Growing Fruit in England
Battling the elements….
Once again I find myself writing a post during a bleak English summer’s afternoon. Day five of dark skies and prolonged rainfall dampen the spirits as well as the kitchen garden.
It was the same last year, though the rainfall is considerably less it still makes growing anything well much more difficult. I shall leave the plight of my cold and rain hating pumpkins for another post because this is about the state of my fruit cage..
I had high hopes for a glut of English summer fruits this year, for the first time my fruit bushes were fully protected from the invading blackbirds and I inherited a healthy cherry tree. All good, the fruit bushes were transplanted late last autumn and responded remarkably well until they began to fruit. The poor weather has done my currant bushes no favours whatsoever whilst the raspberry canes seem to have given up and gone into hibernation. The only saving grace has been the gooseberry bushes which have produced some excellent fruit. Now these will go towards one of my favourite summer dishes; grilled mackerel with samphire and gooseberries. The combination of the warm mackerel and acidic fruit is incredibly moorish and as soon as I get hold of some mackerel I’ll post an easy recipe.
The cherry tree is full of fruit but I wonder if they will ever fully ripen in another damp squib of an English summer…..
Miles,
I don’t know what sort of cherry tree I have here but it’s more likely to be on the wild side. Nothing much seems to bother it and the birds take all the ripe cherries as soon as they appear and that’s fine with me. I have cropped it in recent years and made jam, the flavour was good but there was more pip than fruit which was it’s downfall in the end.
Since I love mackerel and samphire (it’s in my local shop now) and gooseberries, I shall look forward to that recipe.
Cid
p.s. my own recipe for stuffed gooseberries with mackerel and samphire is tedious but passes the time during the long, damp British summer
July 12, 2008 @ 8:42 am
Cid,
You should taste the ones that have been delivered to my kitchen today-pass the sugar!
Miles
July 12, 2008 @ 2:10 pm
Miles,
.
I love cherries but find them incredibly expensive here. It will be interesting to hear how your cherries develop as I always feared of being too far north here. Do you know which cherry it is? Looking at your photo I am wondering if it is a Piedmont Cherry which, of course, is a light coloured one. Perhaps I am just hoping for you
Elsie
July 12, 2008 @ 6:56 pm
Elsie,
I’ve tried to identify it myself but cannot be certain as to the variety. I know it is still only mid-summer but my point is that without a prolonged period of sunshine the fruits will not develop their flavour. I don’t doubt that the colour will change in due course but what will they taste like?
Miles
July 12, 2008 @ 10:16 pm
Miles
My strawberries have not had much fruit so far. I have just heard from someone on the radio that they think it is all due to the cold and wet weeks and that the bees do not come out to pollinate in the wet.
I recall that you mentioned the bees on an earlier blog and how important they are to us. Perhaps we need to think about having our own bee hives?
Christine
July 13, 2008 @ 8:41 am
Miles,
I remember a few years back looking out of the window to see a swarm of bees swirling around the garden like a storm. They settled on my holly tree and there they stayed for a couple of hours. They looked and sounded like a menacing lot so I phoned a local bee association to ask for advice. The queen decided to leave but a few workers were left behind and the man told me after a couple of days they would die without the rest of the swarm. All in all I imagine bee keeping is not for the feint hearted and isn’t as easy as it looks. Pity though because the bee hives look fabulous in any garden and are an essential part of pollination. A tv programme recently showed a young lad keeping bees on the roof terrace of his urban flat and they thrived so perhaps any of us could try.
Cid
p.s. I would be instantly recognisable with a multi crinolined affair from top to toe, draped with net curtain and hands protected with welding gloves
July 13, 2008 @ 9:57 am
Christine,
An interesting point, I only remarked yesterday as to the shortage of bees this year and wasps though the latter is hardly a tradgedy.
We can but plant bee attracting plants and herbs in the hope of attracting them.
Miles
July 13, 2008 @ 2:08 pm
Cid,
I heared about this lad a few weeks ago, good for him for doing it. I am quite a fan of urban gardening and self sufficiency even though I live in a village in the middle of the countryside!
Miles
July 13, 2008 @ 2:10 pm