Orchard 49 had an early Christmas present from Implementations, the UK supplier of PKS Gardening Tools. Debbie has invested in these wonderful tools for her own use and gets a newsletter from the company every so often. The last one mentioned that they wanted to gift some tools to a community project, asking people to write back to nominate their project.
So, Debbie wrote about Orchard 49 and Jane decided to give Orchard 49 the Christmas gift for 2011. We got to choose £100 worth of tools and chose a hydra hoe (as we do a lot of hoeing!) and a nunki weeder - which will be invaluable for weeding around the base of our young trees as they get established.
We've not had a chance to use the tools yet, as the weather in December has been very very wet, but will do early in 2012.
A big thank you to Implementations for this gift, we will treasure these wonderful tools.
Sunny November Orchard Work Days
We have had three Sunday orchard work sessions with clear blue skies in November. This has meant we've made great progress with preparation for planting in the winter.
We have the area along the fence line ready for more vertical cordon trees to go in (all apple) and the fence line with the bakery, the area around the fig tree have both been dug multiple times to get to grips with bramble etc.
Its looking good! Check when our next work session is happening on the Work Days page, or email orchard49 at otags.org.uk - we will add you to our mailing list and notify you about sessions.
We have the area along the fence line ready for more vertical cordon trees to go in (all apple) and the fence line with the bakery, the area around the fig tree have both been dug multiple times to get to grips with bramble etc.
Its looking good! Check when our next work session is happening on the Work Days page, or email orchard49 at otags.org.uk - we will add you to our mailing list and notify you about sessions.
Orchard Progress
It occurred to me that there haven't been many pictures of the orchard itself on the blog. Today was a barmy 23 degrees C sunny September day so I took some photos. They can be viewed via this link to our Picasa web album.
When growing young trees you are advised to take any fruit off the trees in their early years, so that the trees develop a strong root system. So, when you look at these photographs there isn't much to see, fruit wise. Hopefully though you'll see significant progress in how the orchard looks. We've lots of work still to do but we're getting there.
Here is a photo of the sign Trisha made for us.
When growing young trees you are advised to take any fruit off the trees in their early years, so that the trees develop a strong root system. So, when you look at these photographs there isn't much to see, fruit wise. Hopefully though you'll see significant progress in how the orchard looks. We've lots of work still to do but we're getting there.
Here is a photo of the sign Trisha made for us.
Apple Day 2011
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| Baking - delicious! |
We pressed gallons of apple (and some pear) juice with the help of young and old. Almost all the fruit we pressed was fallen fruit gathered from plots on our site, so not only were we all drinking delicious juice we were using food that would otherwise have been wasted.
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| Loading press with crushed apple. |
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| Ready to be pressed. |
Apple Tasting in the pavilion was also very popular. We asked people on the site to provide us with some apples for people to sample, and we also had a couple of varieties from the community orchard. Even though the trees on the orchard are very young, we had some Fillingham Pippin (a delicious crisp eater) and one very large cooker - Lord Suffield. This is as close as we can get to having a Manchester apple variety. It was created in Middleton and we're very lucky to have a tree as they aren't widely available. Phil Rainford from the Northern Fruit Group provided us with a scion when we had the grafting workshop in March 2010 after a long search to find somewhere with a Lord Suffield tree.
The Lord Suffield apple was huge - a testament to the advice to thin your crop to get a smaller number of larger apples... I took all but one fruit bud off when they formed and the result was a very large fruit. Yes, I know that strictly speaking you shouldn't let any fruit form on very young trees, but if you can't locate any trees like the one you have locally, isn't it important to get an idea of what the fruit looks and taste like?
Its a yellow cooker and everyone who tasted a slice of Lord Suffield said it was a good cooker - the sort that would cook into a delicious puree - and that it was not too tart either, so wouldn't need much sweetening.
Visitors to the community orchard might have spotted a wonderful "Orchard 49" sign on the shed door, crafted from recycled materials by Trisha Church - thanks, its wonderful.
Thanks also to all the volunteers on the day, the bakers, the cleaners and gleaners for making the event such a success.
Dehydrating tales
Laura describes her first experience of using the dehydrator featured in the Low Carbon Preserving workshop held on 10th September 2011.
"I began using the food dehydrator last week and am very pleased with the results so far. I already have a tin full of dried apple rings which should see us well into the winter. They're so delicious that I have to make myself eat fresh ones and save the rings for later! I'm particularly pleased that these are all local Old Trafford apples given to me by allotment neighbours so there are no food miles involved and the cost was to happily pick apples in the autumn sunshine - what a bargain!
There is a satisfying, therapeutic effect from coring and slicing dozens of apples to neatly arrange on the dehydrator's trays. It offers the dual luxuries of daydreaming while also feeling very productive. Apples rings are first dipped in a solution of water and lemon juice to keep their colour, then dried on a clean tea towel before going into the dehydrator. It does take some time but the result is worth it. If we can manage not to just eat them all I plan to make cakes with them in a few months time.
Tomatoes are particularly rewarding to dry (and less time-consuming than apples) as it's impossible eat all that my plants produce. I really prepared for this tomato season by abstaining for months beforehand but there are still only so many variations on tomato-based dinners one can eat!! In addition, they shrink massively so I have 40 or 50 tomatoes stored in one small jam jar. When I've done the lot (they are still ripening) I'm going to store them in olive oil and they should keep until this time next year; although I expect we'll scoff them long before that. My tomatoes are small so I have just cut them in half which was quick and easy.
Elderberries are a faff to handle as they're so small. They're tender when fresh and then even tinier when dried. However I enjoyed foraging for them and will enjoy making biscuits with those delicious little fruits later.
The rose hips that I found when I was getting the elderberries will make a lovely infusion throughout the winter. Rose hip tea is excellent for warding off colds (full of vitamin C) and looks really pretty in my glass tea pot!
I have just put in a load of damsons to dry, which were also given to me by an allotment neighbour. These I washed, dried on a tea towel and slit up the side. I'm hoping they will dry ok - so far they seem to be turning leathery and prune-like. I couldn't face destoning them as they are so small and I've already dealt with 2 gluts of plums this summer. A friend has a gadget for destoning damsons which I may borrow next time.
I'm really pleased with my turn with the OTAGS dehydrator. I urge anyone with a glut to consider borrowing it. It's fun and productive and the end result is very satisfying. I haven't really started using my dried produce yet, besides a few cheeky nibbles, as the point is to store it for a while and concentrate on all the fresh stuff there is still about. Anyway I love seeing it on my shelves as a reminder of all that happened this growing season; it's comforting to know too that it'll be a while yet before I resume shopping in Unicorn or the Manky Superstore."
"I began using the food dehydrator last week and am very pleased with the results so far. I already have a tin full of dried apple rings which should see us well into the winter. They're so delicious that I have to make myself eat fresh ones and save the rings for later! I'm particularly pleased that these are all local Old Trafford apples given to me by allotment neighbours so there are no food miles involved and the cost was to happily pick apples in the autumn sunshine - what a bargain!
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| Tomatoes dehydrated |
Tomatoes are particularly rewarding to dry (and less time-consuming than apples) as it's impossible eat all that my plants produce. I really prepared for this tomato season by abstaining for months beforehand but there are still only so many variations on tomato-based dinners one can eat!! In addition, they shrink massively so I have 40 or 50 tomatoes stored in one small jam jar. When I've done the lot (they are still ripening) I'm going to store them in olive oil and they should keep until this time next year; although I expect we'll scoff them long before that. My tomatoes are small so I have just cut them in half which was quick and easy.
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| How it works |
The rose hips that I found when I was getting the elderberries will make a lovely infusion throughout the winter. Rose hip tea is excellent for warding off colds (full of vitamin C) and looks really pretty in my glass tea pot!
I have just put in a load of damsons to dry, which were also given to me by an allotment neighbour. These I washed, dried on a tea towel and slit up the side. I'm hoping they will dry ok - so far they seem to be turning leathery and prune-like. I couldn't face destoning them as they are so small and I've already dealt with 2 gluts of plums this summer. A friend has a gadget for destoning damsons which I may borrow next time.
I'm really pleased with my turn with the OTAGS dehydrator. I urge anyone with a glut to consider borrowing it. It's fun and productive and the end result is very satisfying. I haven't really started using my dried produce yet, besides a few cheeky nibbles, as the point is to store it for a while and concentrate on all the fresh stuff there is still about. Anyway I love seeing it on my shelves as a reminder of all that happened this growing season; it's comforting to know too that it'll be a while yet before I resume shopping in Unicorn or the Manky Superstore."
Low Carbon Preserving Workshop
Saturday 10th September saw OTAGS hosting a preserving workshop in association with Cracking Good Food. The aim of the session was to show how you can manage gluts of produce without spending hours cooking chutneys! Vicki Leng, local cook and preserving enthusiast took participants through how to dehydrate apples, salt beans, pickle cucumbers and dehydrate tomatoes all in the 3 hour session.
The essential piece of equipment we used during the day was a dehydrator. It has 14 square feet of drying space, and is designed to run on a low heat (the temperature range can be set between (29 - 68 °C) whilst at the same time running a fan to dry the food out. So unlike dehydrating food in your oven its energy efficient and you can then store food in jars without the need to run a freezer. Food preserved this way will keep for at least 9 months, so you can be eating sun riped tomatoes that you've grown long after the UK tomato growing season has ended. If they are really really dry you can just jar them once they've been dehydrated. Or if they have some moisture remaining pack them into small jars and cover with olive oil.
Similarly, Apple rings are really easy to process with the dehydrator - simply core, thinly slice, dip into some water with lemon juice to stop them from discolouring, load into the dehydrator for 3 hours then pack into sterilised jars.
We also salted beans, which was quick and straightforward. Vicki explained that this isn't a technique that enables you to serve up green beans that will taste the same as those you cook freshly picked in the usual way (e.g. steam). Rather its one way of managing part of your bean glut that doesn't require freezer space or use of fossil fuels. Very simply, using a clean sterilised jar we packed sliced green beans (french or runner) in layers with salt. A layer of salt followed by a layer of beans, then another layer of salt until the jar was full. After the beans and the salt have been in the jar overnight you can top up the jar packing more beans and salt in, as the salt draws the water out of the beans which makes them shrink.
We tasted some salted beans that Vicki had de-salted earlier in the day and while they didn't taste like fresh beans adding them to soups, stews and chillis would certainly work... once you've rinsed them to remove as much salt as possible.
The session was funded by our Local Food fund grant for Orchard 49. Thanks to Laura for organising the workshop and to Vicki for sharing her knowledge with us.
The essential piece of equipment we used during the day was a dehydrator. It has 14 square feet of drying space, and is designed to run on a low heat (the temperature range can be set between (29 - 68 °C) whilst at the same time running a fan to dry the food out. So unlike dehydrating food in your oven its energy efficient and you can then store food in jars without the need to run a freezer. Food preserved this way will keep for at least 9 months, so you can be eating sun riped tomatoes that you've grown long after the UK tomato growing season has ended. If they are really really dry you can just jar them once they've been dehydrated. Or if they have some moisture remaining pack them into small jars and cover with olive oil.
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| Vicki showing Claire, Dave and Roy how the tomatoes are coming along in the dehydrator. |
We also salted beans, which was quick and straightforward. Vicki explained that this isn't a technique that enables you to serve up green beans that will taste the same as those you cook freshly picked in the usual way (e.g. steam). Rather its one way of managing part of your bean glut that doesn't require freezer space or use of fossil fuels. Very simply, using a clean sterilised jar we packed sliced green beans (french or runner) in layers with salt. A layer of salt followed by a layer of beans, then another layer of salt until the jar was full. After the beans and the salt have been in the jar overnight you can top up the jar packing more beans and salt in, as the salt draws the water out of the beans which makes them shrink.
We tasted some salted beans that Vicki had de-salted earlier in the day and while they didn't taste like fresh beans adding them to soups, stews and chillis would certainly work... once you've rinsed them to remove as much salt as possible.
The session was funded by our Local Food fund grant for Orchard 49. Thanks to Laura for organising the workshop and to Vicki for sharing her knowledge with us.
Preserving workshop full
Our Preserving workshop on 10th September is now full. Vicki may repeat the workshop, in association with Cracking Good Food (charged for, not free). If you are interested get in touch with us or Cracking Good Food.
Budding Session
Peter Nichol from the Northern Fruit group came to show us how to propagate fruit trees using budding. A small group of us gathered to learn how to do this. We began by practising on some prunings from trees on the site - to try our hand at the technique.
Some say budding is easier than grafting (which Peter has also done with us). Only one of our number really got the hang of this technique. It involves making a horizontal cut in the bark (through to the cambium layer), called the top of the T, and then cutting down from the middle of that down the tree. Then comes the fiddly bit. You then very carefully open up the T section you've made in the tree (rootstock) to expose the green wood beneath. Budding knives have a special area on their blade which is supposed to make this easier, but it was tricky!
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| Pete making his T section cut on the rootstock |
Once you've taken your bud off your branch you then tease out the core of the bud - as you want the two trees to join - and doing this helps with the joining.
Once that has been done you then slide the bud into the T section you've created, slice off any spare wood at the top, bind it up with grafting tape and wait. Watering well is essential to give the process the best chance of success.
Once we'd practiced we went and did some budding on some trees in pots and then went over to the orchard to bud some more of the rootstock. Sadly, the plum rootstock was too dry, so it wasn't feasible to try budding onto these.
We will have to see if these bud grafts take - time will tell.
Summer Pruning session
We were lucky to have a warm sunny day for our summer pruning session on Saturday 20th August. Rod Everett from Middlewood Trust came down to run the session, which focused on tackling stone fruit trees. We also talked a little bit about pruning apples to encourage more fruit, but the majority of the day was spent pruning plum and gage trees which needed attention. Click on this link to view the photos of the day.
Thanks to Rod for a great session, to Laura for organising it and to Vicki for the wonderful empanillas (spanish style pasties).
The session was made possible with Local Food funding.
Thanks to Rod for a great session, to Laura for organising it and to Vicki for the wonderful empanillas (spanish style pasties).
The session was made possible with Local Food funding.
Up and Coming Events
Apple Day Saturday 8th October 12-3 pm
For more information about any event please email orchard49@otags.org.uk.
For more information about any event please email orchard49@otags.org.uk.
Apples: British to the Core
Horticulturalist Chris Beardshaw uncovers the British contribution to the history of our most iconic fruit. He reveals the 'golden age', when the passion and dedication of Victorian gardeners gave us more varieties than anywhere else in the world. Chris also finds out how the remarkable ingenuity of a small group of 20th century British scientists helped create the modern mass market apple.
If you hurry you can watch the programme on iplayer
If you hurry you can watch the programme on iplayer
What is in it for me?
Claire McAllen talks about volunteering on the community orchard
It was back in April 2010 that I first heard about the community orchard when an email arrived out of the blue inviting me to come and help. It later transpired that my details were obtained from the allotment waiting list. I had put my name down the previous autumn. After having my 3rd baby I decided I needed to do something for ‘me’. I wanted to get involved with something that I enjoyed doing and that would get me away from the kids for a little while. I gave up work to take care of the kids and although I love spending time with them I needed to spend some time not being mum just being me. I wasn’t sure what to expect, I had never volunteered for anything before and my actual gardening knowledge was limited. The first work day that I attended in May involved lots of digging, it was hard work but I thoroughly enjoyed myself and couldn’t wait for another session so I would pitch up when I had a bit of spare time and needed to get away from nappies and snotty noses. The people I met were great too, really friendly and like minded it was nice to have adult conversations.
Despite the idea being to get away from the kids my teenage daughter, Ayla came along for one of the work days. Ayla is a girl whose idea of exercise is playing Pokemon on her Nintendo DS. I was quite surprised when she asked to join in, but even more surprised when she told me how much she had enjoyed herself! Saying that, ‘It was good exercise and really quite fun’.
Volunteering is very enjoyable and rewarding, getting away from it all for an afternoon, getting some exercise and making lots of new friends in the process. I have been lucky enough to get an allotment plot. Helping at the orchard has meant that I had a realistic expectation of the level of work involved initially with a new allotment.
The sight of a plot waist deep in weeds and various bits of debris can be very disheartening to any new ‘allotmenteer’ but not me! It was a case of here’s my spade let’s get dug in! I will still be helping out at the community orchard and can't wait to get planting, pruning and pleaching, and of course eventually eating scrummy apples!
It was back in April 2010 that I first heard about the community orchard when an email arrived out of the blue inviting me to come and help. It later transpired that my details were obtained from the allotment waiting list. I had put my name down the previous autumn. After having my 3rd baby I decided I needed to do something for ‘me’. I wanted to get involved with something that I enjoyed doing and that would get me away from the kids for a little while. I gave up work to take care of the kids and although I love spending time with them I needed to spend some time not being mum just being me. I wasn’t sure what to expect, I had never volunteered for anything before and my actual gardening knowledge was limited. The first work day that I attended in May involved lots of digging, it was hard work but I thoroughly enjoyed myself and couldn’t wait for another session so I would pitch up when I had a bit of spare time and needed to get away from nappies and snotty noses. The people I met were great too, really friendly and like minded it was nice to have adult conversations.
Despite the idea being to get away from the kids my teenage daughter, Ayla came along for one of the work days. Ayla is a girl whose idea of exercise is playing Pokemon on her Nintendo DS. I was quite surprised when she asked to join in, but even more surprised when she told me how much she had enjoyed herself! Saying that, ‘It was good exercise and really quite fun’.
Volunteering is very enjoyable and rewarding, getting away from it all for an afternoon, getting some exercise and making lots of new friends in the process. I have been lucky enough to get an allotment plot. Helping at the orchard has meant that I had a realistic expectation of the level of work involved initially with a new allotment.
The sight of a plot waist deep in weeds and various bits of debris can be very disheartening to any new ‘allotmenteer’ but not me! It was a case of here’s my spade let’s get dug in! I will still be helping out at the community orchard and can't wait to get planting, pruning and pleaching, and of course eventually eating scrummy apples!
Summer Pruning session
We will be offering a summer pruning session the weekend of 20/21 August (TBA). The session will cover how to summer prune, to encourage fruit growth. Rod Everett from Middlewood will be running the session, if you'd like to come along or would like more information, please email on orchard49@otags.org.uk
Planting completed
January-March 2011 was a busy time for us. We had lots of trees to plant on the community orchard. Challenging weather conditions November-January meant that our planting window was quite small.
All the trees we had to plant for the 2010-2011 dormant period are now in the ground and florishing. We planted 30 trees, 17 of which are cordon trees - they will grow along a fence line as a way of demonstrating how fruit can be grown in smaller spaces. So, we currently have 13 trees planted in the top half of the orchard. All but 9 of these are trees we grafted.
The trees we grafted ourselves (in March 2010) and planted are:
(Pollination group in brackets)
Lord Derby D
Yorkshire Cockpit C
Lemon Pippin D
Allington Pippin C
Bossom (Mid)
Stripped Beefing C
Queen Cox B
Minshull Crab C
Lord Lambourne C
Burr Knot C
D’Arcy Spice D
Crispin (10)
Downham Pippin D
All the above are cordon trees
Ashmeads Kernel D
Bee Bench ?
Eccleston Pippin ?
Laxton‘s Superb D
Lord Suffield B
Plot 52 ? This is a tree on our site (on plot 52) yet to be identified.
Tydeman’s Early Worcester D
Withington Welter C
And we purchased and planted:
Duke of Devonshire B
Fillingham Pippin B (grafted by Peter Nichol locally)
Flower of the Town B
Grandpa Buxton B (grafted by Peter Nichol locally)
Greenup's Pippin B
Keswick Codling B
Ladies Finger of Lancaster C
Ribston Pippin D
Tydeman's Late Orange D
All the trees we had to plant for the 2010-2011 dormant period are now in the ground and florishing. We planted 30 trees, 17 of which are cordon trees - they will grow along a fence line as a way of demonstrating how fruit can be grown in smaller spaces. So, we currently have 13 trees planted in the top half of the orchard. All but 9 of these are trees we grafted.
The trees we grafted ourselves (in March 2010) and planted are:
(Pollination group in brackets)
Lord Derby D
Yorkshire Cockpit C
Lemon Pippin D
Allington Pippin C
Bossom (Mid)
Stripped Beefing C
Queen Cox B
Minshull Crab C
Lord Lambourne C
Burr Knot C
D’Arcy Spice D
Crispin (10)
Downham Pippin D
All the above are cordon trees
Ashmeads Kernel D
Bee Bench ?
Eccleston Pippin ?
Laxton‘s Superb D
Lord Suffield B
Plot 52 ? This is a tree on our site (on plot 52) yet to be identified.
Tydeman’s Early Worcester D
Withington Welter C
And we purchased and planted:
Duke of Devonshire B
Fillingham Pippin B (grafted by Peter Nichol locally)
Flower of the Town B
Grandpa Buxton B (grafted by Peter Nichol locally)
Greenup's Pippin B
Keswick Codling B
Ladies Finger of Lancaster C
Ribston Pippin D
Tydeman's Late Orange D
Work days and sheds
We are having a work weekend 19th-20th March to plant the trees bought from a specialist nursery - we only have a little time left to get this done as the trees need planting in their dormant season.
If you're interested in coming along we'll be there from 11-2 pm Saturday and 11-1.30 Sunday. Lots to do, so if you can spare an hour do come. There will be soup and bread on offer to warm you up if its cold. If the weather is kind we may do all the trees on Saturday, but there is lots more to get on with on Sunday.
Other news - we now have a shed. A big thank you to Julie, Trisha and Chris who levelled the ground, laid the slabs and put up the shed. This means that we have a place to keep orchard bits and bobs, plus a shelter from the elements. It needs some guttering and a water butt is on the way so we'll have some stored water to keep the trees happy when its dry.
Hope to see you on the orchard soon.
If you're interested in coming along we'll be there from 11-2 pm Saturday and 11-1.30 Sunday. Lots to do, so if you can spare an hour do come. There will be soup and bread on offer to warm you up if its cold. If the weather is kind we may do all the trees on Saturday, but there is lots more to get on with on Sunday.
Other news - we now have a shed. A big thank you to Julie, Trisha and Chris who levelled the ground, laid the slabs and put up the shed. This means that we have a place to keep orchard bits and bobs, plus a shelter from the elements. It needs some guttering and a water butt is on the way so we'll have some stored water to keep the trees happy when its dry.
Hope to see you on the orchard soon.
Grafted Trees Planted
All but one of the trees grafted during the workshop in March 2010 have now been planted in the top half of the orchard. We're waiting delivery of the seven trees we ordered from a specialist nursery - which should be dispatched soon. Three of these need planting as bush trees and four will go along the fence and be grown as cordon trees.
We have some duplicate trees (where we grafted more than one of the variety) and these trees are going to be put in pots and offered for sale at our plant sale in May.
Other news: the shed will be going up next weekend, and once this is done there will be tools for people to use stored in the shed.
We have some duplicate trees (where we grafted more than one of the variety) and these trees are going to be put in pots and offered for sale at our plant sale in May.
Other news: the shed will be going up next weekend, and once this is done there will be tools for people to use stored in the shed.
February Work Days
We are having more work days in February to get trees planted. As always, they are weather dependant (frozen ground or pouring rain don't work very well!), so always call to check if in any doubt!
We've planted some of the trees, but there are still more to go in the ground and we really only have February (and early March) to do it.
We'll be there most Saturdays* until the trees are planted - from 11-2 pm. You don't need to commit to the whole time, an hour would be great!
Call 07960 713 018 for more information.
* Not during OTAGS seed potato weekend (19-20th Feb).
We've planted some of the trees, but there are still more to go in the ground and we really only have February (and early March) to do it.
We'll be there most Saturdays* until the trees are planted - from 11-2 pm. You don't need to commit to the whole time, an hour would be great!
Call 07960 713 018 for more information.
* Not during OTAGS seed potato weekend (19-20th Feb).
January Work Days
We are planning to have three work days in January to get trees planted. We will be on the orchard on 22nd and 23rd January between 11 and 2 pm and again on 29th January between 11 and 2 pm.
Laura Mackay is making soup for the 22nd/23rd January sessions, so do come along. If the weather is very poor please give Debbie a call on 07960 713 018.
By way of inspiration, here is an artist's impression of the orchard - we need your help to make it so. Thanks to Julie for doing this great artwork.
Laura Mackay is making soup for the 22nd/23rd January sessions, so do come along. If the weather is very poor please give Debbie a call on 07960 713 018.
By way of inspiration, here is an artist's impression of the orchard - we need your help to make it so. Thanks to Julie for doing this great artwork.
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