Managing traditional orchards for produce and wildlife

During what was a miserable November, we managed to find the most beautiful day for our event on managing traditional orchards. Hosted at Day’s Cottage, a local cider makers near Gloucester, we were fortunate enough to have the guidance, experience and expertise of the owners Helen and Dave as well as FWAG South West’s Trees Outside of Woodlands Specialist, Simeon Day to lead the day.

The focus of the day was on how to assess, restore and look after traditional orchards, their importance for wildlife, the benefits to the farm and wider environment and how to get the produce to market.

The day began with a tour around the orchards at Day’s Cottage. These contain a vast range of apple and pear varieties many of which are old, unusual and local Gloucestershire varieties. As these orchards have been planted and restocked over many years, (the first being planted in 1912) we had the chance to look at trees in all sorts of life stages, from the very oldest to the very young.

This allowed us to discuss the importance of assessing your trees (and the orchard as a whole) before deciding what works need to be carried out. The aim of an initial assessment is to understand the condition of each tree and determine the best ways to keep it healthy and thriving into the future. Simeon, Helen and Dave pointed out various features such as broken limbs, rotting trunks and leaning trees and talked through how these are currently managed as well as providing tips on how these types of trees and other features should be managed going forward.

We also discussed the importance of considering wildlife within your orchard management. While the primary function of a traditional orchard may be for the produce, the trees, grassland and the surrounding hedgerows provide homes, food and shelter for all sorts of plants and animals which in turn can provide benefits back to the farm and wider environment. Insects for pollination and pest predation are just two major benefits you can get from looking after your orchards.

The second half of the morning involved visiting the nearby farm where production of all the juices, perries and ciders takes place. Helen and Dave took us through each step in the process from washing, crushing and juicing through to bottling and taking to market. We were event able to try a number of juice and cider samples, all delicious and all very different due to the fruit variety or combination of varieties used.

The day wrapped up back in the yurt where we looked at the tools required for pruning and harvesting and discussed funding options currently or soon to be available to support orchard management and creation.

All in all, we learnt a huge amount and what with such beautiful weather in the middle of a miserable week we certainly had a fantastic day all round!

For more information on Day’s Cottage and their courses visit www.dayscottage.co.uk.

This event was made possible by the Western Forest, England’s new national Forest an initiative funded by Defra and also by Defra as part of the Facilitation Fund Scheme.