Welcome to the meristem! A botanical term you may not have heard It is a group of stem or pluripotential cells at the growing tip of shoots & roots The term was first used in 1858 by Swiss botanist Carl Wilhelm von Nägeli in his book Contributions to Scientific Botany and forms leaves flowers etc

So pleased to have found this tea towel. Rare as it’s the first one I have found listed in years. Oh to have been to the 1972 Herefordshire cider festival. #cider #herefordshire #teatowel #souvenir

Porter’s Perfection set heavy clusters of fruit and in the early weeks after bloom the stems and base of the hypanthium of fruitlets that are close together can physically fuse The resulting mature apple is therefore a compound apple with a lobulated shape due to unequal growth of the fused parts

The orchard fruit is now entering the early growth phase which lasts for 6 weeks after full bloom (AFB) Fertilisation of the ovules creates the viable seeds, these make the phytohormones auxins and gibberellins These drive rapid cell division in the hypanthium to make the apple flesh. #apple #growth

Our Shropshire sheep had their once a year shear yesterday and it’s good to get the heavy coat off before the summer heat and humidity in the orchard cause fly strike. Flystrike in NZ sheep is caused mainly by the Australian green blowfly- Lucilia cuprina. Peter Vallance a maestro. #sheep #Shearing

In lieu of a post tomorrow as we will be busy rounding up the sheep in the orchard for shearing, here is a post of the sunset tonight. #orchard #cider #sunset

We are at the end of the pollination season. Just a few varieties left Ashton Bitter and Brown Snout with blossoms. Bees will have to move on to other flowers which is why we plant many plants that flower though the year to keep a stable population of Bumbles and indigenous bees. #bees #pollination

Plants of Beau Vista orchard. White clover was introduced into NZ from Europe in 1864. It is New Zealand's most important pasture plant for its ability to fix nitrogen and provide high-quality feed. It is very susceptible to clover root weevil that was accidentally introduced in 1994 #clover #plants

Of the plants of Beau Vista this is the most unusual The dragon arum native to Greece It was introduced into NZ as an ornamental in 1965 It has large leaves with fingers hence around a variegated pseudostem supporting a purple spathe This has a foul odour of rotten meat to attract insects #plant

Yarlington Mill apples just post set (late blossomer). It is a "spitter" because it is awful to eat raw due to its high levels of drying tannins and low acidity. For the same reason it is highly valued for cider making from its bittersweet juice which when fermented has complex aromas and flavours.

Trees "heal" wounds by isolating the damage through forming a deep barrier zone creating a chemical and physical boundary deep to the damaged area separating the healthy tissues from disease. The overgrowth of cambium callus is the most visible part. It grows over years. #trees #healing #wounds

The small Kingston Black apples are growing nicely at Beau Vista orchard now the blossom season is over. Even some early colour. We are having great weather for growth with warmth and enough rain. #apples #KingstonBlack #ciderNZ #cider

Red clover from England was introduced to New Zealand in the 1867. It fixes nitrogen to boost soil fertility naturally. It thrives in less-intensive, summer-dry swards like at Beau Vista orchard where there are only a few sheep. It needs bumblebees for pollination #clover #orchard #soils #nitrogen

Flowers of Beau Vista orchard. Solomon's seal or Polygonatum. It thrives in shady areas with moist, well-drained soil. It was introduced into NZ settler gardens early in colonial times from England as an ornamental and medicinal plant. #woodland #plants #SolomonSeal

The perry pears at Beau Vista orchard were jealous the attention the apples were getting so here’s an update. The pears are well set and growing. With their increasing weight the stalks are bending and the pears are hanging down now. This unknown pear I call Carterton. Great tannins #perry #pear

Plants of Beau Vista orchard, the ribwort plantain Plantago lanceolata. Originally from England it is a good pasture plant included in many seed mixes. The plant is also known for its folk medicinal properties and traditionally used to treat respiratory issues and wounds. #plantain #orchard #sward

Rev Hugh Walpole  born 1884 was an English novelist. In his The Apple Trees: Four Reminiscences, the apple trees are real and significant symbolic touchstones for memory, nostalgia, and the passage of time, representing the enduring connection between characters and their past. #books #apples

Not many foxgloves this year Sad as often a great display on the Remutuka pass. Foxglove has a folk medical history, codified by William Withering in the 1780s isolated digitalis, established dosages, paving the way for the development of modern digitalis drugs used to treat heart failure #foxglove

There is gold in the Tararua ranges today. A wet day so far but hopefully will be able to work outside in Beau Vista orchard. Planting bare rooted Yarlington Mill trees I was lucky enough to get. Thanks @elementalcider. #cider #YarlingtonMill #apples #orchard

Little applets forming. Photos of Tom Putt a week apart. Once fertilised the perianth and ovule begin to grow. #apple #cider #perianth #accessoryfruit

Sir Dave Dobbyn’s song Shaky Ground, was realised a couple of nights ago, - lyrics "I'm standing on shaky isles. Seen so much of the ground," The cidery took quite a jolt! Thankfully no damage but it was one of the bigger ones - Richter 4.9 #earthquake #cidery #NewZealand

Bit ironic that NZ Post have a new first day cover set on bio security when Auckland has a breach. Asian yellow legged hornets have just been spotted breeding in a suburb. If not eradicated then apiarists and horticultural have a big problem. #hornets #bees #biosecurity #stamps #philately

Harry Masters Jersey blossom. Often an overlooked cider apple in the company of Kingston Black and Yarlington Mill but a great apple. Interestingly named after Harry a cider apple grower and nurseryman of Woolston, Somerset who popularised Yarlington Mill! #HarryMasters #cider #apple #blossom

We have security cameras for humans at the cidery but so far it’s only animals spotted. Possums were introduced in 1850s from Australia but they voraciously eat the bush and carry bovine Tb. We trap them to keep numbers down and protect the apple trees. We bait the traps with apple. #possoms #pest

When we bought the lifestyle block there were several established trees. Flowering ash, Fraxinus ornus, is one. It has fragrant, creamy-white flowers in dense panicles now in late spring. Originally from southern Europe it was introduced early in colonial times times to NZ #trees #ash

The aftermath of the recent storms. Not too bad at Beau Vista orchard although a lot of blossom lost. A few large branches off ornamental trees, but not our apple and pear trees.Sadly the neighbour's wilding pear was not so lucky. Its blossom gave us great pleasure year in/out. #storm #pear #tree

Great ferry crossing yesterday to Nelson and the 10th NZ Cider festival, see you all there on Saturday. It’s the competition results and AGM today. The Cook strait crossing is one of the most beautiful short cruises in the world ( on a good day). Just entered Tory Chanel. #cider #festival #ferry

And we are off to the NZ Cider Festival in Nelson. On the Bluebrige across the Cook Strait or Te Moana-o-Raukawa. #cider #festival #CookStrait #Aotearoa

Beer yeasts have been domesticated for centuries & are now genetically different from their wild ancestors A major change was the formation of lager yeast, a hybrid of 2 yeasts for cold fermentation At Teepee Cider we use wild yeasts from pressing cloths as this gives a wider flavour profile #yeast

I saw this jigsaw for sale in a shop recently. Apples galore but at 1000 pieces I think I will pass. Far too difficult and time consuming. 😵‍💫

There is now more AI content than human written articles on the internet. Some is good, think research on large number databases like medicine and weather forecasting. A lot however is poor quality and factually incorrect, now called AI Slop. No content on TeePee Cider page is knowingly #AISlop

Grain to loaf Apple to cider Grape to wine Minimal processing foods in NOVA group 3 NOVA is a food classification based on degree of processing. 1 Unprocessed or minimally processed foods 2 Processed culinary ingredients 3 Processed foods 4 Ultra-processed foods eg fast food. Bad #NOVA #cider

This is an ichneumon wasp on our cidery wall. They are solitary parasitoid wasps - they lay eggs in other insects and their larvae then develop inside their bodies. They are native to NZ and widespread in the world and are an integral part of biodiversity. #insects #wasp #ichneumon #orchard

Just bought: The Story of the Herefordshire Pomona, a new book by Bill Laws from Logaston Press. Bill Laws tells the origin story of one of this important pomological book, which was conceived, commissioned and produced in the 1870s and 1880s by members of the Woolhope Soc England. #books #pomology

Pear are ‘accessory fruits’ so the fleshy bit we eat is not from the ovary wall as usual. The fruit is an enlarged hypanthium around the ovary & supports the sepals & stamens As the fruitlets grows the sepals, do not fall off They persist and you can see them at the bottom of a pear #pear #botany

Not going outside today unless I can help it. Very strong winds as fronts race up the country. No damage at BeauVista orchard but trees down in the neighbourhood roads closed, schools closed airports closed etc. Electricity off in town. Couple of local photos and weather warnings. #weather #wild

Creeping buttercup is an invasive perennial introduced into NZ in 1878 from UK. It spreads by runners or stolons, and has bright yellow waxy flowers from now to summer. It is toxic to cattle which avoids it but it is happily eaten in the grass sward by our sheep at Beau Vista orchard. #buttercup

The taxonomy of crabapples is complex, the native European crab apple is M. sylvestris. But this wild ancestor has been crossed with many others to form hybrid ornamental cultivated varieties. We grow them for their early blossoms to attract pollinators. #crabapples #apples #orchard #bees

Whilst enjoying the apple blossom in the orchard, the perry pear trees are in leaf and hidden in those leaves are the fruitlets from the earlier pear blossoms. The set looks good. I like the way the fruitlets are held erect on the stalk until the weight bends them over. #fruitlet #perry #pear

The apple orchard at Beau Vista is coming to life. We are now in blossom. A beautiful time of the year. New life is always welcome. A garden group is visiting the orchard and cidery today so perfect timing. #orchard #apple #blossom #Spring

It’s apple blossom time at Beau Vista orchard (at last!). Cold morning but promising a good day. A sprinkling of snow on the high ranges. A high is over us after a period of changeable weather fronts. #apples #blossom #orchard #wairarapa #aotearoa #NewZealand

The case of the curious roadside wilding close to Beau Vista orchard, Wairarapa NZ. Some apples are hanging on right through into Spring. And they are still fresh! I know I tasted one. A sharp. And now it’s blossoming! #apples

Legs in a wine glass are caused by the Marangoni effect of surface tension differences between H20 & EtOH in the wine As EtOH evaporates faster than H20 from the thin film on the glass the wine becomes watery with a higher ST that pulls more wine up Gravity then causes it to fall back down as legs.

Pear anthers changes from a purple to black over 2 days as it releases pollen and then oxidizes and dries and shrivelsThe colour is caused by anthocyanins in the cells of the anther. If the flower has been pollinated by bees the flower will then progress to fruit set. The pollen is actually yellow.

At Beau Vista orchard we let nettles grow in the corners to encourage biodiversity. Nettles encourage an amazing array of insects including Red Admiral or Kahukura. They also provide shelter for larvae, support a diverse range of pollinators, and contribute nutrients to the ecosystem. #nettles

On the Wairarapa plains the next town north from Carterton ( our nearest town to TeePee Cidery and orchard) is Masterton. In the era before social media when newspapers reigned supreme, the Wairarapa Times Age built this magnificent art deco building. #artdeco #buildings #architecture #NewZealand

What a late start to Spring for many plants in NZ. Beau Vista orchard’s beech hedge should be green by now. Never seen it so bare as the old brown leaves finally blow away, you can see though it! #Spring #Aotearoa #beech #hedging #orchard #cider #apples

Hysteranthous -blossom before leaves. Pears do this. Apples which flower a few weeks later take the usual leaves first course to the spring weather shielding the delicate flower buds from frost etc Pear have evolved to flower dramatically as early as possible in to attract bees but take that risk.

Mystery solved! Kererū poo! Under a large greengage tree at Beau Vista orchard has been continuous poo. I thought possums but trap those and levels low. Then they arrived. 3 beautiful birds who had been hiding from me for weeks. Must roost in the tree at night. #kereru #orchard #NewZealand #Aotearoa

At last! -the Tom Putt apples (our first apples to blossom) are about to bud burst. The leaves opened first last week revealing these gorgeous deep crimson flower buds. A late but bountiful Spring. #cider #apples #orchard #Wairarapa #NewZealand