Gathering Wood for Wassail

Here we are at the Orchard in early December gathering wood for the Wassail......a good number turned up to help as you can see in the picture. The wood is stored under a tarpaulin to give it time to dry out before the Wassail on Sunday 21 January 2018. So do put this date into your diaries and watch this space for more information.
Any offers for help on the day of the Wassail would be warmly welcomed (01883 713160)

Orchard Fungi

Dated Nov 20th 2017.....this was a letter received about the interesting fungi which have been seen in the Orchard this autumn:

I am a local botanist and this morning, with a friend, was recording wild plants in the orchard. As we walked around we realised that there is quite a large number of fungi there, which possibly you are not aware of. Below I list some of those we saw, starting with the familiar red and white spotted fly agaric - the one all good fairies sit on!
Fly agaric -                 Amanita muscaria
Frilly skirts bracket -  Coriolus versicolor
Clouded agaric -        Clitocybe nebularis
Blewitt -                     Lepista nuda
Hairy stereum -          Stereum hirsutum
Puff ball -                   Lycoperdon perlatum
Stink horn -                Phallus Impudicus
A grey Russula
Buttercap -                 Collybia butyracea

I guess there are a lot of species because it is adjacent to the wood.
There were some beautiful fairy cup lichens too - and star moss.
The last time I visited was in the spring a couple of years ago when the foxgloves were magnificent. 
With kind regards,
Gwyneth Fookes
(Of the Bourne Society -
 Caterham's etc. Local history Society)

Limpsfield School Visit

Two classes from Limpsfield School visited the Orchard at harvest time to taste some of the apples. They enjoyed seeing how big the trees are getting now and even though the trees are about 7 years old, they tower over the children who are also 7 years old.

 

WORK PARTY

We’ve had a really good harvest this year. We hope everyone has managed to sample something!

Our next working parties at the Orchard are on 
Wed 11 Oct and 
Wed 25 Oct starting at 9.30AM

Work planned
Clearing scrub, silver birch, laurel, bramble etc from the bank between us and the woodland.
Last weeding of the year around the individual trees
Checking all the deer guard supports
Picking any last apples

Please bring
·         Loppers, secateurs and small saws
·         Gloves/kneelers
·         Hand forks
·         Bags/buckets for the weeds
·         Rakes

I’ll be bringing coffee etc……

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU THINK YOU’LL BE COMING…….IF THE WEATHER IS POOR WE’LL NOT WORK

Look forward to seeing you all
Helen and the Orchard Team (helenellson205@btinternet.com)

HARVEST DAY 1

This picture shows Helen and Pauline, two committee members, and some of the harvest at the Orchard on Sunday 24 September. 
If you'd like to do some tasting do join us on  
Saturday 30 September from 10 to 12. 
Everyone is welcome.

At last the time is coming when we’ll be able to taste the fruits of our labours. We have excellent apples and pears ripening up….so do come along for some tastings and of course to take some apples (and maybe pears) home too. All totally unsprayed, organic and delicious…..and no food miles at all.

We have been picking Katy apples which are really early and delicious….they don’t keep so do go along and help yourself. The Beth pears too are ready for sampling too as they need to be picked slightly before they are ripe and allowed to ripen at home.

Harvest and Tasting    
Sunday afternoon, 24th September 2 to 4pm Saturday morning, 30th September 10 to 12 midday

There will be teas and coffee too (apple juice for the children) and of course our famous apple cake.

 
 

GETTING READY FOR THE HARVEST

These pictures show nicely ripening fruit.....will be ready for the harvest at the end of September.

Also shown are our nicely trimmed hedges with many thanks to John Leslie and Rodney Coulson.

WORKING PARTY 23 AUGUST

I hope you are keeping an eye on the developing harvest by visiting the Orchard. Some trees are looking wonderful with reddening fruits all over.

We need to do some work before the end of August. The hedges need cutting (both the laurel and the mixed native boundary hedges) and we need to tackle some of the encroaching bramble too. Some tree sites need weeding so there are plenty of varied jobs.

So we are planning a work party on Wed 23 August from 09-30 to 12midday.

There will be coffee etc as usual ……

Do bring relevant tools please…..secateurs, hand forks, bags for “arisings”, kneelers, hedge cutters (although I actually think secateurs do a better job while the plants are still quite young) and gloves. A rake or two might be useful and even a wheelbarrow.

Hoping at least a few of you will be free?

Growing!

These photos show the very good growth of Dessert Apple Katy and Pear Buerre Hardy. Fruits are swelling well and appreciating the recent rain. We should be able to start picking Katy in the middle of September. We are planning some days for tasting and harvest....and will post the dates here on the blog.

Preparation for In Bloom Judging 2 July 2017

We had an excellent gathering at the Orchard to prepare the Orchard for judging......we've weeded all around each tree and replaced all the old rather faded signs with new ones.The picture shows us having coffee in the sunshine.
The site is looking very pretty with all the white clover amidst the grass and the apples are beginning to fatten up. Plenty of pears too. Do take a look.

COME AND HELP OR COME AND SEE US.........

These photos show our apple and pear trees  with a lovely crop of bee friendly white clover in the grass. The apples are beginning to swell and now we have had the June drop we are going to start thinning them. We'll be in the Orchard from 5 pm on Thursday 22 June if anyone would like to come and see what we are doing.We'll be having a work party from 10 to 12 on Sunday 2 July too. This is to weed and tidy the Orchard prior to the Judging for Limpsfield in Bloom on Thursday 6 July. Do come along .....all are welcome.

MOVEABLE BARRIER

These pictures show the new moveable barrier that we have just installed in the Orchard (June 2017) at the entrance from the A25. It is intended to be used as a temporary measure when groups of children are using the Orchard and should always be lifted back to the sides after use. Hopefully it will give some peace of mind to parents and grandparents as it a pretty good
barrier when in place.

The pictures below show Peter Jarvis (left) and Graham Woodward doing the hard work. It was quite some task digging the holes for the supports as the area
must have been part of the original driveway, and had tarmac and many large stones to work through. We are most grateful to them both for this excellent
addition to the site.

 

NEW INFORMATION PLAN

This picture shows the revised plan which has been printed to show the new plantings of Arthur Turner (4 years ago) Pixie and Ashmead’s Kernal (last winter) 
Barry Chandler, who so kindly made the original wooden Information Board in 2011, has attached it for us. 

BLOSSOM TIME 2017

We enjoyed seeing visitors at the Orchard on Saturday 
6 May to celebrate this year’s blossom. Sadly the recent frost may have taken its toll…..but it’s too early still to know…..however the Mirabelle have set well and there are some damsons too. The pear blossom was magnificent but the set not so good ……however we shall see how it all develops. I am definitely putting my money on a good crop of sunset apples…..their blossom was the best ever as you can see in the picture.
The trees are benefiting for the reduction of the tree guards…..although the deer continue nibbling in a minimal way……hurrah for the wildlife!

BLOSSOM VIEWING 2017

Do join us to celebrate the fruit blossom in the Orchard…..it is magnificent this year






Blossom Viewing on Saturday April 22 from 2-30 to 4-30pm (next Saturday!)

Blossom viewing  on Saturday May 6 
from 10-30 to 12midday

We look forward to seeing you for coffee/tea and cake and a wander round the trees

CHILDRENS POETRY COMPETITION

 

The children at St Peter’s School Limpsfield have once again participated in a poetry competition sponsored by the Community Orchard. The older classes had the theme of the Wassail, and the reception classes wrote their poems together. We were delighted with the standard of work, and were able to present some book prizes (on insects and birds) at Assembly, and then the prize winners with a teacher,  Dr Julia Nash, visited the Orchard to hang copies of the poems in the trees…..so do go along to have a look at them.
 

 

CHANGES IN THE ORCHARD: March 2017

We have started to remove and reduce the tree guards around the trees. Since we started in 2010 the guards have protected the trees well from marauding deer which have a particular taste for apple bark and leaves. Now the trees are larger and stronger (indeed some are literally bursting out of their confinement) this protection is not so much needed.

You can see in the pictures the Bramley Seedling where we have removed the guard completely, and the Sunsets where we have cut the supports to half. The Orchard is starting to look much more attractive…..and the blossoms this year should be spectacular. Here’s hoping there are no late frosts.
There is a working party on Wednesday 22 March at 9.30am……we are going to be spreading mulch around the trees so do join us.

Visit to the Orchard by Oxted Beavers on 2 March 2017

It was a clear sunny but cold evening for the first visit of the Oxted Beavers to the Community Orchard. There were 24 boys with their leaders Sarah Choy and Elise Claringbull and some parents. The aim was to help the Beavers with some basic knowledge for their Gardening Badge and to introduce them to the Orchard. The boys (and a few girls) were very excited as they ran along the path through the woods. They listened carefully to the story of an Apple Tree’s Year, and were fascinated to know that most of the trees are now seven years old….. the same age as most of them.

We then asked them to identify various gardening implements including secateurs and long handled loppers. The leaders will be planting some seeds with them too.  The children will make some more visits to the Orchard over the year to see how the trees are growing and we are planning a special visit in September to taste some of the fruit. 

Pruning February 2017

We had an excellent gathering in the middle of February to prune the apples and pears in the Orchard. All are looking well with some excellent fruit buds seen….particularly on the pears. We now have to hope that we are not clobbered by frosts at the wrong time! The Sunset tree which was so badly nibbled by rabbits last year is looking fine with plenty of new growth.

We were delighted to have Jan Lambourn with us and she was able to pass on some of her accumulated knowledge to several newbie pruners. We hope that some of you are using your Orchard acquired pruning skills in your own gardens. It’s still not too late to prune…..but it will not be long before the sap starts rising.

We have a weeding and mulching work party in the Orchard on Wednesday  22 March from 9.30am
 ….do come along. Coffee provided but do bring you own tools. Any further information from helenellson205@btinternet.com

Wassail Party Saturday 28 January 2017

The calm starry evening came alive at 6pm as a procession of over 250 people carrying flaming torches wound its way from the Limpsfield British Legion across the golf course and through the woods into the Orchard.  By the light of the enormous bonfire Wassail Captain Andrew Claringbull addressed the “King” tree with the traditional wassail verse and offered up a libation of bread, salt and cider so that all the apple and pear trees might offer us a good harvest in their turn.  Shouts of  Huzzar and Waes Hael  were accompanied by a huge crescendo of drums,  whistles, tambourines and rattles from every side, thus driving away the evil spirits as the wassail bowl of steaming mulled cider was passed around.

This year for the first time the crowd was entertained by the The Chart Singers, led by Graham Dinnage. Everyone was encouraged to join in with the traditional Wassail song as well as “The Apple Grove”, the new words specially written for the Orchard and sung to the familiar tune of “The Ash Grove”.  After which most made for the hot mulled cider, hot dogs and apple cake, enjoying the warmth and glow from the bonfire. Gradually families started taking sleepy-eyed children home to bed, taking with them magical memories of an ancient tradition revived.

The wassail address

Stand fast twig, beat well top, God send ye a yowling crop

Every twig Apples big, Every bough Apples enow

Hats full, Caps full, Half bushel bags full

And a little heap under the stairs!

HUZZAR

New Apple Trees

We have just planted two new apple trees (Pixie and Ashmead's Kernal) replacing two with canker (George Cave). These two new dessert apples are late croppers
and good keepers so we hope they do well. Again they are on MM106 rootstock to keep their growth in check, and we have chosen "maidens" which are year
old whips, ie just a single stem so that they will establish well and we can demonstrate how to prune them. 

PRUNING MASTER CLASS 2017