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.
This week The English Apple Man visited a number of orchards in full bloom, but via my armchair as BAPL grower members have been allowing me access to their 'BAPL Orchard Watch' files. Beautiful blossom at various stages and a prolific be activity enhance these special pictures
Over the last few weeks, the cold but sunny weather has coaxed the apple and pear blossom from bud burst towards blossom time. In years past, this process was fairly uniform. The main variety was Cox and other varieties were of a similar development stage.
Today the divergence of varieties reach blossom time at different stages: e.g. Braeburn in advance of Gala and then Cox. There are many more.....
But always Pear before Apple
Speaking to an East Kent grower today, he confirmed his variety spread has the early flowering varieties well into full bloom and late flowering varieties at early stage of bloom.
While most apple farms are/were founded by families, some have grown to become multi million pound enterprises. This week The EAM visited Victoria Farm at Hadlow in Kent created by Peter and Gina Kedge on a modest parcel of land owned by her father and developed over 30 years into what is now 65 hectares of modern orchards on several sites bought by Peter & Gina over the years.
I was attracted to Peter and Gina by parallels with my own background which was also of a similar model, very much a family farm of which I was the third generation. Like Victoria Farm we grew, stored and packed our apples on farm and marketed through a marketing group to Sainsbury and Tesco.
Peter and Gina now joined by their youngest daughter Jessica have grown their apple farming business but increased it from an initially small base into an area circa 150 - 200 acres. Their two other daughters; Isobel and Lucy are currently making their lives in Wales and Bournemouth respectively.
Below: from the Victoria Farm website
Victoria Farm Ltd is a family owned fruit growing company established over 30 years ago at its present location in Hadlow, Nr Tonbridge in the beautiful countryside of Kent. We grow many varieties of apples including Gala, Bramley, Cameo, Cox, Braeburn, September Wonder, Cheerfull Gold, Russet, Red Windsor etc. Usual picking season is approximately August to November and packing is August until April.
We have a dedicated modern top fruit packhouse with full BRC accreditation and all fruit is grown to the red tractor standard.
Following on from last week's Journal featuring The Marden Fruit Show Society AGM, this week we feature British Apples and Pears AGM
The English Apple Man Comments: We (the apple and pear industry) have endured an increasingly challenging period over the last 2-3 years, but Ali Capper and her team at BAPL have honed an already progressive vehicle into a comprehensive organisation supporting our British Apple and Pear Industry.
Below: Ali Capper, executive chair of BAPL, & Guest speaker Robbie Moore, MP.
BAPL was delighted to share the day with friends and colleagues from the National Fruit Show. The National Fruit Show held its AGM first, followed by a guest speaker and then BAPL ran its AGM. Many attendees joined for all three sessions.
The guest speaker was Defra shadow minister, Robbie Moore. Robbie spoke about the concerns he shares with growers.
Specifically, he talked about the Land Use Framework Consultation, IHT and changes to compulsory purchase powers. Robbie stressed his belief that food security should be at the heart of Defra. In addition to sharing his thoughts, Robbie also answered questions from growers at the AGM. He stayed all morning and listened to concerns, also making practical suggestions to help.
Robert Peter Moore is a British Conservative Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Keighley and Ilkley, formerly Keighley, in West Yorkshire since the 2019 general election. He has been Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since July 2024.
In the BAPL AGM, Ali Capper provided an update on the extensive activities in the last financial year (August 2023 to July 2024). This included:
The output of a strategic review into the future activity of BAPL, including the strongly positive feedback from members about current activities. R&D highlights. The extensive retail and government advocacy work. An update on export activities
An overview of the crop and sales to date (September 2024 to February 2025). Social media reach performance up 147% on 2023. Website visitors up 48% on 2023. Huge success with the OrchardWatch social media posts sharing a fascinating look inside our growers' orchards
The great start of season promotional work from several retailers to get behind British at this crucial time.
The plans for 2025, which include working with retailers to ensure we see new season apples on TV and celebrated in store and online
With this ongoing sunny weather, all plant life is moving rapidly and our fruit trees changing daily as apples move from budburst rapidly to green cluster and now pink bud.
This week the English Apple Man joined members of the apple and pear community at the Annual General Meetings of je Marden Fruit Show and British Apples and Pears at The Mumford Building at East Malling as NIAB provided the location for these two leading organisations as we enter another year of British Apples.
In this week's Journal we will report primarily on the Marden Fruit Show Society who organise The National Fruit Show
Below: Sainsburys apple display with British apples and pears available
It seems only a while ago that the British Apple and Pear season started and here we are approaching the end of March.
The English Apple Man visited a few Supermarkets in my vicinity to appraise the presence of home grown apples and pears.
In days gone by (30-40 years ago) the UK season was drawing to a close by the end of March as Cox our main variety exhausted its storage life. Cox from New Zealand arrived followed by Gala Braeburn and other varieties from the antipodeans.
Growing husbandry and modern storage have enabled 'home grown' varieties like; Gala, Braeburn, Cameo, Smitten, Kanzi & Jazz to extend our sales into May, June and July.
The English Apple Man bought Kanzi, Smitten, Cameo, Jazz & Royal Gala for tasting and all were of good quality, and all with firm texture indicating plenty of shelf life for the consumer.
Nice to see more sunshine and some real warmth, if only occasionally.
This morning (Friday) my wife and I popped into see our son for a coffee and I advised him on some minor pruning of his espalier apple trees. The tree format was changed from a centre leader to espalier in 2019 when he moved the trees from the front of house to a much more suitable and sunnier site in the back garden.
While the trees are not a 'perfect Espalier format' they are doing well and have been producing superb quality apples over the last few years. We are now trying to maximise the fruiting area (buds) while keeping vegetative growth under control, with late winter and summer pruning!
Classic Espalier format
Interesting results published on the British Apples and Pears website, confirms the nutritional benefits of eating apples and pears as part of a healthy diet.
New scientific research reveals that apples and pears are in the top five for nutritional quality. They truly are a superfood.
We all know that fruit and vegetables are good for us, but some pack a bigger nutritional punch than others.
The research, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, looked at people in three cohort studies in the US and conducted biomarker analysis on more than 41,000 participants.
Of the 52 fruit and vegetable items assessed by scientists, 19 were identified as high-metabolic quality, with apples and pears in the top five. To our mind, this really makes them a superfood.
The study found that the higher the intake of high-metabolic quality fruit and veg, like apples and pears, the lower the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
We hear a lot about the health benefits of eating fruit and vegetables, but this new study also highlights the importance of eating the right quality as well as quantity of fruit and vegetables.
This research confirms what many have always known - an apple a day really does keep the doctor away.
The more high-quality fruit and vegetables - like apples and pears - we can eat, the lower our chances of getting a serious disease.
Spring is in the air, at least the weather this week suggests we are on the threshold and fruit buds moving from the dormant stage to bud swelling. Conference Pears are showing signs of swelling and some growers have started spraying their first fungicide round of the season.
In my days growing apples in Kent, this time of the year was one of hope and anticipation. One of the important factors in the development of fruit bud quality is the winter chill hours trees/fruit buds are subject to.
It is amazing how us apple growers can get so 'euphoric' about the sight of fruit buds!
Broadly speaking each variety has it's own requirement. Cox is different to Gala etc.
If the tree does not get enough chill hours, it hasn't had enough dormancy. Without sufficient dormancy, it cannot conserve enough energy to use for fruiting. In dormancy the fruit bud builds quality which will make it more likely to set a strong apple.
Remember, fruiting takes a lot of energy! We all perform better after a good sleep!
This winter accumulated chill hours (0C - + 7C) are adequate and slightly higher than any of the last five years.
The weather has taken a pleasant turn for the better this week, so hopefully it's 'onwards and upwards'
British Apples & Pears Limited (BAPL) R&D meeting 2025.
With colleagues from Niab, the BAPL research and development team hosted a full day of presentations from researchers and experts to share the latest in crop protection technologies and approaches.
More than 80 people joined in person, with a further 150 people joining via the live online webinar.
The meeting took place in Kent on 10th February 2025 and was open to members of BAPL who pay a levy to support this vital R&D work, as well as other interested parties and colleagues from Niab.
In todays world apple growers have less weapons at their disposal for dealing with troublesome pests. Ingenuity and science are the answer. The skills of scientists at NIAB and industry experts search for an environmentally safe answer.
This week The English Apple Man continues with more information from last week's BAPL Niab research meeting
Below: Rachel McGauley - Overview of how BAPL research is supporting apple and pear growers, reviewing the BAPL research programme which she manages
Overview of how BAPL research is supporting apple and pear growers (Rachel McGauley
British Apples & Pears Limited (BAPL) is a grower-funded, not-for-profit organisation that represents all commercial apple and pear growers in the UK.
BAPL activities include industry representation, government liaison, data gathering and consumer awareness raising and promotion.
The organisation also funds much-needed research and development to protect our wonderful crop. 
BAPL Board
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