Across this bountiful isle, many of us are lucky enough to have apple and pear trees in the garden. As winter becomes spring, and we begin to see the appearance of the first new shoots, it’s hard not to feel a sense of anticipation. Then, with April showers, increasing warmth and longer days, things really start to take off, and those shoots become the tasty, sweet delights we all know and love. There’s often a sizeable surplus, which can be turned into jams or jellies; or, if stored properly, can be kept to make a delicious, warming pie or flan during the colder months.
Bad for the Lawn
Of course, it can be hard to keep on top of your crop, and a lot of can end-up on the lawn as windfall. You may think that harmless, but it can in fact be seriously detrimental to the grass, as it blocks light and spreads disease during the decomposition process (plus, if you’re not careful, your mower’s underside could become covered in a sticky, sugary mess!).
Collecting your Windfall
Any windfallen fruit littering the ground is easy to corral using a leaf rake or bow rake, and can then be scooped-up and popped into a wheelbarrow or tractor-mower trailer, before being deposited in the compost bin ready to be recycled back into the garden once it’s rotted down.
Make Sure you Prune!
Another useful fruit-tree trick is to remove any un-dropped crop as the winter sets-in – with the fruit harvested and the leaves now on the ground due to the time of year, you’ll be able have a good look at your tree and see which branches you need to cut back in order to encourage healthy, vigorous growth through the following year.
Up the apples ‘n’ pears, me old china!
