Cider tasting: Drago Slayer Gold by Minds eye cider company Stephen Hayes 2024-05-22 | James McLarnon and his Dad visited my orchard last year after getting in contact and took away a car full of apples which he has made into cider. He gave me a few bottles of his own cider to taste. Here is a live and honest tasting of 'Dragon Slayer Gold' which has loads of runes and some astonishing art work on the label!
Ilkley brewery Hendrix IPA beer tasting Stephen Hayes 2024-05-05 | I don't own the copyright to the background music but did buy the CD! This is a tasting of a bottle of special beer brewed in Ilkley, Yorkshire, to commemorate the 50th anniversay of the unforgettable Jimi Hendrix playing there. The band had a hard touring schedule and played all over, including Southampton where I live. This bottle was gifted to me by my dear friend Dr Julian Peace, who lives in Yorkshire. Our musical tastes overlap to a certain extent and we also have a shared interest in skin cancer diagnostics, so although we live over 300 miles apart, we meet now and then at festivals and conferences! Thanks for the beer Julian, thanks for the music Jimi.
Cutting down a Christmas tree that we grew Stephen Hayes 2021-12-22 | Wishing all viewers a Happy Christmas and a Bright New Year.
Orchard walk September 2021 shaky video, ends abruptly Stephen Hayes 2021-09-27 | Hi everyone. As I get a lot of requests for updates, here is one. Apologies in advance for video quality (it gets better but then ends abruptly at about 12.30) but shooting it again isn't an option. Still getting used to my Canon EOS 2000D, which I bought for skin cancer diagnostics work. Julia was too busy doing something else to help, another time.As mentioned, very irregular weather in spring gave us the third frost related crop wipe out since the orchard began in 1992/3. The pears did OK, and the late blooming cider fruit. It's OK, we don't sell fruit and a rest year after hard pruning will do the trees no harm.
Orchard walk June 2021 leopard moth damage Stephen Hayes 2021-06-13 | We stopped using crop protection chemicals about 7 years ago, apart from some herbicide to stop grass smothering the trees. On the whole, it has worked out OK (given that we aren't selling fruit so can live with spots and maggots) but recently we have been having more trouble with the leopard moth.
pruning large cider apple tree with pole saw part 2 Stephen Hayes 2021-03-28 | Sorry again about film quality, new SLR camera behaved unpredictably and wind picked up just as we started filming, its this or nothing.
pruning large cider apple tree with pole saw part 1 Stephen Hayes 2021-03-28 | APOLOGIES for poor sound quality and wind noise-first time I had used this Panasonic Lumix camera and had expected better quality, also wind blow up just as we started filming. We have had a lot of requests for content, and for obvious reasons I can't re-make the video, so here it is for better or worse.
Sorry no scion wood this year Stephen Hayes 2021-03-28 | Sorry, we are just too busy to send out any scion wood this year, it's a big undertaking and I have too much else on, besides which the garage, that I usually use to lay out all the wood, is filled with stuff as we have both adult daughters living with us during Lockdown. Maybe next year. I promised some wood to 2 or 3 folks, they know who they are, if they send me the emails where I said I would send wood I will honour that but no others please.PS this video should have uploaded1 month ago but I pressed the wrong button (where YT have changed and much over-complicated their system) and hadn't noticed, so doubly sorry. 6 lots of scion wood were sent out last Wednesday, they can be no more.
bedraggled bee video Stephen Hayes 2020-12-28 | At the orchard, I found a large bumble been that had got itself into trouble in a water container. I rescued it, and (caution, spoiler alert) it flew away strongly. This was mainly about testing out my new Canon EOS 200 DSLR camera, but also as I care about bees.
Spring apple blossom Stephen Hayes 2020-05-05 | Our daughter Emily has been staying with us this spring, working from home, and made this short film of the orchard showing some work stacking cut hazel and watching the apple blossom develop. Also took a few pics of the night sky. More on http://www.instagram.com/orchard.diaries
Perry pear grafting, after care of developing trees Stephen Hayes 2020-04-22 | Here we trim and tidy several Perry pear trees (variety Blakeney Red) which were grafted over the last couple of years. Some were on Quince A root stock, some on seedling pear (pyrhus communalis) which I bought from a nursery. I'm sorry to say they got neglected due to time limitations and other priorities and some grass grew up them which didn't do any good.Some corrective attention was given today. I hope to review them again in 2 or 3 months and again next winter when hopefully they will be planted out into final positions.
Pruning some old damson plum trees Stephen Hayes 2020-04-17 | Julia pruning a 25 year old damson plum tree (variety Merryweather). Plums should only be pruned during a period of strong new growth, for us that means mid April to early May. This is because of the risk of microbial disease entering pruning wounds. We don;t think wound paint makes much if any difference. We have lost most of our plum trees from boring insects and bacterial plum canker, we won;t be replacing them, which is a pity as they can be lovely trees. One variety, Blue Tit, seems to have resistance and we hope to report on this in the future.
31 tunes on a Telecaster in 19 minutes Stephen Hayes 2020-04-14 | As everyone else is uploading 'What I did in my shed/garden/kitchen during the Lockdown' videos, I thought I'd make this, which is basically about the idea that the guitar is a friend for life, including during hard times. Well it is. There are happy and sad memories stored in a guitar, even a new guitar when you use it to play good old old songs.Parts of 31 great songs from my life story, playing is not perfect but the songs are all great. See how many you recognise, and see if you can guess which bands I saw live (6 in all).PS for those who may be interested, the guitar is a made in Mexico Fender Telecaster with a replacement neck (very thick) original pickups middle setting and the amplifier is not the Vox you can see but a Fender super Champ XD on a medium setting.
Pear blossom, Easter Saturday 2020 Stephen Hayes 2020-04-11 | Just a walk round the pear trees in blossom. Sorry for the poor performance of my Sony Cybershot camera, it used to be OK, think I need a better camera with a more stable autofocus.
Corrective pruning of cider apple trees after broken branches Stephen Hayes 2020-04-08 | Last year 2 of our cider apples, variety Somerset Redstreak, had extremely heavy crops and branches snapped off under the weight. Here I correctively prune them. Also remove a large broken branch from a 30 year old tree of Tremlett's Bitter.
Apples from store in April Stephen Hayes 2020-04-04 | Today, April 4th 2020, Julia took some apples from our ambient temperature apple store at the orchard, varieties May Queen and Huesgen's Golden Reinette. Both are rare old varieties from the pre-pesticide, pre-refrigeration era. They were clean and fruity, texture not crunchy but acceptable. These are good old apples for the off-grid orchard, where toughness, reliability and keeping ability count for more than delicacy of flavour. They taste OK and are good plain food. PS sorry I misspoke, Rosanne Saunders wrote and painted 'The Apple Book', I meant to say Felicity Lawrence wrote 'Not on the label: what really goes into the food on your plate.'
Ballad of John Henry Stephen Hayes 2020-03-27 | This rendition of the famous Ballad of John Henry is dedicated to all honourable folks who, for genuine reasons, face great odds at the risk of their own health and safety.
log cabin video Stephen Hayes 2019-04-14 | Sorry this is a bit shaky and has an abrupt ending due to battery.
Pruning pear trees delayed open centre Stephen Hayes 2019-03-11 | These pear trees on quince A stock were originally grown as centre-leader dominant pyramids, but they got too tall to manage easily, also a lot of algae and fungal disease set in during a very long wet period. So I therefore converted them to delayed open centre shape by making a single big saw cut to each tree.Pruning with the secateurs today (Felco #8) mainly removing overcrowded shoots, cutting just above suitable bud.
Pruning dwarf bush apple trees by the renewal method Stephen Hayes 2019-02-18 | Sorry for low quality video, I had the VGA on by mistake. Should be fine on a small screen.For regular subscribers, I am OK but less engaged with the orchard and very little new to say, hence fewer videos. The book is on Amazon Kindle for $5, 'Tales From an English Orchard'.
broken branches under weight of apples Stephen Hayes 2018-08-15 | 'If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.' Once again, I was too busy to thin fruit, now I have a number of snapped branches that could have been avoided. Posting this to remind you all.
The Perry orchard in drought Stephen Hayes 2018-08-12 | This video is a bit late, but still relevant although the long drought has now broken. more videos soon.
Update on the wildlife pond Stephen Hayes 2018-06-27 | Insects in great numbers and variety have come, still waiting for amphibians. Has been a very dry June so probably will have to wait until autumn or maybe Spring 2019.
Dr Stephen Hayes presenting for Primary Care Dermatology Society at world dermoscopy congress Stephen Hayes 2018-06-20 | Speaking about dermoscopy in Britain and the work of the Primary Care Dermatology Society last week at the 5th world dermoscopy congress at Thessaloniki. Sorry about first half minute, video angle is corrected later.
Apple tree pruning renewal style Stephen Hayes 2018-03-15 | renewal pruning of an established apple tree, variety Sunset, a 20 year old tree on MM106 rootstock. It was trained a an open centre dwarf bush, currently somewhat overgrown, hence the slightly more aggressive than usual pruning. i will return to this tree later i the year to show what effect pruning has had on it. I may leave another one nearby unpruned for compare and contrast. NB this is a FINE tooth Silky Gomtaro 300mm pruning saw, the one I recommend (no financial interest).
scion 2018 final Stephen Hayes 2018-03-13 | Most of the scion wood for 2018 has gone out, the rest should be in the post by this evening. absolutely no more requests.sadly, there will be no scion wood going out from me in 2019, just wanted to give enough advance warning. I have a last chance in a lifetime opportunity for some very specific postgraduate study and I need a completely clear run at it. There is a UK scion wood exchange on Facebook. normal service should resume from 2020.
Scion wood 2018 update-first 40 parcels are posted! Stephen Hayes 2018-02-28 | Huge effort this year, wood going to 21 European countries, over 50 varieties, about 100 recipients including some community orchards and new orchard start ups. NO MORE requests this year.
scion 2018 Stephen Hayes 2018-02-10 | My Justgiving page is at justgiving.com/fundraising/stephen-hayes5 check out Tree Aid-a worthy charity helping poor Africans and poor Africa. See below for available scion wood this year.early varietiesBaker's Delicious, Irish Peach, Miller's Seedling, Ellison's Orange, Laxton's Epicure, St Edmund's Russet, Beauty of Bath, Devonshire Quarrenden, mid season Egremont Russet, Lord Lambourne, Kidd's Orange Red, Sunset, Ashmead's Kernel, James Grieve, Pitmaston Pineapple, Spartan, King of teh Pippins, Orleans Reinette, Queen Cox, Ribston Pippin, Late Winter King, Suntan, Court Pendu Plat, Sturmer Pippin, May Queen, Cookers Peasgood Nonesuch, Bramley, Charles Ross, Blenheim Orange (dual purpose), Keswick Codlin, Reverend Wilkes, Tom Putt (also for cider)Cider Tremlett's Bitter, Crimson King, Le Bret, Yarlington Mill, Kingston Black, Golden Harvey, Dabinett, Harry Master's Jersey. Very small quantities of Filbarrel, Hangy Down, Major, Michelin, Slack ma Girdle. Very small amount of Perry pears Butt, Winnal's Longdon, Blakeney Red.There may be a few odds and ends, I may substitute if I run out. No plum or non-perry pears due to fungal problems.
Adding plants to our new wild life pond Stephen Hayes 2018-02-03 | Full! 100% rainwater, direct and from butts a distance away by hosepipe. Very apt to have water cress, since this part of Hampshire is well known for producing it, look up The Watercress Line.
The pond fills! Stephen Hayes 2018-02-03 | We got the timing right, putting the butyl liner in just before some heavy and prolonged rain. There wouldn't have been enough to fill the 3,000 litre (approx) pond by direct fall, but we have 8 large rainwater butts collecting off the cider house and apple store, and we ran all that in with a length of hosepipe.
part 4-the butyl pond liner is rolled out Stephen Hayes 2018-01-31 | At last, the pond is starting to look like a pond. Next step-add water! Heavy rain was expected-and it arrived, as a future video will show.
Pond part 3-the underlay Stephen Hayes 2018-01-31 | Before adding the butyl liner, it is vital so smooth out any sharp edges and put some underlay in to avoid punctures. We used old carpet.
Pond dug, ready for liner Stephen Hayes 2018-01-28 | 2nd video about our new wildlife pond. More to come.
making a wildlife pond part 1- a rough geology practical! Stephen Hayes 2018-01-24 | First of several videos about the wildlife pond we are developing. I started digging this in 2015 just before I had a nasty fall that put me seriously out of action for a long time. We were both fascinated by the varied soil-stone, sand and clay-that we found. More later.
Walnut orchard by the Dordogne Stephen Hayes 2018-01-22 | Sorry for film problem early on, quality improves. I meant to post this in 2016 after a week in the south of France, but forgot. Just a look at a walnut orchard with some birdsong and a woodpecker pecking by the river Dordogne not far from Souillac.
Busking Christmas carols on Spanish guitar in Winchester Stephen Hayes 2017-12-20 | The reclusive Hamble Delta bluesman Rambling Steve Appleseed at Winchester. All the best busking locations were taken or forbidden. Featuring O Little Town of Bethlehem and a Wenceslas/Three Kings/ God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen medley.
Silky forestry saws Katanaboy 500mm versus Big Boy Stephen Hayes 2017-12-09 | 2 Silky saws in a hazel coppice. Is it worth the extra for a Katanaboy saw, or is the Big Boy good enough? Pay your money and take your choice.
Mid November 2017 in the orchard Stephen Hayes 2017-11-20 | Some autumn leaves, hedgerow berries for the birds, and removal of some post-mature apple trees to create more space in the orchard. Remember my book 'Tales From an English Orchard' on kindle.amazon.co.uk/Tales-English-Orchard-Stephen-Hayes-ebook/dp/B0765MZV5Z
Catching up with a neglected apple graft Stephen Hayes 2017-11-08 | Don't forget to download a copy of 'Tales From an English Orchard' from Amazon Kindle.
We wunt be druv Lewes bonfire night 2017 Stephen Hayes 2017-11-05 | The phrase 'WE WUNT BE DRUV' seen here in burning letters, is old Sussex dialect for 'We won't be driven', which means much the same as Rage against The Machine's phrase from the song 'Killing In The Name' ...'F*** you, I won't do what you tell me!' Later in this short video, the figure of Guy Fawkes, the Catholic terrorist, is being led to his execution after failed attempt to blow up Parliament and topple the British State.
Lewes fireworks 4th November 2017 Stephen Hayes 2017-11-05 | Nothing to do with the orchard, just some amazing fireworks at the famous (or infamous?) Lewes bonfire party. To find out more about this long running event in Sussex, Google Lewes + bonfire- there is a lot on line.
Lewes fireworks 4th November 2017, part 2 Stephen Hayes 2017-11-05 | Some more fireworks from Sussex.
My orchard book is now live on Kindle Stephen Hayes 2017-10-07 | Finally! 'Tales From an English Orchard' priced $5 or £3.77 is now live to download from Kindle with 130,000 words plus many images and hyperlinks to my videos and other resources. It is a mix of storytelling, apple history, practical advice and autobiography. Important sections include descriptions of the apples, pruning, grafting and an extensive bibliography which reviews all the important books that influenced us. Some controversies addressed, the most contentious material is in appendices so can be avoided. Full table of contents. I hope my subscribers will buy this, all profits will go to Tree Aid which helps poor Africans improve their circumstances and the local environment by growing trees along the southern edge of the Sahara. If you like the book, please post positive reviews and share via Facebook and any other networks.amazon.co.uk/Tales-English-Orchard-Stephen-Hayes-ebook/dp/B0765MZV5Z/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1507373003&sr=1-1&keywords=tales+from+an+english+orchard
Tales From an English Orchard-1st draft complete! Stephen Hayes 2017-08-07 | The book is around 117,000 words and covers biography and history of our orchard from dream to post-maturity, advice on planting , varieties, grafting, pruning etc, many images and links, and an extensive appreciation of the books that influenced us. I will email a draft (minus images) for comment to a few volunteers, as long as I know you!
Thanks for feedback on Orchard Book Stephen Hayes 2017-07-06 | PS Robin Clarke found 'Frost and the Fruit Grower' by Raymond Bush as a free download here ..archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.271150 . Definitely get it! Please let me now of any other free or cheap downloads and I will put links in the book.thanks. Any more great links, let me know and in they go
My orchard book about is almost finished-any requests? Stephen Hayes 2017-07-04 | Sorry for the delays, I have now written 83,000 words and am on the home run with the book. Hopefully publish to Kindle by this September.I am covering the history of the orchard (every dream and anecdote as well as hard facts), the apple varieties, advice on planting, pruning, grafting and processing fruit. Also cider, cider apples, Perry and Perry pears, plus an extensive bibliography including notes on rare books in my collection. And lots of hyperlinks.Please subscribers, let me know if there is anything in particular you want included.Download will be around £4 ($5), 100 of the money (if any) I get from Kindle will go to Tree Aid treeaid.org.uk I will do this transparently through my just giving page justgiving.com/fundraising/stephen-hayes5
I kill an old apple tree by excessive grafting Stephen Hayes 2017-06-15 | I sawed this big old tree back very hard and grafted over to another variety, but my treatment over reached itself and the tree is dying. Success would have been more likely if I had been more modest. A lesson to me.
Killer frost wipes out 2017 apple crop Stephen Hayes 2017-05-31 | On April 26th 2017 a very hard frost wiped out our 2017 apple crop. The same thing happened exactly 20 years ago. Could not have been prevented, nothing to be done about it. That is all.
Spring 2017 orchard movie Stephen Hayes 2017-04-16 | Hi all, a few still from the orchard, woodland and vegetable patch with some rough guitar soundtrack. Happy Easter everyone. I'll be back later.
