Grow It Yourself: Apples Pat Burke
“ The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall ” Che Guevara
Katya), Charles Ross, Worcester Pearmain. It ’ s worthwhile researching a little bit and find out which varieties do best in your own area. The Irish Seed Savers Association in Co. Clare will also be very helpful in recommending their best heritage varieties (irishseedsavers.ie). Apple trees are available as bare root trees until early March. They cost about half the amount compared to containerised plants. Bare root simply means that the trees have been dug up from the nursery, packed in a bag with damp peat. Check out https://futureforests.ie/ collections/irish - heritage - apples for online purchases. Dig a planting hole about 60cm in diameter and about 40cm deep and mix some old garden compost with the existing soil. Drive in the stake firmly and then place the tree next to the stake. Every tree has a pretty face so you should turn it around a few times to see where it looks best. The stake should be on the side of the prevailing wind. When you plant make sure that the soil level is like it was in the nursery. You should never bury the grafting union. First loosely fill the soil around and make sure it fills all spaces. Every now and again firm the soil with your heels. When finished fix a tie near the top of the stake. Mulch the soil around the tree with garden compost in early spring and prune in winter to keep a desired shape and allow air to circulate around the inner branches. Doing this will help avoid two common diseases of scab and canker and make it possible to grow apple trees organically. Article material sourced from https://giy.ie/archive/ growing - apples1.html About Rush GIY Pat Burke helped establish Rush GIY (Grow It Yourself) in 2012 and advocates the growing of food at home, in allotments and community gardens. Rush GIY promotes a healthier, more sustainable, and more connected world where people grow their own food. This promotes community resilience in a future with declining fossil fuel resources and climate breakdown. Join our email list or get more information by contacting rushgiy@gmail.com or visit https://www.facebook.com/RushGIY/
With apologies to Che Guevara, the revolution I have in mind is one where the whole country starts to demand Irish apples rather than the imported varieties. 95% of apples sold in Ireland are imported even though our climate is perfect for growing them in sufficient quantities and variety. Worse still, the supermarkets purchase from large - scale growers who are thousands of miles from Ireland. So while the apple tree absorbs carbon, the apple itself racks up a lot of carbon miles and arrives in your basket wrapped in plastic. While we wait for that revolution, perhaps we can start our own by planting an apple tree. Now is a great time of year to do it. If you choose good varieties, a suitable rootstock and plant them properly you will get delicious fruits for many years – with hardly any work. You can ’ t just have a single apple tree – you need a suitable partner for pollination. Don ’ t forget your neighbour may already have an apple tree or there may be a wild crab apple nearby that will do the job. Failing that, just make sure to purchase two trees that flower at around the same time of year. There are three pollination groups: A, B and C (A being the earliest flowering and C the latest flowering types). Golden Delicious, Gala or Cox ’ s Orange Pippin don ’ t perform well in Ireland and are very susceptible to scab and need to be sprayed regularly with a fungicide. Better to seek out Discovery, Katy (or
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