Victoria Plums, now available

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Margaret

One of the most sought after British plums is the Victoria which is now available to pick, but here is some interesting history for you:

The plums grown in Britain are derived from fruits originally from Damascus, Syria and Persia
The plums were initially brought to Britain by the Romans
The modern plum was found by nurseryman Mr Denyer in a garden in Alderton in Sussex.
Prior to the plum being sold to Mr Denyer the plum was named “Sharp’s Emperor” or “Alderton”
Mr Denyer sold these plums as “Denyer’s Victoria” after Queen Victoria who was crowned in 1837.

The problem with these is that there is no place named Alderton in Sussex, so where could this have come from? Some people believe that Alderton is a typo and should really be Walderton. A second theory is that the name Alderton is actually that of the person who found it rather than the name of the place. The third theory is that the plums come from Alderton in Suffolk which is home to the Gage family who were involved in the development of a number of other plums.

Fruit now available, 14th August 2010

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Margaret

We are currently open 9am – 6pm daily with a large selection of both pick your own (PYO) and ready picked fruit.

Plums currently available are

Prolifics – good for eating and for jam making

Heron – excellent for eating

Purple Pershores – good for eating and excellent for jam making and freezing

Yellow Pershores – excellent for jam making and bottling

Opals and Czars – good for eating

The above are PYO 50p/lb , £1.10/kg; ready picked 70p/lb, £1.50/kg

Apples currently available are

Beauty of Bath – eater

Discovery – eater

Grenadier and Bramley – cookers

PYO Barmleys – 30p/lb , 65p/kg; ready picked 50p/lb, £1.10/kg

Also available

Blackberries, Potatoes, Onions and local Honey

Blossom 2010

Posted on May 4, 2010 by Richard

This year the plum blossom is about two weeks later than last year. The warm, still days in the middle of April encouraged the bees to fly and the white plum blossom to set quickly. Frost has affected the plum section of the orchard on a few days during “Blossom Time”, the clear mornings has had some affect on the fruit but it is too early to identify how much damage has been caused. Fruit does benefit from a small amount of frost, as it causes the remaining fruit to increase in size since there are fewer apples or plums using the trees limited resources.

The apple blossom started at the beginning of May but the cold weather has slowed the set. The pink apple blossom surrounded the edges of the orchard. When in bud the blossom appears as pink but as the apple buds open the blossom turns through pink to white. The crab apple blossom on the front of the orchard is darker pink or crimson in colour.

New website

Posted on April 25, 2010 by Richard

Welcome to the new website for Walsgrove fruit farm, a family run plum and apple orchard located on the A44 3 miles north of Pershore in Worcestershire England. The orchard concentrates on producing a wide variety of fruit which is of excellent taste, with many varieties which are not grown commercially, alongside better known crop varieties. A full list of the fruit we have can be found here and the varieties currently available will be regularly updated here.

Nestled within the orchard is a 5 pitch caravan club site from which it is only a short trips to Worcester, Evesham, Stratford-Upon-Avon or even slightly further afield to Birmingham. More details about the site can be found here.