With so many varieties growing in the domestic gardens of Aurillac and its surroundings, identifying the name of an apple can be difficult. But is it a priority for those who aim at sharing their fruit with other gardeners and fruit users?
Carefully recorded information about the origins of the fruit varieties conserved in the British National Fruit Collection should help their French counterpart adjust their own records. Continue reading
As we are in the most active part of the winter pruning season for apple and pear trees in France, we look at an example of bad pruning and its consequences, in particular the growth of unfruitful ‘watershoots’.
On Thursday and Friday, we ran an educative workshop on apples for local primary schools, as part of their extra-curricular activities. It included a compote tasting session, designed as a formative sensory experience. Continue reading
How can a garden be taken care of when its owners are away on a summer holiday? Here are a few words on a question which will require further investigation.
The ‘Croqueurs de Pommes du Cantal’1 is a charity that lists and protects local fruit cultivars; its members exchange scions to graft new trees. I put myself to the test: would I be able to participate and provide scions from our trees?
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. 
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.
Removing excess fruit from apple and pear trees allows for a more consistent production, bigger and better fruit. It is carried out by gardeners who wish to intervene beyond the tree’s natural ways of doing it, and should be done on younger trees. 
Apples, pears and stone fruit such as plums and cherries are pruned at different times of year. Although many people don’t do it, it brings great benefits, and is quite an enjoyable activity.