Designing Ecological Habitats - Gaia Education

126 Designing ecological Habitats
extensive reference library but knew immediately that it was a potentially
delicious variety. The National Fruit Collection people also failed to identify
it. The lone tree was unique. Ian was given permission to propagate the
tree and thereby preserve it for posterity. He grafted several hundred trees
to several different rootstocks and set about making them available to fruit
growers all over Britain who would be willing to give him feedback.
On the island, the tree is lashed by gales most of the year, and often
loses most of its leaves to salt and wind-burn. Consequently it only produces
fruit occasionally. The tree is completely free of the diseases that flourish
in the damper conditions of the mainland, particularly scab on the fruit,
and canker in the wood. In 2005, nobody knew when the tree flowered
and whether or not the blossoms were frost tolerant. (The island is frost
free.) Did the tree produce a regular crop? The mother tree crops irregularly
because spring’s salt laden gales often kill the blossom. When was the best
time to harvest the fruit or how long it can be kept? These and many other
questions remained a mystery.
Tim Harland and I were very keen to trial the tree as we grow apples on
chalk in the middle of the Hampshire Downs about 12 miles away from the
English coast. We have 23 varieties of earlies, mids and lates. The chalky
soil isn’t great for a number of our varieties and we have had canker and
scab. Ian sent me a tree and we planted it in the winter of 2005. It is a
vigorous and healthy tree. Even in its first season in 2006 it blossomed, but
to establish our precious charge we removed all of the flowers for three years
and let the tree put its energy into its roots. In 2009 we let it be. The tree
blossomed in May and set its fruit successfully. It showed no signs of frailty
in wind and heavy rain and began cropping in mid to late August. The next
year it cropped again.
I can confirm that tree and fruit are scab resistant, and yes, the apples
are really good: crisp, sweet, reasonably large and with beautiful hues of
reds and yellows. The skin goes a little waxy after a week or so in normal
temperatures but the apple remains crisp. I don’t know how long they store
for and I doubt I will find out until the tree is larger. They are simply too
good to save. I must be more scientific next cropping season! My gratitude
goes to Andy for realising he had found a jewel and to Ian for his skill with
grafting and generously letting us plant one of the trees. It’s top of my list of
apples and I want to go to Bardsey Island itself and meet its Mother.
Besides the Bardsey Apple, I have been experimenting with other less usual
edibles like the South American tuber, Oca (Oxalis tuberosa), honeyberries
(from the Lonicera family), and summer truffles inoculated on hazel. Another
edible that crops year after year in our forest garden with little husbandry is
the Asian or Nashi pear. This is sold in supermarkets as a premium priced
exotic pear in Britain but it is so easy to cultivate at home. It has a beautiful
low growing, spreading habit, resonant of its Eastern origins, pretty white
flowers in Springtime and hardly needs pruning. The pears are the shape of
apples, are crisp and juicy. They are pleasant to eat and make excellent wine.
Less aesthetic but equally useful is a perennial kale given to me by