Stanmer Park’s Fruit Factory

The Brighton Permaculture Trust plans to process ten times more fruit than it used to with its new Fruit Factory in Stanmer Park, Sussex, United Kingdom. Just a drop in the ocean of fruit juice consumed in the area, but it is a promising start.

Pears, hornets and pebbles

In September I attempted to stop hornets from eating our pears… with pebbles. The improvised solution worked rather well, without damaging the pears.

Gourmet compote workshop at “La Plantelière”

We ran a compote workshop on Sunday to promote the utilisation of small apples and windfalls. Two posters explained how to turn food wasting behaviours into gourmet dessert making and a live demonstration enabled the audience to contribute and taste.

Sheep and pears

It is a good idea to put sheep in an orchard to graze and fertilize. Be aware that they love pears though.

A Provençal garden three years in the making

Fruit trees planted in January 2014, vines in the autumn, Gilbert’s garden near Aubagne in Provence looks quite mature already. “Stunning results”, the amateur gardener told me this summer.

“Les confitures de JJ”

A short post to tell about my jam jars labelling choices this year.

Stoning plums

Some varieties of plums are easy to stone when ripe. Here are simple tips I applied this weekend to make jam.

Summer pruning

Yesterday we attended the last arboriculture workshop by « Les Croqueurs de Pommes du Cantal » before the summer break. An opportunity to celebrate summer and a fruitful training season with a picnic.

Blossoming in the public spaces of Prague

Thousands of fruit trees grow in historical Prague, in various spaces accessible to the public.

Up there on the volcano

When I visited a retired primary school teacher passionate about pear trees last week, I didn’t expect to find a hundred fruit trees so high up in the hills, on the remains of the largest volcano in Europe.