1/4 Cup Crushed nuts (e.g. unsalted peanuts or pistachios)
Method:
Wash the apples and place in a fridge for a few hours (before beginning) to cool.
Mix water and sugar in a saucepan over a low heat. When the sugar is dissolved, increase the heat to low-medium, and cook until the mixture is a dark amber colour. Remove from heat and stir in the cream. (Beware of spattering at this point).
Set aside to cool and thicken.
Insert lollipop sticks into the cold apples, and dip the top half of each fruit into the caramel. When the caramel is sticky, as it should now be, drizzle the crushed nuts over the apples.
Stand the apples upright to cool, perhaps in the fridge, depending on the stickiness of the caramel.
If you have a piece of aeroboard (polystyrene wall insulation board) this can make a convenient platform to insert the lollipop sticks into, as the apples will stay upright while cooling.
Raspberries Most of the leaves will be gone from your old canes, and these can now be pruned off. Make cuts as close to the ground as possible, and tie in the canes that grew during the past summer as soon as the old ones are removed. If you are wrapping or weaving the canes, you will need to wait for another month until all the leaves have fallen off these before doing so.
Strawberries Strawberry plants will have good runners by now, and this is a good time to take them and plant a new plot. Select runners with good roots, and plant in a location where strawberries have not been grown before. If you are keeping your old plot, remove any weeds from it before the winter.
Apples Most of your apples should be picked by now, and if they are not, it will not be long before the birds start attacking. When the leaves fall off the trees, collect them and burn or dispose of them in a compost heap. Doing so will mean less diseases next year, as apple scab is transmitted from rotting leaves to new growth in the spring.
Most of the leaves will be gone from your old canes, and these can now be pruned off. Make cuts as close to the ground as possible, and tie in the canes that grew during the past summer as soon as the old ones are removed. If you are wrapping or weaving the canes, you will need to wait for another month until all the leaves have fallen off these before doing so.
Strawberry plants will have good runners by now, and this is a good time to take them and plant a new plot. Select runners with good roots, and plant in a location where strawberries have not been grown before. If you are keeping your old plot, remove any weeds from it before the winter.
Most of your apples should be picked by now, and if they are not, it will not be long before the birds start attacking. When the leaves fall off the trees, collect them and burn or dispose of them in a compost heap. Doing so will mean less diseases next year, as apple scab is transmitted from rotting leaves to new growth in the spring.