In article ,
Jeff Layman wrote:
On 25/07/2014 11:10, Bob Hobden wrote:
"Jeff Layman" wrote ...

Following on from the recent thread of apricot growing on the IOW....

There was a short article on "Farming Today" this morning, with an
interview of a commercial grower of apricots in Kent. He expects to get
around 15 tons this year and wants to increase this to 200 tons. When asked
if he knew of any other growers, he said he thought that there were a
couple in the West Midlands, but didn't mention the IOW.

So it looks like it may be worth investigating apricots for a garden crop,
even if you don't have a warm wall to grow them against.


Only if you don't suffer from late frosts because that is what stops them
cropping, damages the flowers and no insects to pollinate.
We had a beautiful one on our allotments, not my plot unfortunately, but it
cropped so profusely that one year it split itself in half and the Council
took it out.

Looks like milder winters and later springs are the answer:
http://thefoodpeople.co.uk/news/hist...stry-starts-up

Well, sort-of. It's not that simple. Very little set on my peach
this year, because the direly long and wet winter meant that there
were essentially no insects around when it flowered. Apricots do,
too.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.