Happy New Year

A belated Happy New Year to my few followers. Another year begun badly with nearly all online and offline activity cut for months due to a bout of keratitis, I hope this is finally responding to steroids.

Lets start the New Year, with the remnants of the Old, with the last of last year's crop just about lasting. This is the first year that Josephine de Malines produced a crop and they have kept much longer in store than my other late pear Winter Nellis, most of which seemed to disintegrate when the temperature fell to -12º before Christmas. Shrivelling slightly at the top, but still quite firm. Flavour isn't top notch, a little dry and astringent but hardly surprising this late. Apples are still firm, almost crisp but I think Pixie is starting to lose flavour a little now; the Rosemary Russet is holding up better, but we will shortly run out of all of them.

crop: Pixie and Rosemary Russet (our late varieties)

A very disappointing crop of both Pixie and Rosemary Russet, our late apple cultivars. Rosemary was probably having a slightly 'biennial' year after cropping well last year, but Pixie was very badly affected by codling moth for the first time, leaving us with only one medium-sized box to see us through into Spring.

Blossom - Rosemary Russet

Probably one of the last apples to bloom in my orchard, most of the buds are at tight 'pink' stage today.

Rosemary Russet

These have coloured fantastically well, will leave a little longer, at least until the amazing Indian Summer comes to an end (which must be fairly soon now?).

Crop: Rosemary Russet

Another good crop of Rosemary Russet. I find it difficult to tell the fruits from Pixie, as the two cordons intertwine and the fruits are almost identical in size; the Rosemary russets are less russeted than the Pixies. The flavour is quite different however, although the season is also quite similar to Pixie. Last year it was difficult to tell which was without tasting. I think they kept marginally less well than Pixie. According to the book of apples, the stalk is thicker and shorter than that of Pixie.