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MEET THE GROWER

Meet the Grower – David Morton, Aston Fruit Farm

David Morton from Aston Fruit Farm has been growing apples at his farm in Herefordshire since 1982 after a spell as a tennis pro.  The farm has been in the Morton family since 1907 with David and his wife Sally, the third generation on the farm, taking full time control in 1988.

Aston Fruit Farm based near Ross-on-Wye has 25 hectares where his 5,000 Jazz apple trees cover 1.6 hectares, the farm also produces other traditional English varieties.

David and the farm have just come through the picking season and once again David has a lot of confidence in this season’s Jazz Apple produce.

“This year’s Jazz are once again of fantastic quality.  The trees have now been in the ground for three years and the volume of fruit per tree is continuing to increase year on year with the quality remaining constant.  They are a firmer apple with more crunch and flavour and anyone I speak to who has tried them absolutely loves them.”   

“Jazz Apples are a little more expensive to grow as we have to pay a licence to the breeder and a variety levy, but it still brings in better returns than other apples due to the quality and uniqueness of the apple and because consumers are willing to pay more for them.  ”

“The picking season is obviously the busiest time for us and runs from around the 20th August to the 20th October.  One picker fills three bins a day which is around 7000 apples so it is always a testing time of year but also a rewarding one as we see the end product of all our efforts.” 

David studied Zoology at university and his passion for the environment and wildlife means that conservation is high on the agenda at Aston Fruit Farm. 

“We have an abiding commitment to our rural way of life, the environment and particularly to protecting the farm’s wildlife population so we keep the use of pesticides and agro-chemicals to an absolute minimum.  Our method of integrated pest management means that we have not had any detectable pesticide residue for many years.”

David predicts a big future for Jazz Apples:

“I am looking forward to investing further in Jazz Apples and I believe other growers will look to follow suit.  The taste, appearance and quality of Jazz Apples is exquisite and they definitely live up to the tag as The Rising Star of the Apple World.”