As you will be aware if you follow Martyn's blog we try and leave the quinces on the tree for as long as possible but with threats of possible frost these fruits have now been picked.
Some were already going brown and rot was setting in so I had to try to process them quickly. As Martyn mentioned the fruits are extremely hard so I was ready for a tough time. In the event it turned out to be disappointing as when peeled many of the fruits had brown spots throughout the flesh which I think is bitter pit disease which can affect apples, pears and quinces. Reading up on this, it seems the cause is similar to the cause of blossom end rot in tomatoes - an irregular water supply - so another casualty of our erratic weather.
The plot tomatoes have also been picked off and those that are still green are still trying to ripen.
In the garden our Issai kiwi has disappointed once again. This year it didn't suffer a spider mite attack, which is typical as I was ready for it, but the fruits are tiny. I know they are meant to produce miniature fruits but there is miniature and there is minute.
We did taste one and the jury is out on the taste at the moment. Has anyone grown an Issai that has produced decent sized fruit?
The Nimrod grapes in the garden greenhouse are a match on size and infinitely better tasting.
Also in the garden greenhouse some of the sweet peppers are now ripe and ready for picking. Not many fruits here but in many ways they suffer from competition from the tomatoes, not in space etc but with respect to the time and attention devoted to their care. That is partly down to the tomato plants blocking access for watering.
One type of fruit still left on the tree is the medlar. The tree grows in the garden and was really planted as an ornamental. To be honest we really aren't all that bothered about picking the fruits.
Once we did make medlar jelly but medlars do tend to confuse us a bit - I wonder whether the birds would enjoy them?
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Mixed results there. I think those lovely grapes make up for the things which haven't done so good though.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's just a typical gardening year, Jo - some you win and some you lose!
DeleteWhat a shame about the Quinces suffering from Bitter Pit. My apples get that (if they deign to produce any fruit, that is). I try very hard to water my fruit trees enough, but I seem to fail every time.
ReplyDeleteI bought some Medlar "cheese" at our Farmer's Market a couple of months ago, but it seemed pretty insipid. I was hoping for something distinctive, but it just tasted of sugar.
Our quince is in open ground on the plot where we very rarely water established trees, Mark. We can never decide at what point bletting becomes rotten!
DeleteThose grapes are massive! I have one solitary medlar on my tree, which happens to be adjacent to the bird feeders. If any medlar was going to be enjoyed by birds, it's this one! I will keep an eye on it.
ReplyDeleteWe have lots of medlars this year so I hope the birds do like them, Crystal as we are unimpressed!
DeleteWhat a super haul of fruits you have there Sue. I've never tried quince so I'd love to hear how it tasted.
ReplyDeleteThose grapes are astounding. I'm hoping to grow a vine next year in the polytunnel :)
Another thing I've never grown with any success is peppers - I think I may have another go next year though.
Quince are really delicious, Linda and have a sort of honey taste.
DeleteWhat a shame about the bitter pit - I have (or did have at the plot) a Golden Delicious that suffered the same fate every year - I always blamed it on the high nitrogen from the hen poo when I kept them.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't have bitter pit last year, Elaine but had a smaller crop so I was hoping for good things this year
DeleteI have never seen quinces and issai kiwi before. They look so interesting for me. Maybe you would tell me more about your last picture. Thank you for sharing
ReplyDeleteThe last picture is a medlar, Endah. If you go to See this page on my website it tells you about medlars
DeleteYou seem to have had mixed results Sue. It would be nice to think that the Medlar didn't go to waste and some critter or other will enjoy your efforts.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame your Kiwi was disappointment - I hope it improves next year for you.
I hope it improves next year too, Angie or it may end up on the plot rather than being pampered in the garden.
DeleteInteresting haul of fruit. I love quinces, sorry about the bitte pit, hope it does better next year.. I have never heard of that variety of kiwi before, sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteIssai kiwi are sometimes called kiwi berries, Sharon
DeleteSue, I grow fruit like your Issai kiwi, we call it Actinidia, or new Zealand kiwi (it's tree-climber). The fruit are small and very sweet, tasty. I do not cook them, we eat the berries from the tree.I love your tomatoes, mine are red as well.
ReplyDeleteI have a post and photos of Actinidia here:
http://northern-garden.blogspot.ru/2012/10/small-and-tasty-fruit.html
So are my fruits as big as they are likely to get Nadezda?
DeleteWhat a shame about the quince, but as you say the weather has been unpredictable but at least not as bad as last year. The toms and pepper look good, I hope they all ripen. My chilies are only just turning red now.xxxx
ReplyDeleteI think the problem may have been too much rain followed by too little, Snowbird.
DeleteOur winters are too cold for medlars and quinces. We do have Japanese quinces though and they have time to ripen. The fruit has such a nice smell. I remember carrying a Japanese quince in my pocket in autumn when I walked to work and I would take it out and smell it every now and them. It kept its perfume for weeks. The grapes are magnificent.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise quince and medlar weren't as tough as apples, Alain,The smell of a qunice is lovely
DeleteWhat a shame about your quinces, they looked so promising. The tomatoes, grapes and peppers look great though. Lovely to see you are still harvesting things. All I have left are a few dodgy raspberries and a bit of old basil.
ReplyDeleteThey did look promising which mafe it all the more disappointing, CJ
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