Festive update

It is so unusual not to suffer with chilled and chapped fingers whilst sorting and packing apples during December. By now we have looked at just a few apples and the effects of the warm days and heavy rains just before and during picking are showing as the fruit maturing early, including the Sturmer Pippin, which you will remember were harvested two weeks earlier than usual last month.

The best apples are now all gone. For those hoping for a last pack in the New Year we can only manage pack lll economy while stocks last.

Thoughts now turn to the behaviour of the trees themselves as their root systems will not have received any chilling influence yet, and the daylight hours will soon be extending again. So, carefully with the pruning otherwise there is the risk of the them responding with a lot of growth at the expense of  blossom quality and fruit numbers. Also, with this warmth and damp there is an increased risk of canker infection around the pruning cuts.

Never mind the weather we might see ahead, that which has occurred during recent months is likely to have considerable influence on 2016 results.

Best wishes for your celebrations and festivities from Crapes