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Barbara Segall

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Well done my apricot!

3 August 2015

harvested apricots

I harvested 4.5kg of delicious apricots in July.

I first heard about these apricots from Canada with names that ended in the suffix ‘cot’, from fruit specialist Will Sibley at a Thompson & Morgan Press Day some years ago. I thought then that it would be wonderful to have one of these apricots growing in my garden…

Well, I moved to a house with a smaller garden where the only rule for plants is: be productive or beautiful or both, if at all possible! So I purchased Prunus armeniaca ‘Tomcot’ in 2012 from Mr Darcy’s Heritage Fruit Trees (www.mrdarcysheritagefruittrees.com) at the last of the renowned Cottesbrooke Plant Fairs. I was there with two friends and car space was at a premium, but as it was my car I could pull rank about bringing back a tree – although it was relatively small at the time.

It was duly planted, lovingly maintained and so on for several years… but no fruit … “And you know the rules”, I told it one morning in spring 2015… “I have my eyes on you and maybe this is the last year we will share”!

Well, they say you should be careful what you wish for – only, in this case, I am delighted with the results.

This spring the tree flowered profusely, the flowers missed the frosts and the masses and masses of little apricots grew and grew and grew…

apricots on the tree

The branches were loaded with fruit…

apricot flowers

…and needed support.

In July I harvested 4.5kg of wonderful fruit from a groaning tree. I have made jam – kilos of it; poached apricots with vanilla pods and star anise (and frozen quantities of poached apricots), as well as eaten fruit fresh from the tree and served it in desserts.

My apricot ‘Tomcot’ has earned its keep and is here to stay… I am dreaming of next year’s crop already.

poached apricots

I made a quantity of spicy apricot jam, poached some, froze some and ate quite a lot of apricots fresh… What a great harvest!

There are three of these self-fertile Canadian apricots available: ‘Tomcot’, ‘Flavorcot’ and ‘Goldcot’. They take several years to mature to a fruiting state, but ‘Tomcot’ does fruit earlier than the other two, in my case at three years after planting.

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I edit magazines and write about gardens, plants and gardeners. My own garden and those open to the public, here and abroad – and gardeners – professionals and passionate amateurs, alike, all feature in my writing. Growing my own fruit, vegetables and herbs in a small, productive and ornamental town garden gives me great pleasure, as does using the produce and writing about it. Read more

PUBLISHED IN SEPTEMBER 2017


Previously published books by Barbara Segall

Shortlisted in the Garden Journalist of the Year category in the Property Press Awards 2017


Praise from the Garden Writers Association

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"Nice friendly voice and style while imparting good gardening information."


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