It’s been a cold and snowy start to the new year in the orchard. The trees are firmly asleep but the cold weather is good news because apple trees need 50 days of the temperature to be 5 degrees Celsius each winter to be productive. The snowy sunny weather has also created a winter wonderland in the orchard.
Hanging up bunches of Mistletoe is a long held tradition. Orchard members braved the rain today to cut bunches of mistletoe to be sold in our village greengrocers. Despite the rain we were able to deliver 15 bunches of mistletoe all ready for Christmas!
Although nearly all of the apples have been picked, and the fruit trees and bushes are settling down for the Winter, the Orchard is still active. If you take a walk around the paths you will be able to find many different fungi. Fungi play an important part of the Orchard’s eco system. Don’t forget to look only though, non of the fungi are edible!
The Orchard is now showing off its Autumn colours. It’s well worth a visit while our fruit trees still have their leaves. The nut walk is particularly colourful as is our Walnut tree.
When the Community Orchard was first established, we planted many heritage varieties of apples and pears. We also planted different fruit trees with a long and ancient history. One of these was a mulberry tree. This has thrived over the years and we now get a small crop of mulberries each year.
Recently we were donated a second mulberry tree which we planted beside the Forest Garden. It has already produced a few mulberries and hopefully we will have more in years to come. Many thanks to our donors for this kind gift to the Orchard.
Six orchard members got together on a beautiful sunny evening to take part in our annual wild flower survey. Armed with reference books and apps we surveyed the whole orchard.
We identified 57 species, up from 53 species last year. Some plants such as Deadly Nightshade, Camomile, Harebells, Alkanet, Herb Robert, Hop Trefoil, Red Campion Rosebay Willow Herb, Tufted Vetch, wild carrot and Woad were not spotted this year.
We are so pleased that our species numbers are up again and how diverse the Orchard environment is!
Our wild flower meadows are now in full bloom and you can wander through the meadows along the mown paths. We have lots of native wild flower and grass species growing in the Orchard, how many will you be able to identify?
The Community Orchard is a haven for a diverse range of wildlife. It’s a perfect place for a spot of bird watching and listening. Recently, using a birdsong identification App, one of members recorded the following birds, Robin, Chiffchaff, Wren, Jackdaw, Blackcap and Willow Warbler.
Oyster catchers frequently fly overhead and we often hear the rise and fall of a Curlew’s call. In the evenings, swallows and swifts dart about catching flies.
If you’re passing, why not call in and listen for a few moments…. what might you hear?
The Orchard is slowly waking up after the Winter weather. There are now signs of Spring everywhere. The sun has woken up the ladybirds too!
The moles have been making the most of the slightly warmer weather and softer soil. We now have a wonderful collection of mole hills in the Orchard! Moles are very shy, elusive animals and the only indication we have of them is the mole hills. They are one of the many creatures we share the Orchard with!
Lanchester Community Orchard 