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'Pitmaston Pine Apple'! Small, golden, lightly russeted, crunchy, sweet and piney flavour. Delicious 😋

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When I tried one of the more ripe-looking apples from the tree at work yesterday, I found that it was affected by watercore - “glasige apfel” in German - presumably due to recent heavy rain, after drought. This didn't affect the flavour, if anything it was slightly sweeter than usual. Fine by me 😋

A 'Pitmaston Pine Apple' with a section bitten out to reveal the dark, glossy centre, indicative of a condition known as 'watercore'.

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And here's a group shot of the apples from the 'Pitmaston Pine Apple' tree at work. As you can see from the greenish hue, they're not really ripe yet, they'll need at least another couple of weeks to reach their peak.

Four 'Pitmaston Pine Apple' apples, from a standard tree at NT Quarry Bank.

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Here's a group shot of some more #apples from the 'Pitmaston Pine Apple' tree on our allotment plot. They need a week or two to ripen fully, but they're edible now, if you like a bit more acid in your apple.

Four 'Pitmaston Pine Apple' apples, from a cordon apple tree growing on my allotment.

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Picked a few 'Pitmaston Pine Apple' fruits earlier this week, from two trees, one at the allotment and one at work. Allotment tree is a cordon, grafted 2022, planted 2023. Apples were thinned in June. QB tree is 12ish yrs, fruit weren't thinned. Noticeable size difference, allotment L:, work R:

Four 'Pitmaston Pine Apple' apples, from two different trees, showing the noticeable size difference between the fruits on the left and those on the right.

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Orchard Notes @orchardnotes.com · 05/09/2026

Anyone for 'Damson Dumplins'? Elizabeth Raffald's 1769 recipe sounds like simplicity itself, as long as you have a pudding cloth something to boil in. Although, isn't "dumplins" a bit of an odd name for this distinctly boiled-pudding-like dish..? 🤔 orchardnotes.com/2026/09/09/e...

A recipe for "damson dumplins" from Elizatbeth Raffald's 1769 cookery book 'The Experienced English Housekeeper'.

Please follow the link in the post for a text-only version.

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Despite the red-hot summer, thankfully behind us now up here in Manchester, our 'Howgate Wonder' apples seem to be coming along nicely. I don't think they'll be breaking any size or weight records this year though.

A 'Howgate Wonder' apple, surrounded by dark green leaves.

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Orchard Notes @orchardnotes.com · 05/09/2026

The Cornus mas ("cornelian cherry") fruits on our back garden tree are definitely ready for picking. Questions: can I be bothered, and what would I do with them if so? 🤔 Any thoughts or suggestions..?

A section of a variegated-leaved Cornus mas tree, with bright red fruits amongst the green-and-white leaves.

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Orchard Notes @orchardnotes.com · 31/08/2026

'Tydeman's Early Worcester' #apples. A good size this year. Slightly soft, I'm guessing due to the lack of rain, but they've still got a very good flavour.

Four 'Tydeman's Early Worcester' apples on a wooden table top.

A 'Tydeman's Early Worcester' apple growing on a tree.

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Orchard Notes @orchardnotes.com · 21/08/2026

Anyone for 'Apples the Portuguese Way'? This #C18th #recipe from Vincent la Chapelle's 'The Modern Cook' Vol 3 (1733) sounds like a rather delicious addition to the baked apple canon to me 😋 orchardnotes.com/2026/08/21/v...

An 18th century recipe for 'Apples the Portuguese Way' by Vincent la Chapelle, from The Modern Cook Vol 3, published in 1733.

Please follow the link for a text only version.

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Orchard Notes @orchardnotes.com · 12/08/2026

'Tis the season for windfall #apples. My top #recipe tips for using up windfalls would be: 1. Spiced Apple Compote 😋 orchardnotes.com/2021/08/17/w... 2. Verjuice orchardnotes.com?s=verjuice 3. Pectin Stock orchardnotes.com/2024/07/24/h... What's your fave windfall recipe?

A list of 'top search queries' for OrchardNotes.com, clipped on 12th August 2026. All of them are related to windfall apples, and unripe apple recipes.

Pale green, windfallen apples, lying around in a grassy area.

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Orchard Notes @orchardnotes.com · 08/08/2026

Great session @thatbeerplace.co.uk in #Chester y'day. No fewer than 7(!) ciders & perries on offer. Tried them all, in thirds. Ranged from 'very drinkable' to 'bloody gorgeous'. Personal fave was the @rosscider.bsky.social s.v. Major (on the left in the pic), v. dry w. superb depth of flavour.

Three glasses of cider (first two) and Perry (third one) on a wooden table top.

A television screen showing A list of beers and ciders at That Beer Place in Chester.

A page of text explaining "why you should be drinking REAL CIDER', from That Beer Place in Chester.

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Orchard Notes @orchardnotes.com · 03/08/2026

Codling moth! And brown rot! I'm seeing an awful lot of it this year. I reckon my #allotment #apples might end up with damage rates of 80%-90% 😡 orchardnotes.com/2026/08/03/e... How about you? Are you seeing similar problems, or have your trees escaped the ravages of this particular p&d combo?

A Norfolk Beefing apple sitting on top of a fence post. Dark blemishes in its red skin are signs of codling moth damage.

A green apple on a tree, with dark blemishes in its skin showing signs of codling moth damage.

A pair of green apples on a compost bin lid, with patches of brown rot spreading out from sites of codling moth damage.

A red apple on a compost bin lid, with a patches of brown rot spreading out from a site of codling moth damage.

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Windfall season has well and truly started. The 'Irish Peach' apple tree at work had dropped a few dozen fruits whilst I was away last week. Mostly damaged / codling moth infested, alas, but a good few were worth washing and scoffing 😋

A bright green gooseberry bush, surrounded by reddish-orange, windfallen apples.

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If Google Lens isn't hallucinating, then I spotted an Eilema griseola, rather delightfully a.k.a. 'Dingy Footman', sheltering under an apple leaf the other day 🙂

A Eilema griseola (Dingy Footman) moth, with oval-shaped, grey wings edged in yellow, sheltering on a russeted apple, underneath a leaf.

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Had to deal with a broken branch or three at work yesterday. Caused by the weight of the apples on the limb, which sadly I didn't have the chance to thin out properly last month 😔

An apple tree with a broken branch, hanging down in the centre of the photo. Bright green apples have caused the branch to snap under the weight.

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Orchard Notes @orchardnotes.com · 26/07/2026

Have you got a surplus of bilberries (a.k.a. blaeberries, whinberries, Vaccinium myrtilus) and don't know what to do with them? Benjamin Maund's #C19th "bilberry wine" recipe to the rescue! orchardnotes.com/2026/07/31/b...

A nineteenth century recipe for making bilberry wine, reported by Benjamin Maund in 'The Botanic Garden'. Please follow the link in the post for a text-only version.

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Anyone for 'Berry Pudding'? Here's Mary Hooker's incredibly simple, batter-based version from 1846. Seems like a great way to make tasty use of a #blueberry / #whortleberry / #blackberry harvest to me 😋 orchardnotes.com/2026/07/26/m... #c19th #recipe

Blueberries, at various stages of ripeness, growing on a bush, against a background of green leaves.

A large, white, plastic bowl full of blueberries, seen from above.

A recipe for 'Berry Pudding' by Mary Hooker (a.k.a. "Mrs Cornelius") from 1846. Please follow the link in the post for a text version.

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Orchard Notes @orchardnotes.com · 25/07/2026

... enviromesh! A couple of sections of this micro-weave plastic mesh has kept the blackbirds off the berries - with absolutely no risk of harm to them - and has meant that instead of them taking 90% of the crop and leaving us a pickable pittance, we've been able to enjoy the fruits of our growing.

A row of blueberry bushes, in pots, growing against a wooden fence, covered in sheets of very fine-meshed 'enviromesh' plastic sheeting.

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Orchard Notes @orchardnotes.com · 25/07/2026

... it's not an advanced irrigation system. It's not a particularly acidic growing medium. It's not a dedicated feeding regime. Nope, it's just good old...

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Orchard Notes @orchardnotes.com · 25/07/2026

We're enjoying a record #blueberry harvest this year, from our eight potted, backyard blueberry bushes. One change in our growing method has resulted in a complete turn-around in fortunes, picking-wise... orchardnotes.com/2026/07/25/w...

A mound of blueberries in a white plastic bowl.

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Orchard Notes @orchardnotes.com · 28/06/2026

Looks like we're in for a decent #fig harvest this year from our small 'Brown Turkey' tree. They're probably still a few weeks away from ripening up, but if the hot weather returns, who knows?

Two dark green, unripe fig fruits growing from the branch of a fig tree, against a background of garden foliage.

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Orchard Notes @orchardnotes.com · 28/06/2026

Now picking: backyard blueberries! 🫐 👍 We remembered to cover our bushes this year, before the local blackbirds had a chance to help themselves to the bulk of the crop. Only a small batch so far, but there are plenty more on our 8 bushes to ripen up later. 😋

A leaf- patterned bowl of purple blueberries 🫐

A row of blueberry bushes against a garden fence, covered by enviromesh to keep the blackbirds from stealing the fruit.

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June drop! Depending on conditions in your part of the country, it's probably about time to get the fruit thinning snips out again. Here's a quick How and Why guide I wrote and posted a while back: orchardnotes.com/2020/06/17/t...

A patch of woodchip, with scattered green and reddish-coloured apple fruitlets that have dropped from the trees above.

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I'm rather concerned by what I think might be a physiological disorder affecting this mature apple tree at work. On the left: healthy, normal leaves. On the right: sparse, stunted leaves. Two main branch sections are affected, the third is fine. Any expert grower thoughts on this one? 🤔

A large, mature, 'Worcester Pearmain' apple tree, with healthy leaf growth on the left-hand side, and sparse, stunted leaf growth on the right-hand side. In the background: a large greenhouse, and a half cloudy / half blue sky.

A section of a large, mature, 'Worcester Pearmain' apple tree, with healthy, normal leaf growth. In the background: a large greenhouse.

A section of a large, mature, 'Worcester Pearmain' apple tree, with sparse, stunted leaf growth.

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Darn. I've maybe lost another cordon apple tree to canker. One of the inescapable perils of growing trees on an #allotment site, alas. A couple of weeks back, I cut off the affected top-growth, just above the cane. Hopefully there's enough scion left for regrowth to kick in this growing season.

A young apple tree, badly affected by apple canker, around the point at which the two side-stems meet the main stem.

Top growth removed from a young, canker-affected apple tree, three stems that have been cut away from the main stem.

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I'm very happy with the progress of this year's newly-grafted apple trees. Of the 46 I grafted back in March, only 7 seem to have failed. If they all continue to grow well, I'll have 19 new varieties to add to my cordon collection next year, as well as a few backups of faves I've already planted.

A row of new apple trees, grafted earlier this year, on an allotment plot. To the right is a line of long plastic planters containing strawberry plants.

A group of new apple trees, grafted earlier this year, growing on an allotment plot, with an aluminium name-tag at the base of each one.

A close-up of group of new apple trees, grafted earlier this year, growing on an allotment plot, with an aluminium name-tag at the base of each one.

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