(Cranbrook, Kent)
Produce:
Apples
Paul Ward founded MoleEnd farms limited roughly 25 years ago in Cranbrook, Kent. Paul inherited a small pear orchard where he began growing conventionally for a few years before deciding to take the leap into organic farming as he did not like using pesticide or chemicals on the trees. The small pear orchard expanded into 110 hectares of top fruit spread across eight sights.
MoleEnd farms grows a complete range of apple variety, with early season beginning in August. The first variety to be picked is typically Discovery then a sequence after that depending on ripening of fruit. The perfect time to pick early variety apples is determined by taste and pressure tests of how crisp the apple is and whether or not they have full sugars. The apples are stored for between two to four weeks to allow them to develop to their best eating quality before consumption.
Main Fruit season then commences in September. Apples like gala, crimson crisp, cox royal are picked and stored in controlled atmospheres for up to 6-8 months. They are picked when the starch to sugar ratio is 70:30, to ensure durability for holding in store for an extended period of time. The stores are opened sequentially in accordance with fruit ripening and maintenance of pressures.