Have you ever thought about setting up a Community Orchard?

Over the last 40 years pear orchards have reduced by about half and out of 3000 commercial apple growers in the 1950s only 800 remain; many on a small scale. Nowadays 76% of the apples we consume are imported – this is a real concern for the great British orchard!
Common Ground, an organisation devoted to encouraging the development f new orchards and re-establishment of old ones has confirmed that there are already over 300 community orchards run by local people. A community orchard is a great place to grow delicious fruit which can be used by the whole community.  You only need up to 5 trees to constitute an orchard and they don’t just have to be apples.  You’ll find a great range of trees you can use in your orchard at www.fruittreesdirect.co.uk including plum, cherry, damson, pear, mulberry, medlar and gage trees.

Here is one of our James Grieve apple trees starting to bear fruit

 

Community orchards are not only a great way to grow your own fruit – there are lots of reasons why you should get involved with them:

• To encourage local wildlife by creating a habitat for different species of animals and insects
• To create a focal point for community events
• To provide an open air, free amenity for the public to enjoy
• To provide an educational resource for schools
• To allow people in the community to learn new skills
• To promote health benefits of eating fruit

It’s not easy managing an orchard and there are lots of things you need to be aware of including which crops can grow together, which trees can grow in different types of soil, which rootstock should be bought to ensure the best crop is produced from your tree etc.  It is also important to know how to prune and care for your trees once they are planted.There is lots of information available online to support the creation of orchards, whether you are a first time grower or have years of experience, so you will never be short of advice.  So go on – give it a go and see what you can grow in your local area