What to do in the garden in January: inspect stored apples
After last year’s unusual harvest of apples, now is the time to check them over, for eating and to see whether there is any rot


Last year's was an unusual apple harvest, with some trees producing nothing at all and others a bumper crop ripe three weeks early. The latter situation called for a period of neighbourly largesse followed by the careful business of storage, with the apples individually spaced on slatted timber shelves in the silent sanctum of a dark and frost-free shed. Remember to go and look over the little dears periodically, not only to bring them in for eating (above) as they ripen (each cultivar has its season), but also to remove any that rot before the pestilence spreads to the rest.
Sign up for the Country Life Newsletter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
-
A well-connected rural playground with 23 acres on the edge of the South Downs National Park
Old House Farm is an impressive family home with a wealth of amenities that would inspire any rural passion.
By Arabella Youens Published
-
The UK gets its first ‘European stork village’ — and it's in West Sussex
Although the mortality rate among white storks can be up to 90%, the future looks rosy for breeding pairs in southern England.
By Rosie Paterson Published