I’ve written before about becoming obsessed by our little orchard and how it’s progressing, and I wonder if everyone peers at every new bud with this much enthusiasm.
It’s beginning to feel a bit like vanity actually, the way in which I march every visitor up to our orchard and point them at the trees, demanding they they admire the different blossoms and refusing to recognise the glazed look of boredom in their eyes. I am absolutely charmed, not only by the fact that these elongated twigs have suddenly sprouted enormous amounts of leaf but also by how different the blossoms are.
Some are beautiful and delicate, some are blowsy and attention grabbing, but all are lovely. I have great hopes for our trees.
We’re trying to decide whether or not to remove the fruitlets when they develop. We don’t have any really low vigour rootstock trees so I’m not sure what to do. Do you have any thoughts?
London to Land Girl 
I think we removed the fruit the first year to allow the tree to put energy into getting roots established, then thinned the second year, to three or four apples each.
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