Wednesday 20 September 2017

Productive Day

I have been busy today making a homemade apple cake 




 I also have made a chicken casserole for tonight's Tea  ( Dinner to non black country folk) We call lunch Dinner lol.


Made with chicken thighs, carrots, tomato puree, herbs, onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes, stock cubes and a few frozen sprouts dropped in towards the end to soak up the juice, Browning the chicken and onions and garlic before covering with stock and slow cooking all afternoon.

I have lots of apples both cooking and eating, I am just  looking into how to store them through the winter as last year I did not have any fruit and  froze the free ones my neighbour gave me and they went spongy 
My problem is with the trees, I am hoping some gardeners out there will be able to help me, I was told I could cut the trees down to transport them when we moved house  four years ago which I did reluctantly and they are growing but very very slowly and are top heavy have I ruined them completely will they  ever grow tall, I would appreciate your advice they were only 3 years old when I cut them back.  






Hello, Carole, it was nice to meet you last Friday.




XXXX

20 comments:

  1. Cake is y weakness and your apple cake looks delicious.

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  2. Me too i try to make cakes that i am not so keen on , This has mixed spice in it and i am not that keen so it will help me with me trying to lose weight without my hubby loosing out lol xxx

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  3. I peeled and cored loads of my apples last weekend, simmered them in a bit of water until they went to mush, spooned the mixture into lightly greased muffin tins, frozen them until solid (about 3 hours) then stuck them into freezer bags. I've got lots of individual portions to use in homemade soups, porridge and blitzed in the mixer with yogurt and blackberries from the garden.
    Enjoy your tea! xxx

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  4. Thats a good idea about cooking the apple down but i mainly use them in apple pies for dave but i am going to wrap the eating apples in newspaper and store them in a cool dry place fingers crosses they will last a few months like that xxxx

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  5. I think you could have moved the trees without cutting them back but I'm not sure what you do now. perhaps trim all but one side branch back and try a train that one upright.

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  6. Yes i think we could have done that sue but my husband is a bit OCD and it was his idea so now i am blaming him lol , I think your idea of pruning them is right i will have to do some more research , Thanks

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  7. Sue's advice sounds good. You could also try to espalier them against the fence or wall.

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    1. I thought of training then up the fence , That would be a last resort i will tery pruning them upwards first xxx

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  8. Your food looks scrumptious, you can't beat home cooking.

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    1. Thanks its very rare we eat anything that is not home cooked xxx

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  9. What variety are they? and do you know what rootstock they were grafted onto? Also how far back did you prune them? did you take them below the nobbly part of the trunk?

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    1. Hello Adrienne , really dont know what variety they are all i know is that they originally came from aldi one is and eater the other a cooker and its been four and a half years since i cut them back so i cant remember how i pruned then all i know is that after i did it we didnt have fruit the year after ,Not much help am i sorry xxx

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  10. Hi MSCVFL No worries :) They appear to be growing into a sort of fan shape. Have you pruned them since they were moved?

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  11. Hello adrieen, No i haven't touched them at all , That's why i am hoping they will grow xxx

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  12. As these are growing low to the ground I think they may be dwarf trees. They like to be pruned late in winter before they start to grow again. Usually you'd take each branch back by 1/3. But you should also take out ones that point downwards or crossover/rub other branches just prune those branches to about an inch from the trunk. If you have 5 or 6 strong branches that are forming a nice shape around the trunk that's great:) just take 1/3 off these.

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    1. Hello adrienne , One thing i do know is that they are not dwarf trees the reason they are like that is purely because i cut them down when i originally purchased them they were young trees but they were 4/5ft , I think i will prune the lower branches like sue said but thank you for trying to help its been interesting having the conversation xxx

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  13. Hi Shabby no worries xx

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  14. Hi shabby was lovely to meet you too will you be on the market on Friday 6th October .carole xx

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  15. Hello Carole , Hopefully i will be there weather permitting i haven't looked at it yet , might see you there xxx

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  16. I do know that it takes several years after planting before you see a good amount of fruit on them. My parents property had many apple trees when I was growing up there. Their property was the remnants of an old apple orchard. We had two varieties. (I live in New England area of the U.S.) You do need at least two varieties for pollination. What variety do your neighbors have? They do need LOTS of pruning in late winter, usually March. It would be best to get a book, perhaps from the library. Make sure that it specifically shows pruning of apple trees. Different fruits may have different requirements. See if the book suggests any fertilization to get things going. Also,.. my mother used to make the pies and freeze them. We also made applesauce and froze that in plastic square containers. Good luck.

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thank you for your message , Shabby