What to do with your fallen fruit
Get useful advice from Paul Kettell at RHS Garden Wisley on why your fruit may fall, how it helps wildlife and try a delicious recipe from world-famous chef Raymond Blanc
After enjoying the spring blossom of fruit trees and looking forward all summer to tasting those ripening fruits, it is disappointing when you can’t be on hand to catch every fruit before it falls. But don’t despair, there are many things you can do with these and also some benefits for wildlife too.
Why does fruit fall?
Paul Kettle, Team Leader for edibles at RHS Wisley, Surrey shares his wisdom. “Fallen fruit can be a sign that the apples on a particular tree are ripe. The way you can tell this is to see if the fruit has developed its full colours that indicate ripeness, lifting the fruit to see if it wants to come off the tree easily and tasting it to see if it has achieved its full flavour. If all these apply, we pick the fruit.”
“However, trees shed fruit early in the season if they are carrying a good crop (known as the June drop), while fruits that have been tunneled into by, for example, codling moth, will often drop prematurely from the tree.” The wind will also play a part in causing fruit to fall.
RHS Horticultural student Leo McEwen picking fruit at RHS Wisley
Food for the birds and other wildlife
“We also work through The Orchard at RHS Wisley, removing some of the fruit from the tree if it is diseased or has been damaged by insects or birds, and drop these fruits onto the floor. None of this is waste – it provides food for a whole host of life forms, including birds and insects, and nourishes soil organisms as they rot. In addition to our resident blackbirds, song thrushes and mistle thrushes, we also have fieldfares and redwings that visit The Orchard in the winter that depend on finding this food source.
Blue tit enjoying the fruits of the season
“Recent ecological surveys carried out in The Orchard have recommended that we leave a percentage of the fruit unpicked to provide food for wildlife over the autumn and winter. These are often those apples that are high in the canopy and are difficult to pick anyway.”
According to the RSPB (The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) “[Windfall] apples are also eaten by mammals like badgers, hedgehogs, wood mice and voles, and they are a source of late-season sugar for butterflies, wasps, ants and other invertebrates.”
Fruits are full of sugars, so if you have children and pets that use the areas it’s best to move the tempting fruits out of harm’s way as wasps may be feasting inside them.
What to do with cider apples
“Cider apples are a little different. As any harmful bacteria is killed by the fermentation process, apples can be collected from the ground and used to make cider, though we still leave some on the ground to feed and nourish wildlife and to benefit the soil biome,” says Paul.
Cider apples come in a variety of colours and flavours
Compost the excess
If you still have excess fruit, you can of course add them to your
Fruit thinning
Fruit trees: choosing the best
Fruit: harvesting
Fruit: storing
Recipe for fallen fruits
Chef Raymond Blanc celebrates the seasons with this tasty recipe for a Brown Sauce, made using fallen fruits. This easy recipe makes 2L and takes about 10 mins to prepare.
Method
-
Place all of the ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally
-
Reduce the heat to low and then simmer for 2 hours giving it a good stir every now and then, until thick and syrupy
-
Blend until smooth or your own desired texture
-
Bring back up to the boil, and then pour into warmed bottles
-
Store in a cool dark place
-
Once opened keep refrigerated
Discover more seasonal recipes from Raymond Blanc >
