Comments for Fruit Forum

Comment on Do Oranges, Lemons and Olives ever Fruit in the UK? by Claire Mee

Claire Mee — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:00:39 +0000

Yes olives, lemons and kumquats definitely fruit in the UK. Although we are based in London, which is a microclimate.
I have lots of olives on my olives and lemons.
I have four olives and two lemon trees all of them are unprotected in the winter as I never remember to get my fleece out and we have had some very cold nights!
However, we used a lemon in a protected courtyard in Richmond, Surrey and although it’s still alive it’s not too happy!
Olives will take the cold they don’t like wet feet though.

Claire

Comment on Do Oranges, Lemons and Olives ever Fruit in the UK? by Karen Liebreich

Karen Liebreich — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:41:29 +0000

At the Kitchen Garden at Chiswick House we very successfully fruited lemons. They were kept under glass from mid-November until late April, so maybe that doesn’t count? This year we had kiwi fruits, though they didn’t ripen to edibility – small and bullet-hard, but the plant was only 3 years old, and not planted against a wall, so maybe next year…

Comment on Medlar tree – can it be trained? by Hamid Habibi

Hamid Habibi — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:59:03 +0000

Hi Behrouz
I do not know Taylor but do know Breda (I expect it is the same as our Bredese Reus) and Royal. These latter two are very similar. They are good varieties but not as good as the Iranian in my opinion. The main differences are:
(1) Later ripening. Our Iranians are all ripe now. Royal and Breda will not ripen for another 2 weeks or so.
(2) The fruit is slightly bigger than Iranian but also more round in shape.
(3) The flesh has a much thicker firmer texture than the Iranian which is much more juicy
(4) The flavour is quite sweet but a bit bland as compared with the Iranian which has a nice balance of sweetness and acidity
All in all they are good varieties worth having but not as good as the Iranian. They are productive and the trees are more vigorous than the Iranian medlar.

Comment on Japanese Quinces – are they edible? by Elizabeth Moriarty

Elizabeth Moriarty — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:17:01 +0000

Yes, they have a lot of pectin in and make a good jelly, but not one with a lot of flavour. Have added them to quince jelly in the past.

To add flavour to a Chaenomeles jelly, why not try adding some guavas (usually available in most Asian grocers, in season) which have a lovely fragrant flavour, similar to true quince.

Comment on Japanese Quinces – are they edible? by Thai Goulton

Thai Goulton — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:31:03 +0000

Thank you very much, Jeff, for your comment, very interesting.

I have in the past successfully made jelly from the true quinces together with apples. But the tree did not have any fruit this year hence the plan with the Japanese quinces, but in light of your comment perhaps I’ll give it a miss.

Comment on Apple Tree Maintenance – advice please? by Howard Stringer

Howard Stringer — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:19:54 +0000

The scab fungus, particularly, settles on the leaves of apples in late summer and if they are not removed before they start to shed their ascospores in spring to re-infect the newly formed fruits. In the UK, a common procedure in commercial orchards is to apply a spray of urea, which has a high nitrogen content and is manufactured synthetically, on the leaves a week or so before falling in order to encourage them to rot quickly or be taken below the soil rapidly by earthworms.

The ideal organic substitute is human urine. This is commercially available in Germany and might be in your country, though I do not think it is so in the UK. For a small number of trees, though, it should be possible to collect enough. Alternatively, the leaves can be gathered up and removed for composting. Rapid leaf rotting or removal for composting should also prevent any pest eggs from hatching in spring.

Comment on Apple Tree Protection against Wild Life – suggestions please? by Jeff Bull

Jeff Bull — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:15:00 +0000

You seem to be on a ‘hiding to nothing’, to use an English phrase; ie you are unlikely to be successful, especially in view of your absences, unless you enclose them in an impenetrable, high stockade, the sides of which would need to be far enough from the trees to allow adequate light and air circulation. We have had brick-built ‘high-walled gardens’ in Europe for centuries, which serve this purpose as well as fostering a helpful micro-climate. You might try constructing the equivalent with logs, and I suggest you contact the US or Canadian Depts of Agriculture, which have excellent scientists specialising in fruit. There are also reputable organic gardening organisations in the USA.

Comment on Blackcurrants for Australia? by Derek Jennings

Derek Jennings — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:06:37 +0000

UK varieties of black currants are probably not suitable for growing in Harare because their winter chilling requirement will not be satisfied in these climates; they need a certain number of cold hours during the winter, otherwise crops will be very poor. Chilling requirement can be reduced by total defoliation when cropping is finished, either by pulling the leaves off by hand or through chemical treatment. This is because dormancy is induced by a substance produced in mature leaves after cropping, so in a commercial operation the aim is to remove these leaves chemically as soon as possible. After this, a spray with certain oxidising substances is applied to correct a lack of growth promoters, but the concentrations required for the promoters, times of application etc are critical and excessive concentrations are harmful. This is probably a route that amateur gardeners might not wish to go down. Some selection for black currants with a low chilling requirement has been undertaken in France and possibly also New Zealand and this is probably where you need to look for varieties that might crop in Harare.

Comment on Japanese Quinces – are they edible? by Jeff Bull

Jeff Bull — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:44:27 +0000

These are really pseudo quinces, genus Chaenomeles, produced on thorny shrubs; the fruits are rock hard, but some people do succeed in making a clear jelly, although one must ask whether it is worth the effort.
The true quince is Cydonia oblonga, a tree fruit but also rock hard. Usually pear-shaped, and has surface soft fuzz; kept uncovered in a room it emits agreeable gentle aroma.
Produces a ‘gritty’ textured paste rather than jelly, available in small tubs at Waitrose cheese counters.

Comment on Apple Tree Protection against Wild Life – suggestions please? by Anthony Tunstall

Anthony Tunstall — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:11:46 +0000

Fruit trees are often protected by tree guards made of plastic or chicken wire. This will deter rabbits but not anything bigger. There is a Swedish deer repellent that is organic too on http://www.treeworld.com/agriculture.html