April maintenance – 29 April 2018
A good maintenance session. One group busied themselves tying down the branches of trees. This will encourage a good shape as they grow this summer and in year’s to come. The other group fitted the first of our super-tough ground mats under one of the benches. We’re going to put these under the benches and […]
Grafting workshop
14 April 2018 – A sunny afternoon spent grafting apples and pears. 20 trees grafted. Lets hope they take!
Winter Wassail 2018
20th January 2018 – The trees were well toasted at the Winter Wassail. The orchard looked magical lit up by a myriad of lanterns. Many thanks to Mark, our toast master, to Elaine for leading the singing, to Lara for her recorder playing and to all the children who sang beautifully.
Recycled compost bins
26th November 2017 – Today we built three compost bins, using old pallets and posts recycled from the tree fortresses. We’ll fill them with mowings, prunings, and the left over pulp from juicing events over the coming years.
Last of the cages removed
The last of the cages were removed on 28 October 2017. These were originally built to protect the trees from deer and rabbits. They gave the trees good protection when first installed, but they made it hard to weed and they were starting to constrain the growth. The orchard has a more natural look now.
Orchard maintenance – 2017
This Summer (2017) we’ve been removing the cages that were built to protect the trees from deer and rabbits. These were great when first installed and gave the trees good protection, but they made it hard to weed and they were starting to constrain the growth. We’ve now removed about 45 cages, with about 6 […]
Bird in the Hand Breakfast – 2017
1st July 2017 – Thanks to the RSPB, Hedgehog Gardens and the Wildlife Trust for this opportunity to find out about local wildlife. The RSPB were ringing birds and monitoring the health of local species. Hedgehog Gardens provided advice on what you can do to help hedgehogs in your garden. And the bonus of cooked […]
