The Journal gives a weekly update on events in our English apple orchards, using pictures and video clips to follow seasonal activities and giving the consumer a level of detail not available from any other source.
All aspects of growing, harvesting, storage, grading, packing and marketing are included enabling consumers to understand the challenges English growers face in supplying our sophisticated market place.
More from last week's National Fruit Show
Chairman Nigel Bardsley and President Catherine Paice welcome NFU President Tom Bradshaw to the NFS.
With the Government doing their best to renege on pre-election promises, it is appropriate that the new NFU President attends and opens the 2024 show. The tradition of a 'high profile' guest continues; last year NFU President Anette Batters opened the show, in 2022 Her Royal Highness Sophie Countess of Wessex (now The Duchess of Edinburgh) honoured the show and in 2021 NFU President Anette Batters performed the opening ceremony.
On Wednesday 6th November the 91st Anniversary Annual Fruit Show took place at The Kent Event Centre at Maidstone in Kent
Following the challenges faced by the fruit industry in recent season and the impact on last year's 90th Anniversary Show, this year's show was a smaller show but as always the Show Fruit Competition was at the heart of this one day event.
The show was opened by Tom Bradshaw, President of the National Farmers Union, who gave a keynote speech and toured the show, meeting with fruit growers and industry leaders.
The National Fruit Show is organised by growers, for growers, and showcases the finest British apples, pears, and nuts with a large display at the centre of the show.
Nigel Bardsley, chairman of the National Fruit Show, welcomed guests to the show. He said: "Despite the challenges of the British weather, there is a good crop of fruit, which is tasting and looking good and coloured.
Below: Tom Bradshaw with Helen Whatley Conservative MP for Faversham & Mid Kent
NFU President Tom Bradshaw opened the 2024 National Fruit Show maintaining the support for the annual show and following Minette Batters the previous NFU President who opened the 2023 show.
Below: Best in Show Winner - Jazz entry from Chandler & Dunn
As we enter November, our apple harvesting continues with the later maturing varieties still being picked, and the annual National Fruit Show set for next Wednesday 6th November,
Below: left. Most growers are near the end of apple harvest and right. NFS show fruit display
The National Fruit Show has been a part of my life for more than 50 years, and after the difficulties of the last few years, it will be a new approach this year with a slimmed down 'one day' show.
Click on The National Fruit Show 2024
Last week The English Apple Man featured a few new apple varieties and this week we will look at the history of Scarlett Paradise, Zingy R, and Kissabel
My regular readers will have an understanding of the importance in todays market place of Trade Marked varieties. The two leading Club varieties in British Supermarkets are Pink Lady and Jazz both excellent apples with dynamic marketing support.
The battle to breed and deliver new varieties with 'a point of difference' is an ongoing 'Global' obsession
"Consumers buy with their eyes and then repeat purchase happens because they have a good taste and texture experience."
While our UK growers are still busy picking this year's crop, new season apples and pears are appearing on Supermarket shelves
The National Fruit Show 2024 is less than four weeks away!
The National Fruit Show will be a 'one day' event to be held on Wednesday 6th November.
The English Apple Man published this news after the NFS AGM held back in April
Click on: National Fruit Show AGM 2024
Since then, NFS Chairman Nigel Bardsley and his team have been organising the 2024 show in it's new format.
In this week's Journal and 'Courtesy of Kelsey Media' an Editorial by South East Farmer Editor Malcolm Triggs features an 'up to date' account of Nigel Bardsley's plans for this year's National Fruit Show
South East Farmer is the region's favourite farming magazine. 45,000 farmers, growers and allied traders read the magazine each month in the counties of Kent, Sussex, Essex, Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
In Part 2 The English Apple Man will look at the measures taken to create a globally successful Apple Brand.
Presentations by Florient GUIDAT and Jan BUTER will explain some of the key actions taken to establish and maintain JAZZ TM as a leading branded apple variety globally and Worldwide Fruit Ltd development 'specific' to the UK.
Florient GUIDAT - 'Special Projects Manager at DALIVAL his role for T&G is to manage T&G' varieties plant material in Europe - more than 3 millions trees Commercial varieties since 2003
Jan Buter a Supply & Continuous Improvement Technician at T&G Global - CI in the Orchard - What is Continuous Improvement?
"The process of analysing performance, Identifying opportunities, and making incremental changes to products, processes and personnel
AND a summary by The English Apple Man of elements not 'fully featured in this Journal
In mid August The English Apple Man was invited by Worldwide Fruit Ltd to a JAZZ TM Symposium celebrating the progress of this variety as a leader of the trademarked apple varieties on a National and Global stage.
As the Symposium was very comprehensive, I intend to recount it in two parts.
JAZZ TM Symposium Part 1
The event was held at Howfield Manor in Kent at the heart of WFL's UK based operations.
This was a poignant event for me as in the last years of my working life at Worldwide Fruit Ltd I was involved in the early establishment of Jazz in the UK.
From those early steps, WFL has progressed JAZZ TM to be one of the most successful apple varieties in the market and one which delivers satisfaction equally to the consumer and grower alike.
The English Apple Man Comments
Back in the early 1990's Pink Lady became the first Club apple and set the scene for developing Jazz as the next 'kid on the block'
JAZZ TM - The original cross was made between Royal Gala and Braeburn and the variety named Scifresh in 1985 on trees at Goddard Lane, Havelock North, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. It launched commercially in April 2004.
The formula for a successful Club Apple requires 'first of all' a high quality apple delivering very attractive appearance, perfect texture and juicy distinctive taste, AND global control of production and marketing:
The climate must allow a long growing season.
To achieve the stringent formula, only growers able to consistently deliver these objectives were chosen.
Licences are only offered to growers who could match the specification.
This week Ali Capper and her colleagues at British Apples & Pears Ltd hosted a meeting at The Barnyard at Gore Farm Upchurch
The Barnyard - Gore Farm Upchurch
"It is a pleasure to be able to welcome you all (our retailers, Defra, NFU, the media, our local MP, our Board and Promotions Committee) to this beautiful part of Kent, to the AC Goatham & Son business, to British orchards right in the middle of our harvest.
I have a few things to cover before we take a walk up the hill to look at a stunning view of British apple orchards.
We have exciting news to share today on the winner of British Apples & Pears awards for Supermarket of the year and Most Improved Supermarket of the year.
While The English Apple Man took some of the photographs in today's Journal, many were taken by my friend Martin Apps of Countrywide Photographic. See link for Martin at bottom of Journal.
Healthy people and Healthy plants
The health of 'homo sapiens' and 'plant life' are equally enhanced by a well nourished diet!
A good start makes a significant difference: good seed quality is the key start in life!
"Way back (50-60 years ago) I was farming with my father and we started to use Maxicrop as a foliar feed. Initially due to the persuasion of an old school (Judd at Tonbridge) friend of Dad's - one Dennis Longhurst, and after several visits and leaning on the 'old school friend' personna, "Dad ordered some" - well I was still using Maxicrop when I sold up and started a new life in the 1990's"
The benefits of foliar feed was clear then, and since then many more foliar feeds have become available and now sophisticated biostimulants have been developed 'stimulating' the efficient uptake of nutrients.
In this week's Journal my friend Mike Stoker who has been involved in the technical aspects/benefits of plant nutrients & Biostimulants for more than 20 years, reviews the products of ORION.
This page initially shows the latest journals. You can use a journal's link to view the full story.
It is now much easier to find a particular journal of interest. Just type your search terms into the search box or select the month and/or year and click Submit.
I have completed the process of reworking my entire archive of journal pages into the style of the new website to make them more accessible to users of mobile phones etc.
Although the content now adapts to the size of the display, some of the archived journals still have photographs that won't fit and so get cropped. Archived journals are best viewed on a computer screen!