Mundane News

[Reynard]

Perfect for chutney then?

Wouldn't recommend it - unless you like a really sour chutney...

Have tried making both morello cherry and gooseberry chutneys respectively, and they are truly bleurgh...

 

[Reynard]

I have a Victoria plum tree. Always full of blossom but the end result varies between branch breaking laden and half a dozen!! No idea why, but each year is an exercise in eager anticipation!!
(Last year was dire!)

Last year was dire for stone fruit in general. I had the grand total of *ONE* apricot... I had a reasonable crop of Bigarreau cherries, but they didn't keep once picked. Had a couple of crumbles' worth of Victoria plums, but they weren't great.

 

[Speicher]

Sounds either like Damsons or Bullaces... If they stay rock hard when ripe, then they're most likely Bullaces. Damsons on the other hand, while mostly inedible, make fabulous jam

They are damsons. When I say they are at the end of my garden, they are about 12 inches beyond my garden fence. They are the remains of an Orchard that used to be here. I can reach whatever I need from within my garden, and sometimes people come along the footpath at the edge of the field, and they are welcome to have those they can reach. My next door neighbour uses the method that Olive growers use. He spreads out a very large cloth on the ground under the trees and shakes the plums off.

 

[Reynard]

Then I suggest you make jam. Damson jam is soooooo gooooood Believe me, it's well worth the effort. Then you'll want to make some scones to eat with it...

I have a damson tree in my garden just so's I can make jam, as damsons are a) expensive to buy and b) increasingly difficult to find in shops and on the market. I think that's down to the fact that they are a cooking plum - they cannot be eaten raw.

 

[Haitch]

Cycling through Germany last summer, we stopped under a cherry tree, ostensibly to shelter from a little drizzle, and stripped it of the cherrytasckiest cherries imaginable.

 

[Reynard]

Hah! A couple of summers ago, I caught this Polish lorry driver stopped by the side of the road, leaning out of his cab and helping himself to my Bigarreau cherries over the fence... It was irritating, but also rather funny.

That's because most people think that yellow cherries are inedible, but in fact they're lovely and sweet.

 

[hopless500]

I've got two cherry trees. Never had a cherry off 'em yet. They appear and start to think about ripening and then they disappear overnight.

 

[Reynard]

I've got two cherry trees. Never had a cherry off 'em yet. They appear and start to think about ripening and then they disappear overnight.

Ah yes, that...

Hence the morellos and the bigarreau cherries here... The birds ignore the former because they're somewhat sour, and they tend to stay away from the latter because they're yellow. When they're very ripe, the bigarreaus eventually turn pink, and then the entire local pigeon population descends on the cherries that I've left on the tree because I can't reach them.

The ordinary red cherry tree (can't remember variety) got cut down years ago because I never had a single cherry off it thanks to the birds.

 

[hopless500]

Ah yes, that...

Hence the morellos and the bigarreau cherries here... The birds ignore the former because they're somewhat sour, and they tend to stay away from the latter because they're yellow. When they're very ripe, the bigarreaus eventually turn pink, and then the entire local pigeon population descends on the cherries that I've left on the tree because I can't reach them.

The ordinary red cherry tree (can't remember variety) got cut down years ago because I never had a single cherry off it thanks to the birds.

My two are Morello and summat else. Can't remember the name offhand - but it's another red one.

 

[Reynard]

My two are Morello and summat else. Can't remember the name offhand - but it's another red one.

Stella is a pretty common variety.

It took a couple of years for the birds to figure out that the morellos are inedible. The little blighters used to peck them off the tree and then drop them on the ground. Now they leave them well enough alone.

Is netting your trees a viable option?

 

[hopless500]

Stella is a pretty common variety.

It took a couple of years for the birds to figure out that the morellos are inedible. The little blighters used to peck them off the tree and then drop them on the ground. Now they leave them well enough alone.

Is netting your trees a viable option?

Stella it is
I did wonder about netting but it would be pretty difficult to achieve tbh.

 

[postman]

I kid you not.Postman has a white mark on his wrist where his watch sits.My word two days doing jobs in the garden and i have tan lines.The driveway looks great.There was a lot of weeds,but that is not my fault.The Consultant told me no hard work last year,and i obeyed.
I did not mortar between the slabs i put fine gravel and builders sand in.It will have to come up and be done by a pro in the near future,but it looks tidier.

 

[postman]

Next job on my list.Parts of the outside .Gutters need cleaning,then the facia boards, down pipes,security gates,garage woodwork,the garden shed all need painting.A bit of sunshine and i go mad.

 

[Speicher]

I have been out collecting up and chopping up the last of the buddliea prunings. I have two very large and two medium buddliea so they need a lot of pruning. The bits that could be cut by secateurs easily are now in the compost bin.

The thicker ones are in a neat pile, awaiting the construction of the Insect Hotel. There are about twelve bricks to make the sides and middle of the hotel.

The patio is also much tidier, but I got very wet as I was determined to continue in the rain. When we get some warm and sunny weather, I will enjoy sitting out on a reasonably tidy patio.

 

[hopless500]

It was supposed to be sunny this afternoon. The sun came out (ish) for all of 2 miles of my 19 mile ride home