End of May update

On the whole, May has been a good month for the  apples, perhaps lacking in rainfall until the very end. There are very few late apple  blossoms remaining with the current gale from the north, the chill of which probably not great for any surviving   cherries. Plums and gages also appear sparse again.

In spite of the late apple blossom, which for some varieties was more spun out than usual, it appears that overall the fruit set is quite adequate with a good spread right through the season of our different varieties. Hopefully temperatures will recover quickly and we will have a few weeks yet of cell division before late June. The more cells, the firmer the fruit and the more evenly it will swell for later.

So now for keeping hungry caterpillars at bay. Our traps for Codling moth should indicate how active their population is. Through recent years the very  few moths caught have hardly been an indicator of their actual activity. Tortrix webs of many tiny larva are collected regularly from the tree rows. A brown leaf, or a shiny webbing within the canopy of the tree warrants immediate examination and removal. The brown leaf is the result of tiny larvae consuming the tissue before attending to the adjacent foliage!

To join our mailing list for details of apple packs sent out later please contact us – tannandrew@gmail.com

Looking forward to June with last night’s useful  45mm of rain well soaked in! This is a rare occurrence at Crapes.