Orchard Watch

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Orchard Watch

The latest news from our growers’ orchards

Take a behind-the-scenes look at our British apple and pear orchards, exploring the daily tasks and challenges our growers face.

Orchard Watch video gallery

Every day our British apple and pear growers are busy growing the most delicious fruit for UK shoppers.

Follow their stories on TikTok or our YouTube channel.

Pip and the Apples is a book about a young boy who finds himself living next to an apple orchard. As her navigates a new school and new friends, he learns about how apples grow. Stef Gates kindly provided the audio version of the book as part of a Veg Power initiative. The information in this book has been guided by British apple growers, who work with nature to get delicious fruit from their orchards to your hands. By working closely with growers and a farming STEM ambassador, author Laura Baker has ensured that ‘Pip and the Apples’ is not only a wonderful story but an excellent educational source.
Pip and the Apples
The very last of the crop is being picked this week as our growers finish up in the orchards. There is excellent availability of British apples and pears in all UK stores, so remember to fill up your basket on your next shop and enjoy the mouthwatering taste of this season's best fruit!
That's a wrap for this year's British apple and pear harvest #shorts
Ever wondered how delicate apple picking really is? Growers treat each apple like an egg — too much squeeze, twist, or pull, and the fruit is bruised. That’s why so much care and training goes into every harvest. Next time you bite into a perfect British apple, you’ll know the secret behind its journey!
How to pick an apple? Treat it like an egg! #shorts
Ever wondered how all those freshly picked British apples make it safely from the orchard to the packhouse? Many of our growers now use automated bin-filling machines to help during harvest. Skilled pickers still hand-pick every apple, then place them onto conveyor arms that gently load the fruit into storage bins. The machine ensures each bin is evenly filled to prevent bruising and maximise space. This automation also improves worker safety by reducing heavy lifting, increases efficiency so more fruit can be processed in less time, and helps growers make the most of their skilled teams during the busiest weeks of the year. Some systems even record bin weights and locations, helping growers track fruit from orchard to packhouse with precision. It’s another example of how British growers are combining traditional care with modern technology to deliver top-quality apples.
How do British apples get from orchard to packhouse?#shorts
The British Pink Lady apple harvest is underway! These crisp, blushing apples are among the last to be picked each season, and although the weather hasn’t made it easy, our growers are giving it their all to bring you the best of British. This video shows several harvesting machines in action, working carefully and efficiently to protect that signature colour and crunch we all love. Here’s to the final weeks of harvest and to the dedication of everyone making sure these beautiful British apples reach your fruit aisles soon!
British Pink Lady harvest has started #shorts
Ever wondered how you can enjoy delicious, crisp British apples all year round, even though they’re only harvested once a year? After harvest, apples are placed straight into temperature and oxygen controlled storage rooms, some capable of holding hundreds of bins at a time. These chambers monitor the fruit minute by minute, keeping each apple in a near-sleeping state that locks in freshness, flavour and nutrients naturally. Advanced technology, including AI sorting systems, helps growers analyse size, shape, colour and internal quality, ensuring only the very best apples reach your home. By carefully managing oxygen levels and temperature, growers can preserve that just-picked quality for many months without additives or preservatives. The result? British apples that taste as fresh in spring as they
How British apples are stored so you can enjoy them all year round #shorts
All the storage bins and machinery are ready for the pickers first thing in the morning in this British apple orchard. It's a busy time of year for growers.
What happens to British apples after they are picked?
Harvest is well underway in British apple and pear orchards. Here's how it's going.
The 2025 British apple harvest - how it's going
The peace before these British apples get picked. They are perfect for picking - a deep red colour - and the machinery is in place to help the pickers. Every British apple is carefully picked by hand.
Dawn breaks in this British apple orchard and the machines are all ready for fruit picking #shorts
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