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
Tag Archives: Apples
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How not to prune a tree
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’.
Teaching taste to 3/5 years old children
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
Summer thoughts

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.
Sharing graft wood
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?
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.
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.
Thinning Apples and Pears
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.
Pruning: when and why?
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.
Our last apples of the year
We are running out of stock. An opportunity to assess our storage choices and provide a few tips.