday 13th May 1pm – SLOG Orchard Open Day The Deputy Mayor of Kendal has been invited to unveil the new information board and declare the orchard open. Join us for a taste of Bob Bradley’s famous cider, our full-bodied apple juice, and bring your apple-based desserts for all to taste. Directions: The orchard is on the Underley Road Allottments, situated between Underley Road & Hallgarth Circle. Parking is easier on Hallgarth Circle than on Underley Road
Saturday Sunday from 10am 3rd & 4th June – CountryFest The SLOG stand will NOT be at CountryFest this year so don’t go looking for it
mid July – Summer Orchard Visit A visit is being planned to two Yorkshire orchards – more details, date & timings to follow
Tuesday July 25th 7.30pm – SLOG AGM at Levens Institute This is your chance to air your views on what SLOG should or should not be doing and help shape our future strategy. Bring your biggest gooseberries and best strigs of black/red/white currants plus any other sft fruit for our soft fruit show. Directions: From M6 jnctn 36 go 4 miles on A591 towards Kendal, then A590 Barrow, then after 2 miles turn right signposted Levens. Go to centre of village, Institute is on crossroads across from Methodist Chapel. Park on roads nearby.
Saturday August 12th 1.30 – 4.30pm – Budding & Summer Pruning Workshop, Growing Well, Sizergh Learn the skill of budding which nurseries prefer over grafting. Summer pruning is a useful means to slow the growth of over-vigorous trees. Bring your own secateurs if you have them. Directions: From M6 jnctn 36 go 4 miles on A591 towards Kendal, then A590 Barrow, then shortly on right follow brown signs for Sizergh Castle, then Low Sizergh Barn. From Kendal go 3½ miles south on the A591 then just before the A590 interchange turn left into the car park at Low Sizergh Barn Farm Shop and Tearooms. Park at the far end of the car park and walk over the fields. Admission: Free to SLOG members. There will be a charge for the rootstock.
RECENT EVENTS
GRAFTING WORKSHOP Saturday 4th March, Growing Well
About 20 members gathered in the yurts at Growing Well to learn and practice the art of grafting apple trees. Hilary demonstrated splice and whip & tongue grafts and then members set about grafting using scion wood from a wide selection of over fifty apple varieties onto MM106 & MM111 rootstocks.
If you were able to grow on your grafts in a glasshouse or polytunnel, you can usually tell by the end of April whether they have taken or not. If kept outdoors, the take may not be definite until the end of May.
Once the take is clear, select the strongest growing bud (normally the top one, see above) and rub out the others then put a cane in the pot and tie in the growth as it develops. Carefully remove the grafting tape in June or July but keep the young trees in a sheltered position until planting out from November onwards.
The surplus rootstocks were subsequently taken to Witherslack a few days later where committee members grafted 100 trees which were potted up for growing on under Adele’s supervision ready for sale later in the year.
DAMSON DAY Saturday 22nd April, Lyth Valley
Dry sunny weather brought out the crowds, reckoned to be the best ever attendance at over 3,000. We had plenty of volunteers on the SLOG stand which was kept busy in the morning. The stand became quieter in the afternoon but it was a good day overall. The Westmorland Damson Association believe they have found someone to take over the running of future Damson Days so it is hoped that the future of this popular local event is assured. An important task: dismantling the stand at the end of the day For more information see the WDA website: http://www.lythdamsons.org.uk/index.html
SLOG ORCHARD UPDATE
All 169 trees have survived the winter and spring growth emerged early. The pears were in bloom from late March through April, and with no frost we hope for a good fruit set.
Apple blossom opened from mid-April through May in good weather so should also give good fruit set. The first Working Party of the year took place on Saturday morning 11th March. We installed the information board which required some effort to dig down to a depth of two feet through tightly packed large stones. The board is of metal construction and allegedly vandal proof - time will tell! All trees received a dressing of blood, fish & bonemeal; and we dug out the compost heap and spread it around most of the trees, especially those at the top end of the orchard where the soil is lighter and drier. Thanks to Win, Hugh, Kathryn, Neil, Denis, Ann & Robin for their hard work.
The next Working Party will probably be in early August for summer pruning, weeding, adjusting ties & canes. The site plan and variety list can be found on the SLOG website at: http://www.slorchards.co.uk/orchard.html
The orchard is on the Underley Road Allottments, situated between Underley Road & Hallgarth Circle just east of Windermere Road, Kendal.
QUICK QUIZ
Can you guess what organisation is represented by this Coat of Arms? Answer on page 6
“PLAGUES & PESTILENCE” FIREBLIGHT
In 2016, the RHS gardening advice team reported twice as many enquiries about fireblight than in 2015. Following the recent mild winter and spring, it is possible that this problem may become even more widespread.
Fireblight on pear showing dieback from shoot tip
Fireblight (Erwinia amylovora) is a bacterial diseasethat kills the shoots of apples, pears andrelated ornamentals, giving the plant the appearance of having been scorched by fire. The bacterium is native to North America and was accidentally introduced into the UK in 1957. It was formerly a notifiable disease but this is no longer the case in mainland UK. It infects only those members of the Rosaceae in the sub-family Pomoideae; apples, pears and related ornamentals including Cotoneaster, Sorbus, Crataegus (hawthorn), Photinia (syn. Stransvaesia) and Pyracantha. Fireblight does not infect stone fruits, such as plums, cherries,peaches and nectarines(Prunus spp.). You may see the following symptoms:
· Blossoms wilt and die at flowering time
· A slimy white liquid may exude from infections in wet weather
· Shoots shrivel and die as the infection spreads down the inner bark
· During the short period of active spread, the outer wood is stained a foxy brown colour when the infected bark is peeled back
Symptoms on blossoms include water soaking of the floral receptacle, ovary, and peduncles. This results in a dull, gray-green appearance at 1–2 weeks after petal fall, and eventually tissues will shrivel and turn black. The base of the blossom and young fruit show similar symptoms as infection spreads. Opaque white or amber colored droplets of bacterial ooze can be seen on the infected tissue when the environment is high in humidity. Shoots show similar symptoms but develop much more rapidly. A “Shepherd's Crook,” can be seen when the tip of the shoot wilts, diseased shoot leaves typically have blackening along the mid-vein and then die. Be careful not to confuse symptoms of fireblight with those of blossom wilt (Newsletter #25). Life Cycle: Thebacteria overwinter in bark cankers. In warm, wet and windy weather in spring, bacteria ooze out of the cankers. Infections occur when the bacterium gains entry to the inner bark, usually via the blossoms, and it is spread by wind-blown rain and also by insects including bees. Under favourable conditions the infections spread rapidly down the inner bark at up to 5cm (2in) per day, staining the cambium a foxy brown colour. Severely attacked trees appear to have been scorched by fire. Most years in the UK are too cold at blossom time for infections to occur and the disease is usually of relatively minor importance. A particular risk of infection occurs when trees produce a secondary, small flush of blossom later in the season when conditions are warmer. Control: prune out and burn infections promptly, peeling back the bark to reveal the brown staining (see picture above) and cutting back 30cm (1ft) to healthy wood in smaller branches, 60cm (2ft) in larger ones. Wipe pruning tools with disinfectant (Jeyes Fluid or methylated spirit) between cuts to avoid spreading the bacteria. Remove secondary, late blossoms before they open. Hawthorn hedges can be a source of infection so if you have them in or near your orchard monitor them carefully. Damage can occur at any time from late spring until autumn, but is much more likely in southern England than up here in the north-west.
With acknowledgement to The Royal Horticultural Society
APPLE WOOD FURNITURE
Most Victorian furniture was made using ash, oak etc. But apparently a 20thC Appleby chairmaker, thought to be Thomas Groves, made chairs from apple wood. These chairs have turned up recently in old house content sales in the Eden Valley. Apparently they are very unusual in that few, if any, others made chairs from apple wood. The subject is being researched by Andy Blundell, a Cliburn furniture restorer, who would be pleased to hear of any information on this subject. His website is: www.antiqueandy69.co.uk/
HERITAGE APPLE VARIETY REVIEW: CATSHEAD
This is an old English cooking variety which was first recorded in the early 17thC but may have originated even earlier. It was in widespread cultivation in the 19thC when it was popularly used for apple dumplings. The name drives from its boxy shape. Like many of the older varieties, it has survived because of its disease resistance. It is included in the SLOG orchard because of its historical significance.
THE BRIAN FEREDAY WESTMORLAND PEAR COLLECTION
We agreed to commemorate Brian by planting a collection of Westmorland pears along the south facing wall in the orchard at Sizergh Castle. These are pear varieties collected by Phil Rainford from old trees, mostly in the Lyth Valley. DNA analysis showed that these varieties have no match in the National Collection. However, the fruit is of good quality and this project will ensure their survival. A typical old Westmorland pear tree. Phil collected the scion wood from the old trees and grafted them in early 2016. Meanwhile Heather Birkett at Sizergh arranged for the strip along the wall, which was full of perennial weeds such as couch grass, to be cultivated and planted with potatoes in 2016 to clear the land. This revealed a slight problem – the area was found to be waterlogged, so a drainage system is being installed before the trees are planted. Many thanks to Heather for all the work she is putting in to ensure a successful planting. Further reports on this project will be provided as things progress.