General waffle LOL!

Gardening to 'grow your own food' from square foot to half an acre !!
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Sejjie70
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General waffle LOL!

Post by Sejjie70 »

Getting back to fruit & veg gardening after a year of doing nothing (for various reasons) & the 3 years before that becoming more hit & miss as time went by...

Strawberries seem to be ok (at least the few I've discovered under the invading brambles & goosegrass as I get the garden cleared after a year of neglect are looking good), the redcurrant & blackcurrant bushes are strong & healthy (apart from the poor thing on the end that all 3 dogs chewed on before I had chance to fence them off), the 2 gooseberry bushes I have left seem to be thriving (the others were lawnmowered into oblivion by an over-enthusiastic 13 year old) & 2 of the 3 apple trees bought from Aldi early last year (a Cox's Orange Pippin & a Braeburn) seem to be doing well. The Bramley I bought at the same time looked to be doing well last year, but looks to have died off (brittle, easily snapped branches, no buds). Was going to dig it out & replace it, but as I was clearing around it I found shoots with buds on coming out low down on the trunk, so have left it for now. Am assuming the top of the tree (so all last years growth) has died off, so have been wondering about cutting it back - haven't done yet, but was wondering if anyone here had any advice?

The 2 other fruit tree seedlings/saplings I had (a mulberry & a crab apple) are also now non-existant thanks to a combination of the dogs & the over-enthusiastic mower. Will be replacing the crab apple & am hoping to add a plum tree or 2 to my fruit tree collection (was thinking of Marjories Seedling in memory of my mother-in-law - I already have a rhubarb in memory of my Gran, a gooseberry bush in memory of my Dad, a redcurrant in memory of my uncle, a blackcurrant in memory of my Grandad & the crab apple was in memory of my Nan - I have fond memories of each of them so having something in the garden that was a fav of theirs seems a fitting memorial in a way as I don't get chance to visit their place of rest as often as I'd like).

Have a couple of new gooseberry bushes to get in & am planning on a couple more red & blackcurrants. A friend has bought me an outdoor grape too. Wasn't sure where to have it, but was thinking of leaving the old greenhouse frame where it was (it's aluminium) & maybe letting the grape grow up/along it... either that or the wrought iron garden arch the new neighbours want to get rid of...
Sarah.
Mum to 1 hubby, 4 children, 3 Springer Spaniels (Max, Millie & Buttons), 2 cats (Sox & Frankie), 2 rabbits (Crunchie & Munchie), 12 chickens (Target, Speckle, Barbara, Margot, EggieII, Gomez, Sparkle, Glitter, Wednesday & Isabel), 3 geese (Lister, Smeg & Camille) & 4 ducks (Soup, Anya, Marble & Vindaloo).
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Mo
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Re: General waffle LOL!

Post by Mo »

I like that idea of planting fruit in memory.
Glad your 13yr old 'helps' you!
Are the shoots on the Bramley coming from the trunk or from the ground below the graft? If they are from the rootstock you'll get a crab-apple type. We had a Chivers apple that seemed to die but new growth came on it and it recovered.

I enjoy my fruit garden. It seems less work than veg. or maybe picking is more rewarding than digging and weeding so you don't notice. There are some little fruits forming on the gooseberry. I don't think we'll get much soft fruit this year - it was a bumper year last year and the only way we could pick it and escape the wasps was by giving it an overdue and ruthless pruning, then picking indoor. And OH was fairly ruthless with the apples & pears too - as long as we get enough for us I don't mind, last year I had people from Freecycle coming to pick.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
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Sejjie70
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Re: General waffle LOL!

Post by Sejjie70 »

Thanks Mo - looks like the shoots are coming from below ground so looking like a crab apple. Shame really, but as I wanted to have a total of 2 crab apples it's not a complete loss.

Been more busy trying to reclaim the strawberry bed & get the new veg garden started (no mean feat as the area's so overgrown with nettles, brambles, dandelion & dock) so most of the fruit's being left to its own devices at the mo (though I have bought some gooseberry & blackcurrant bushes that were being sold off cheap because they were half dead - they've been having a good soak & have perked up so will be going in later today).
Sarah.
Mum to 1 hubby, 4 children, 3 Springer Spaniels (Max, Millie & Buttons), 2 cats (Sox & Frankie), 2 rabbits (Crunchie & Munchie), 12 chickens (Target, Speckle, Barbara, Margot, EggieII, Gomez, Sparkle, Glitter, Wednesday & Isabel), 3 geese (Lister, Smeg & Camille) & 4 ducks (Soup, Anya, Marble & Vindaloo).
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