Tuesday 21 December 2010

Minus & Miners...

Well as the temperature dropped to -10c last night, the last apples prepared this morning were quite solid, but went through the scratter okay. These are the 15lbs of crabs for just a gallon of single variety (I call them P.O.W - as the nearest pub to their location is the Prince of Wales) these could turn out to be a good 'cider apple' as they have a good mix of suitable properties. If this batch works I'll be tempted to try some grafting, or maybe see if I can't peg down a branch or two to root - the idea being to source and preserve some good original Derbyshire cider fruits! In this way I can perhaps gather together some of the better crabs and find good locations (ideally not too far from a layby or car park) where access is not too difficult, for my old age... lol.
I'd be 'shot down' somewhat to send a few off to Brogdale at some later date only to discover that they are a recognised variety anyway! Most unlikely though, but not impossible, as they could have been planted with 'remaindered' nursery trees as a roadside screen...
It's interesting to note that some stretches of road have more wilds than others - I like to think that an 'apple-a-day' enthusiast has discarded their cores on a regular basis, perhaps miners on their way to or from work, or maybe school kids - Johnny Appleseed characters or what?

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