Extending the picking season

Desirable fruit crop varieties at the moment are those able to extend the picking seasons, and this is a major consideration for our new introductions.

Partnering with EU nursery Botden & van Willegen, Frank P Matthews are growers and suppliers of quality main commercial, heritage and club variety fruit trees.

One key achievement in apples is early Gala Wildfire RKD® which actually crops three weeks earlier than main Gala clones. We also have new August cropping Apple varieties which are proving very popular.

In the Cherry and Plum market, varieties to bring forward and extend the season include early Nimba® and late variety Kir Rosso® (two weeks later than Sweetheart®).

We are specialists in rootstocks with our own UK production and there are now a wide range of Apple rootstock alternatives to M9. G series is a recommended option and crucially M116 which is now favoured for certain situations.

We are extremely keen to support Agroforestry schemes and farm diversification here in the UK and suppling Cider trees, pollinators, windbreak and hedging trees specifically for this market. We have a particular interest in fruiting Walnut and Cobnut trees.

Teaching children about where their food comes from and allowing them to get closer to nature through planting trees is so important to us. We provide tree sponsorship and fundraising to support the welldeserving charity Apple World, the National Fruit Show’s Education Programme.

Co-operation, sharing knowledge and skills, as well as constantly evolving and improving, is vital for the future of the British fruit growing industry and its sustainability.