Community Orchard

[fidget]

I am a Parish Ranger, based in Hampshire, and I’m thinking of setting up a ‘Community Orchard’, but I need to persuade my Councillors it is a good idea, but not all of them are as conservation minded as others, so I will need to sell the benefits quite strongly.

I have earmarked an 800 sqm field, so it think I could plant up to 50 apples, pears & plum trees of old English varieties quite comfortably. The field is currently grazed in the summer and I plan for this to continue, so I will need to fence off each tree. I also want to install Bumblebee hives to help with pollination.

Has anyone had any experience in this area?

Would 50 trees be too many to manage or should I start off small and add to them as interest hopefully increases, possibly through sponsorship or local groups?

Any thoughts to help get this project started would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[Dorts]

Fidget, welcome to WAB.
Sounds like a great idea. I think you could try for some sponsorship, (and some expert advice) for such a project.

Why not initially try the Blackmoor Fruit Nurseries; Blackmoor Estate Ltd, Estate Office, Blackmoor, Nr Liss, Hampshire, GU33 6BS. They have one of the largest collections of fruit trees in the country.
Also plenty of good advice available (and maybe more).
Worth a try.
Dorts.

[Hedera]

Super idea. It would be good to get some schools involved - older children who could learn about pruning etc. and care for the trees, rather than rip the branches off which is what happened to a similar project here. Even get them to sponsor and plant trees with their name on! Having old varieties would add interest and maybe projects in tracing these trees in local gardens etc. Good luck!!

[nightshade]

I wrote to my parish council as individuals after reading their pre-election blurb so I could select my pitch to the Pro,s strongly, slanting it for the Not Sures. I managed to get a lot of flowering shrubs planted this way.
You also need to know which budget you are looking to use and how much is in it (or any alternative budget)
Have all your answers ready,
Who is going to plant it( i.e. will paying for labour be involved)
How many trees and what sort where will the fruit go
Who will maintain them if the volunteers disappear
Getting local businesses onboard is always good
Good Luck
Rod

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by fidget

I have earmarked an 800 sqm field, so it think I could plant up to 50 apples, pears & plum trees of old English varieties quite comfortably. The field is currently grazed in the summer and I plan for this to continue, so I will need to fence off each tree. I also want to install Bumblebee hives to help with pollination. ....................... Would 50 trees be too many to manage or should I start off small and add to them as interest hopefully increases, possibly through sponsorship or local groups?

For old style standards 50 might be a bit dense for the eventual out turn, perhaps safer to drop it to nearer 40 depending on the shape of the plot, allowing 7 metre canopy spread per tree - though you'll not be at that for a long time. Grazing is presumably sheep ? Cattle present a greater damage threat, so you may need to re-think if they are involved.

What is your time frame for involving the community ? - with older varieties croppable fruiting may not occur for a number of years, more so with plums than apples.

Providing nesting space for bumble bees is welcome, but with 40 plus fruit trees, bumbles are unlikely to add significantly to overall polinating capacity and you may want to explore the possibility of having a local bee keeper locating one or more hives in association with the orchard.

CM

[fidget]

Hi,

Sorry, that should be approx 8000 square metres.

I think 50 could be a bit too ambitious, as watering & maintenance could be an issue. There are 4 interlinked fields grazed by cattle, so there is plenty of room for both trees & cows, but each tree would have a fence around it about 1.5m out from it, with mulch, so hopefully the cows couldn't reach them.

I would get the schools, scouts, guides etc. on board, but all of this is academic if I can't persuade the councillors, one of which is a beekeeper, that it is beneficial to the community.

Hedera, you hinted that you have done similar already?

Thanks for your responses so far.

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by fidget

Hi,

Sorry, that should be approx 8000 square metres.

I think 50 could be a bit too ambitious, as watering & maintenance could be an issue. There are 4 interlinked fields grazed by cattle, so there is plenty of room for both trees & cows, but each tree would have a fence around it about 1.5m out from it, with mulch, so hopefully the cows couldn't reach them.

I would be concerned about 150cm from trunk - most cattle will browse young trees/shoots, so at 3 metres across you should be aiming for 2 metre height for the guards. The problem with having these guards is that they can be pain to negotiate when pruning and cutting back any weed species. Given the recent dry springs you should certainly plan to water regularly (and substantially) in the early years.

You may find the following website helpful -
Home | Orchard Network I believe also there are Government grants available for orchard planting, even at quite a small scale.

CM

[fidget]

Hi CM,

I take your point about the cows. I’ve ‘googled’ around and it is possible to graze with cattle, but I will need to look into that aspect of tree protection a bit further.

I am looking at Autumn 2012 as a realistic start date, as everyone knows these things don’t happen quickly when going through a council and the various committees. At this stage my focus is on getting the council excited about the idea and then worry about the practicalities (and funding) later, as there is no point wasting too much time if it is a non-starter.

Thanks once again.