I may be in danger of being accused of writing a cookery column instead of one on gardening at this rate, but living in the Garden of England and being a keen cook, it is very difficult to ignore all the produce that is available especially with the bountiful autumn we are enjoying this year.

Quite frankly it’s getting quite ridiculous. I have now officially run out of preserving jars, which is a first, from all the chutney and jam making. So I’m having to think of other things to do with the Victoria plums and Bramley apples which are now also ready, today’s recipe taken from Sarah Raven’s Kitchen Cookbook came in the form of Kentish Apple Cake, which I would definitely recommend giving a try.

Bramleys (Malus domestica ‘Bramleys Seedling’) are small to medium sized deciduous trees, which have pretty pink tinged flowers in the spring. They tolerate heavier, wetter soils than dessert varieties and their fruit stores well through the winter. In 10 years the trees can grow to an ultimate height and width of 2.5-8m, depending on the rootstock, but if you have the room, it’s well worth having one in your garden, I only planted mine two years ago and it is already heavily cropping.

The technical bit: Bramleys are triploids (it has 3 sets of chromosomes instead of 2 like most applies and humans!) and as such are not effective pollinators. This just means you will need to have another compatible apple variety nearby to pollinate them for example: Golden Delicious and Cox’s Orange Pippin are both good pollinators.

To store the fruit take a good look at each apple to make sure there is no bruising (eat those ones now) wrap the apples loosely in newspaper and place in one layer in a tray or box, store in a dry cool place, check them occasionally and remove any which are showing signs of rotting.

Or you could freeze them uncooked for use as and when you need them: simply peel and slice add a drizzle of lemon mixed with a little water and flat freeze, packing into freezer bags & labelled once frozen. Perfect for a quick crumble with your Sunday roast.