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.
As we enjoy a week in Wiltshire, this week's Journal will be a bit of a mixed bag!
My wife and I + our dog, are currently enjoying a break in Wiltshire, looking after my brother & sister in law's home & dog while they spend a week on a yacht sailing up the coast of Croatia!
Uk apple growers grow many delicious apples, but Gala is the number one in volume sales!
As we move from August into September the apple picking season really takes off!
It's a while since The EAM visited Jeremy Lindsell's Braisworth Orchards in Suffolk but my 3 hour drive from the Sussex coast was well worth it!
The 2018 apple season is underway; albeit with limited supplies of early apples like Discovery. UK Plums are in the early stages of the season with Opal the first to be available on Supermarket shelves.
This week The English Apple Man has been in East Anglia visiting three fruit growers with quite different approaches to growing and marketing. Having arrived back home today at 4.15pm, this week's Journal will reflect on some of the areas of interest The EAM identified at the rcent Fruit Focus 2018.
It's that time of the year when orchard competitions add interest to the summer as a precursor to the new season which is now only weeks away.
On Tuesday The English Apple Man joined circa 100 attendees at Fruit Science Live held at Brogdale Farm, sponsored by ICL with trial work carried out by FAST Technical personnel.
On Wednesday after an early start, The English Apple Man spent the day at Fruit Focus an annual event highlighting the latest developments in fruit and viticulture.
As we move closer to August, the weather forecast does not promise any general rain, some sporadic thunderstorms, many of which will only produce flash flooding and fail to soak the soil in gardens and production areas. Today, here on the Sussex Coast a welcome few hours of 'gentle drizzle' cooled
The hot weather has influenced the ripening of soft fruit and cherries, potentially shortening the harvesting period of each variety. Lack of rain has made Cherry harvesting easier with no fears of splitting caused by rain, however the high temperatures may be responsible for a reduced crop.
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!