Newburgh Rampant

I’ve lived in Newburgh for less than a year and am astonished at the way the vegetation just burgeons. I’ve never lived anywhere this verdant. At the first plum market of the season last Saturday we took in QUARTER OF A TON of plums! There are at least two further opportunities to sell your plums and any other fruit, veg, jams and chutneys – so as before, please bring them to Alysia’s garage in Gardens Road, at the foot of Mason Street, Friday night about 6.45pm.

Just to encourage you to think laterally about what you might bring to market, here are a couple of photos from the recent Flower Festival:

And not forgetting …

Wonky veg are all the rage so bring them on!

And finally, further to recent chat about damsons – we went a stroll down the Pow today and saw some positively pendulant examples. They could have been giant grapes, so purple and juicy they looked. However I tried one and – although I have a high tolerance for sourness – had to spit it out. So will be interested to see if we have some rather less challenging samples this weekend.

So don’t forget – PLUM MARKET no. 2 THIS SATURDAY, 2nd Sept, 10am in St Katherine’s Square.

 

BUMPER CROP! BUY TOMORROW!

Plums aplenty delivered to Alysia’s garage tonight. All sorted for sale tomorrow morning. There will be more next week but don’t miss the season’s first plums, either for eating or jam-making. Also a few other fruits and veggies, and lots of jam. All top quality. See you tomorrow 10am in St Catherine’s Square!

EXTRA MARKET Sat 26th Aug

Favourable conditions have led to  early ripening of some plum trees – so, an extra plum market has been scheduled for this Saturday. The fruit intake will be on Friday 1 Sept., 6.30 – 7.30, at 9 Gardens Rd, Newburgh, KY14 6BZ (opposite the bottom of Mason Street). Please don’t bring underripe plums or other fruit, as there are at least two more markets to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Newburgh High Street, 9.30 – 12 noon Saturdays

Sept 2nd, 9th & 16^th

 

Fruit growers please bring your fruit

 

to 9 Gardens Road 6.30 – 7.30 pm on Fridays

Plums are not the only fruit …

Alysia’s comment about her damson crop had me rummaging among my Plum Market photos from last year. I remember buying damsons and making damson gin – a first for me. In my Ayrshire childhood I remember being sent to pick sloes up the braes with my friend Marian, for her mum to make sloe gin. And then she let us taste it! I was amazed at how liberated other people’s mothers could be, as alcohol was pretty much unknown in our house. And the sloe gin was fabulous! [And when I say ‘childhood’, I guess I was near enough seventeen at the time!]

Anyway last year’s damson gin was very good but not recorded in my photos. Here instead is something else that gave me great joy from the plum market:

Here he is, taking a little bow. He is, of course, a Pink Fir Apple potato, and I loved him and all his companions dearly. They tasted absolutely delightful with just a knob of butter and a chive or two. I was told they were grown by Jason and Alison so I’m hoping they’re planning to bring some more to market this year. Where else but Newburgh Plum Market would you get to sample such a delicious, freshly-dug, and sadly rare, species? When I look up this variety on the internet, all the websites describe it as ‘long, thin and famously knobbly’. Mine were knobbly but definitely not long and thin. They were all little action-potatoes with arms and legs –  skateboarders possibly!

I know everybody will be raking out their jars and bottles in prep for this year’s harvest; so just for a bit of inspiration – do please send in your pics from anything you enjoyed from previous years! And don’t forget – Friday night, 1st Sept to hand in your goodies, Sat 2nd Sept for the plum market. See previous post for further details.

 

Reddening Rapidly

It seems the plums are doing well everywhere in Newburgh this year, with reports of laden branches and nice colouring up. Everywhere, that is, except in the community orchard … Why? we can’t figure it out. But of course, with a bit of concentrated sunshine, that could all change. This is a picture of the Community Orchard plums at the end of August last year – looking good. Maybe these last few weeks will make all the difference.

In any case, the date for the plum market date has been set: Saturday 2nd September – unless we have exceptional weather and faster ripening, in which case the date might be brought forward a week. Growers will be contacted in all the usual ways. Please bring your plums and other produce to Alysia Leyshon Richards’ home at 9 Gardens Road, on Friday 1st Sept, 6.30pm.

And this is our brand new NOG Blog. We’ll be posting articles on all aspects of orchard activity in Newburgh and beyond. Please get in touch, ‘like’ us and share us, and give us your comments. We are also on Twitter: @Newburgh.Fruit

 

 

Getting ready for the new crop!

The landscapes of Southern Normandy, about halfway between Paris and the seaside, never fail to please with lushly greens and small ancient villages, occasional châteaux and friendly horses grazing peacefully under the early summer sun. When we go there, and lately we do that quite often on a Sunday afternoon, we usually stop here and […]

via Apple marzipan tart —