Author: simonandeleanor

Willow Weaving Morning March 16th

On a gloriously sunny March morning, a group of Orchard Members met for a willow weaving session led by Jo from Abundant Earth.

None of us were experienced willow weavers and Jo was a fabulous teacher, showing us the different weaving techniques and helping us correct our sometimes wonky bean frames! We learnt a lot about the craft of willow weaving and about the willow we were using.

Many of our Orchard members are also members of the Margery Flatts Allotment Association and you can now see our amazing bean frames dotted around the plots waiting for the spring planting!

Please do have wander up to the Orchard and enjoy the beautiful surroundings and possibly admire our handiwork!

Winter Pruning January 2024

Members of the Orchard meet to continue the winter pruning of the apple trees. They worked on the forest garden area at far end of the orchard. Unfortunately some of our apple trees have canker and we had to remove one of the trees.

Pruning will continue during the next few work sessions.

Wassailing January 2024

We were lucky after such a rainy start of the year to have a dry and occasionally sunny day for our Wassailing.

We started the day with a winter pruning session. At 11.30 members and family gathered in the square for the Wassailing. Wassailing is a traditionally way of thanking the fruit trees for last year’s crop and to feed them with bread and cider to encourage the trees to produce a wonderful crop of fruit this year.

Traditionally everyone makes a lot of noise and taps the trees to wake them up from their winter sleep. Every year someone volunteers to be the Green Man. This year we had a Green Woman. In folklore the Green Man represents new life and often attends Wassailing events.

Many thanks to our wonderful musicians, singers and dancers for making the Wassailing such a success. Thanks also to Paul and Sonny for opening their home for us to share lunch together.

A Soggy Start to the New Year

Happy New Year to all of our members and friends!

We are off to a rain washed New Year! The grass areas are very wet so be careful as you walk around. Hopefully the ground will be drier by the time we hold our first work session of the year. Don’t forget about the Wassailing after the work session.

Christmas Orchard!

A few years ago one of our members stared some mistletoe on some of our apple trees. The mistletoe has grown and is a very seasonal addition to the orchard. We now pick and sell the mistletoe in the village green grocers, Lanchester Country Basket. Why not have a wander up to the orchard to see the mistletoe on the trees, especially in the snow!

Revamping the Strawberry and Rhubarb Beds

The strawberry and rhubarb beds have not been so productive over the last few seasons so we decided to relocate them to different parts of the Orchard. Members moved 15 rhubarb plants to their new home beside the main square whilst others cleared out the old strawberry bed. A new strawberry bed has been planted in the triangular fruit bed at the top of the orchard.

Hopefully we can look forward to bumper crops once the new plants are established.

Orchard Table in the Village!

Sue and Lynn set up our orchard table and invited everyone to taste the different varieties of apple. Many of the apples and fruit we grow in the orchard are heritage varieties and can not be bought in shops. You can find more information and how to become a member of the Community Orchard by visiting the ‘Orchard’ page of our website.

A Productive Orchard!

The fruit and nuts have been ripening during the summer and are close to being picked. The apples need a few more weeks until our fruit picking and juicing day, but the windfall apples have been well sampled! The squirrels as usual are enjoying the nut crop but they have left some for us to pick!