Crop and Weather Summary

November

November was a generally quiet month, generally more anticyclonic than a 'normal' November but with a couple of notable unsettled periods either side of mid-month with mean temperatures ranging from close to average across part of Kent. The month began with several warm days, but from the 12th onwards the weather was often rather cold with widespread night frosts. Most parts of England and Wales were less than 0.5°C warmer than average and much of November was dry but there was one very wet spell between the 17th and 21st, and rain also fell widely on the 30th. Averaged over England and Wales, the month's total rainfall was 74mm which was 27 per cent below the average.

All crops have now been harvested, and we finished picking Braeburn last week in November.
We are now in the post harvest stage, where replanting and clearing up will take place over the next few months. All Top Fruit crops will now be pruned

English Braeburn apples

English Braeburn – a variety once thought impossible to grow in the cold English climate, has proven very successful and is producing higher volumes year on year. Few years ago Paul Mansfield saw the potential in growing English Braeburn and now with 162,837 trees in the ground on over 185 acres, he is one of the biggest Braeburn growers in UK. Braeburn is a first class desert apple which has a unique combination of sweet and tart flavour. It is believed to have been discovered as a chance seedling in New Zealand in 1950s, possibly a cross between Granny Smith and Lady Hamilton apples. It is thought that its name probably comes from the Braeburn Orchards, where it was first grown commercially. The texture of the Braeburn is crisp, firm (without being too hard), and juicy- it snaps cleanly with every bite, realising a rich apple flavour- refreshing and sharp with a good balance of sweetness. It is a late season apple picked in late October until mid November and has a long storage life. It is great for snacks and salads, its eating qualities make it adaptable for cooking as well as fresh use. The future of the English Braeburn looks even brighter as over the next few years more and more will become available. As reported earlier this season we were very excited and looking forward to a bumper crop because of the warm spring and the wet summer but unfortunately on few of our sites we are hit by heavy hail destroying 20% of our crop. Nevertheless the picking of the Braeburn has begun in full swing and they will be available on the shop shelves later on this year.
This year our BBN production is estimated to be 170 thousand cases, with Paul Mansfield is the largest single man grown in UK

Autumn at Nickle Farm

Crop and Weather Summary

October 2007

It was a very quiet October across England with high pressure dominant for much of the month. However, brief spells of unsettled weather brought some heavy rain locally. Mean temperatures were close to average and rainfall generally well below average across the England.
We continue to pick apples all this month; the late season apple varieties Jazz and Braeburn are ready to be picked. We are also picking apples for juice and tidying up the orchards as well as pruning our plum and cherry trees.

The English Empire

Some of the finest fruit in the world is grown in English orchards and you can get your hands on some of the tastiest apples- sweet or sharp, crunchy or light-textured flesh, red, green yellow and anything in between- just take your pick. One exciting variety we grow in our orchards is the English Empire and Paul Mansfield was the first to plant Empire apple trees in this country in 1998 on a small plot of 2 acres at Middle Pett Farm, near Canterbury. Empire is North American bred variety, cross between Red Delicious and McIntosh, it was first referenced in 1945 but was officially introduced to the world in 1966, after over two decades of careful evaluation. The colour of the Empire is deep maroon-red, over a light green background, with a very crisp, creamy white flesh, and very distinctive flavour with delicious hint of melon or pineapple or elderflower, sometimes even described as “vinous”.
Growing Empire has proven a successful enterprise, the production has expanded and Mansfields have invested in 61,000 trees on 74 acres spread across five different sites, Paul is the only commercial grower of Empire in the UK, and this year our Empire production is expected to be circa 50 thousand cases, thus making Paul Mansfield the largest single man grower in the UK. The English Empire is ready to be picked in September and October, and it already available to the customers. Empire is especially loved by kids and it is great snack for their lunch boxes.

Jazzing up the English fruit trade to the core

Whether or not you are an apple lover, whether you chose more traditional or favour something new, it is almost certain that Jazz™ apple will shake your perceived conception of how an apple should taste. With its dense, full of crunch texture and unique aromatic zing flavour the English Jazz will be music to your senses.
Jazz™ is a very modern apple variety, developed in New Zealand in the mid 1980s. The variety results from a selection among a population of seedlings derived from crossing between two major apple varieties- Braeburn and Gala. It is one of the most exciting new apple varieties and it has been grown in the UK since 2004. Paul Mansfield is the largest producer of English Jazz, and has put over £1 million investment into growing the variety already. This year the first commercial crop is being picked with expected production of around 20,000 cases.
The fruit of this new apple variety has an attractive appearance characterised by its distinctive bright red colouration and is notable for its excellent eating quality post-storage. It has a superb sweet and tangy flavour, succulent and exceptionally crisp texture and clean shiny appearance- it has become a winner in numerous consumer tasting surveys. It is a late season apple, being ready to pick in early to mid October.


Did you know?

Jazz is the brand name for the variety Scifresh

Jimmy's Farm at Mansfields

Jimmy Doherty

Jimmy Doherty from the BBC documentary series “Jimmy’s Farm” filming at Nickle Farm

Crop and Weather Summary

September 2007

The quiet, dry weather of late-August continued for the first three weeks of September, becoming more unsettled by late September with rain at times, coupled with an active cold front crossing the country towards the end of the month. Much of the last week was notably cool, with winds from the northwest and north much more frequent than usual, and overall this was the seventh most 'northerly' September in 135 years of records. Mean temperatures were generally close to, or slightly above average, and rainfall was generally close to or below average
September is our main period of apple picking, causing it to be a very busy month at Mansfields- 70% of the crop is picked during September. It takes a lot of team effort and planning to ensure timely picking, transporting and storage of thousands of tonnes of fruit within a very limited time scale. The quality of the fruit is very good and the volumes are big. Also in September our last plum variety of the season, Marjorie, was picked, whilst strawberries continue to produce high volumes.

BBC MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace and Paul Mansfield are enjoying some of our Jazz apples at Home Farm

Crop and Weather Summary

August 2007

August was a quiet month, it was largely settled at first and for the last week, but more unsettled around mid-month, with few thunderstorms but no repeat of the widespread downpours which characterised June and July. Mean temperatures generally close to average with most areas having their coldest August for over 10 years, with England having its coldest August since 1993. Averaged over England and Wales, the month's rainfall total of 61mm was 16 per cent below the long-term average.
In August we finished picking Reeves and Victoria plums, and started Marjorie’s- the plum season was good with good volumes. The crop quality and size was good because of all the rain as well as the thinning that took place earlier. We have started Conference pear, Discovery and Bramley apple picking a week earlier this season. Strawberries are also going very well.

Bramley- a truly British icon

We have started our early season picking of Bramley apples. England is the only country where a major distinction is made between cooking and dessert apples, but these days only one variety remains to maintain the tradition of English cooking apples - the famous Bramley apple. The Bramley apple was raised by Mary Ann Brailsford of Southwell, Nottinghamshire, UK, it is believed the first tree was planted between 1809 and 1813, and amazingly the original tree still bears fruit today.Bramley is the cook’s favourite as it has a unique ability to retain its strong apple flavour during cooking and when cooked, the texture becomes moist, wonderfully light and airy but with individual cells preserved to provide a superb crunch. Check the following link for delicious recipes
http://www.bramleyapples.co.uk/recipes.htm



Did you know?

Kent is one of the counties where most Bramley’s are grown.

Crop and Weather Summary

July 2007

Mean temperatures were generally close to or slightly below average. Most of the showers were often very heavy and thundery with some areas experiencing localised flooding due to the intensity of the rain. The very last few days of the month brought a change in weather type with a few dry and sunny days for most places. Mid July we experienced quite a few storms with hail, causing some significant damages to our crop
Cherries are have finished, we had a good crop volumes but is was a challenging season with a lot of waste due to the wet weather.
All plums have developed a week earlier than previous season, as have all crops this year. The early plum Opal is a good sample on size, colour and sugars. Jubilium a larger fruiting plum produced a good quality crop as well.
Strawberries - new planting of Albion coming on stream with good quality and volumes. The second crop of the table tops has been planted and it is being established, the first pick is expected in mid August.
The First of the English season apple Discovery, a traditional early red dessert variety, was picked at the end of July- fantastic colour and quality.

Discovery- the English apple season has started!

Discovery, one of the most popular English early red dessert apples, is being picked at Mansfields this week. Usually the Discovery is not picked until mid and late August but again like with other crops this year it was ready a lot earlier than usual. Discovery is a small proportion of the apples varieties we grow on our farms but it gives us ahead start to the new English season. It is often thought that Discovery is an old variety but it was found in the late 1940 by a workman on an Essex fruit farm, and it is a seedling of Worcester Pearmain, a 19th century early-season apple variety, which is also grown at Mansfields. Discovery is bright red, with yellowish green backgrond colour and it has a firm, crispy texture, with a fairly sweet, refreshing flavour, sometimes with a hint of strawberry.

Hailstones- grower’s nightmare

On Sunday 15th July we were hit quite badly with a hail storm on two farms, where we grow a premium variety Braeburn apples, causing damages on 80% of the crop. The damages were very severe, some apples were hit so hard they split the skin and left large indentations. Hail, the size of a golf ball, was reported on the local news, doing some damages to the vehicles in the area

Cherry and Soft Fruit Show, 2007

On Friday, Mansfields took part in the 77th Cherry and Soft Fruit Show at the County Agricultural Showground in Detling and we were awarded 1st prizes in 5 categories, 2nd prize in 4 categories and 3rd prize in 5 categories. We have also won the JP Distributors Bowl-Highest points all classes and the Fyffes monro group bowl- for the Highest points collected in the categories in Division 1

Cherry harvesting time at Mansfields!

The 2007 harvest began a week earlier than usual. The traditional cherry picking in Kent has changed, the modern commercial cherry orchards against traditional are easier to pick, trees are kept smaller and here at Mansfields we grow them in 2 and 3 row beds, with some of our cherries having rain covers and anti- bird protection.
The cherry season is short, usually up to 4 weeks but is very dynamic, and as proven this year, quite challenging as well. There are a lot of preharvest and postharvest factors that can affect the quality of the cherries. Overall the cherries are very delicate product and Dr. Max Patterson, Professor and Horticulturist at Washington State University, has defined them as:
1. A bag of water, air, and organic chemicals
2. A series of compartments within compartments, individually packaged in a larger master package
3. A fragile, living entity at the cellular level as complex as human life; while at attached to the tree, nourished by the tree; but when detached, must live off of itself at the mercy of the environment.
The final definition implies the fragile nature of a cherry and the challenge facing today’s production. It is critical to harvest during the cooler periods of the day, when the cherries are cooler, and to keep them in the shade once they are harvested. The cherries are picked when firm and when have reached full maturity and colour as they will not ripen off the tree. After being picked it is crucial for the cherries to be held in temperature controlled environment. They are being transported to the packhouse in temperature controlled vehicles and held in humidified chilled air to minimize the vapor pressure difference between the fruit and the external air- warmer cherries lose water much more quickly than cooler cherries!
The selection and packing of the cherries is also done in temperature control environment and the completed product is sent out within 48 hours of being picked.
Our aim is to deliver to the customer a farm-fresh fruit, which are just naturally more delicious and nutritious!

Crop and weather summary

June 2007
“Flaming June”… Remember those long, warm, sunny days in the summer...? Well, not this summer so far. It is easy to forget that the first half of June was with a fine and warm start, although lacking notable hot days or prolonged sunny periods. The rains did not start until the 12th or 13th, but most parts of the country have had some rain, little or much, on every single day since then. Some regions of the country received 300-400% above average rainfall for the month, setting their wettest June on record. Sunshine was generally below average across the UK, with some areas having their dullest June on record. This weather did not reflect very well on the crop and because of the very heavy rains we have lost about 30% of our cherry production due to splitting. The dull weather has also delayed the development of our everbearer strawberry varieties- at present our production is a week behind. But on the other hand the apples and the pears are growing well, with both- a good crop load and sizing, as they have taken up a lot of water. Slowly but surely we have begun the cherry picking, varieties like Summit and Sylvia are already on the shop shelf. We have also finished our early main crop of Elsanta strawberries. Thinning of plum crop was completed in June, and apple thinning begun at the end June and will continue into July.

Crop thinning

One of the commonly used tree management practices is thinning of the fruit. The general purpose of the thinning is to improve fruit size and quality- the removal of fruit allows for the elimination of small, damaged and malformed fruits. In some instances fruit thinning aids the prevention of irregular cropping year on year. The amount of fruit removed off the trees depends on the season and the crop load but in some cases it can be up to 50% on plums and 30% apples . This will reduce the overall crop load and obtain the highest quality and volume of marketable fruit produced within the optimum size profile.

Life is a bowl of cherries... from Mansfields

22 June 2007

The summer fruit season is ripening and our first cherries are nearly upon us. The crop load is the best we have produced so far, some varieties have thinned naturally, allowing the surviving cherries to grow larger.
Careful pickers will hand pick the darkest cherries, which are the sweetest and juiciest, full of fruity flavour, and they’ll just get bigger and sweeter as the season progresses.
Washed and freshly eaten out of the hand is the best way to enjoy them- the closer to home you buy them, the better you will “savour their flavour”!


Did you know?

Cherries are believed to be native to Asia Minor, the earliest known mention of cherries is by the Greek botanist Theophrastus about 300 BC, although it is believed to have been cultivated even earlier than this time. The Romans carried cherries throughout Europe and England along the routes of conquest during the first century AD.

Residue minimisation approach at Mansfields

15 June 2006

Mansfields are dedicated to seek ways to reducing environmental risks and reliance on pesticides. One of our aims is to reduce pesticide use and minimise residues by following the principles of Integrated Crop Management (ICM). ICM is a cropping strategy in which growers aim to conserve and enhance the environment whilst producing safe and wholesome food commercially.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a part of ICM and involves developing pest control strategies based on environmental control, biocontrol and the use of physical and chemical control agents. Much work has been done by Mansfields to keep the residues to a minimum and now we have conducted a residue free trial in one of our orchards growing Cox, Gala and Russet.
We are aiming to achieve residue free fruit by using the following methods:
1. Autumn applications in combination with a good husbandry like mowing or pulverising after leaf fall to facilitate rapid breakdown of leaves and other orchard litter- this should provide a good control of over-wintering pests and diseases
2. Scab and mildew programme through to petal fall, then reliance on organic compounds
3. Crop monitoring and timed insecticides- we are using pheromone traps to monitor the flight of Codling, Summer Fruit Tortrix and Fruit Tree Tortrix moths, to determine when the threshold for spraying is reached

Crop and Weather Summary

May 2007

We needed rain and we certainly got it in May- approximately 105mm in the South East! According to the Met Office in May there was well above average rainfall across the majority of the UK, with some parts of the country experiencing over 200% of average May rainfall. The weather changed during the second week with dull cold spells and temperatures as low as 10°C during the night. This has not been good for the crop set on apples and pears and the crop has not set as much as we thought. Nevertheless the trees look healthy and should produce good crop. Strawberries are going strong with a high percentage of first class fruit. Cherries are still hanging on and it will not be until mid June before we can say with confidence that they will remain. As for the plums, we are expecting a full crop on Opal and Victoria varieties, and will be thinning in June

Owl boxes

As a part of our environmental strategy we manage our farms to promote the wildlife. One of our objectives is to encourage raptor and owl species by maintaining thicker grass cover along the field margins and the fallow land. Our first owl box has been erected at Waddenhall Farm and we are expecting our first residents. During the summer we are planning to site several more boxes over the holdings.

Partridge in a pear tree… but not at Christmas

A first class job

This week we had our first of many picks from our tabletop strawberries at Loyterton. With the plants, yielding a high percent of first class berries, with uniform shape, good size and colour, and fantastic eating qualities with sugars at their optimum you can fully enjoy the srawberries, one of the most delicious and nutritious fruits.

Did you know?
One serving of strawberries has more vitamin C than one orange!

Health and Safety at Mansfields

We as a company take Health and Safety very seriously. We have set up our own H&S Committee, which includes members of various sectors of our work force to participate and discuss any issues in our H&S meetings.
We have an appointed H&S person who is responsible for carrying out all Risk/ Fire assessments within all our sites, and we have identified and trained First Aiders, Fire Marshals and a nominated Fire Officer. Fire Alarm systems are installed throughout our packhouses and storage areas and we conduct regular Fire Drills, and this is now being implemented on our external sites

Beetle banks at Home Farm, Marshside

Beetle banks are simple, grass-sown raised strips providing habitat for the invertebrate predators of crop pests and other farmland wildlife.
At Home Farm, Marshside in Kent, beetle banks have been built and seeded with a specific grass mix including species such as cocksfoot, Yorkshire fog and timothy mix.. The conditions provide tussocky grass-nesting areas for birds such as skylarks and grey partridge. They also provide breeding and feeding areas for small mammals and insects, feeding areas for owls and other birds of prey, and overwintering refuge for beneficial insects and spiders.

Table top strawberry at Loyterton Farm

We have grown strawberry for over a decade and this year Mansfields have invested in table- top strawberries at Loyterton Farm. Nearly 170,000 plants of Elsanta strawberries are grown in compost bags and will be producing two crops a year. First plants were planted in March to be picked in May- June, and then will be re-planted in July ready to be picked in September- October. By using this modern farming method the plants should produce higher yield and a consistent quality fruit. The strawberries are going very well, we are pleased how they look and we are expecting to start picking our first crop at the end of this week.

Promising outlook for the 2007 cherry season

Cherries are looking a little more impressive this year. With a very warm April the set looks fantastic and now on towards May some varieties have “thinned down” to a reasonable crop. Colney and Regina look like producing less than 2006 season but they will be big and juicy. Maybe also we will have a crop of Stella- well known for “running” but looks like it is here to stay.


Did you know?

Cherries are:

• Fat-free
• Sodium-free
• Cholesterol-free
• A good source of fibre
• And taste great!
  

Elsanta strawberries- full steam ahead

The strawberry season this year started nearly three weeks earlier due to the very warm weather.
Early strawberries Elsanta are well on the way, being picked for two weeks now. The crop looks bright and evenly coloured, with a firm and juicy texture and a balanced sweet/ acidic flavour. Even though last weeks cooler weather is now over, with good temperatures in the day and evening, the berries are ripening in the middle of the plant, giving a real sign that the plant is ready to “move on".


Did you know?

Strawberries are the first fruit to ripen in the spring.

Crop and Weather Summary

April 2007

April was an exceptionally warm month, with all climate districts and regions setting new April records for maximum and mean temperatures. April was very dry, no rain since the 30th of March. Trees are and will suffer on marginal sites, Street farm, Marshside. Planted strawberries are developing without issues. Looks like a good set on stone fruit season and the earlier flowering on all tree crops by at least 10 days has coincided with a very warm April.

Crop and Weather Summary

March 2007

Strawberry planting and new tunnel structures going up at Guilton Farm, irrigation is in place and work for a borehole at Guilton has started. Pruning of the trees continues

Crop and weather summary

February

Chill hours are building up slowly, and we had first sight of snow on the 8th February here at Nickle Farm- 100mm in some places. Pruning of the trees continues. New plantings of the early plum variety Opal is being planted at Nickle Farm, and will be in production in two years time.

Opal plum planting at dawn