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.