Fruit trees flourishing at community orchards
Community orchards, which have shown a steady increase in number over the past decade or so in our region, offer such a wonderful introduction to fruit growing for the whole family.
Although apples feature strongly in such ventures, other tree and bush types such as plum, pear, currants, gooseberries, and nut-bearing species help broaden the spectrum.
They are typically influenced by historic activities performed to secure the annual crop and celebrate the following harvest. Wassailing comes at the lowest time of year when day length is short, the trees and bushes have cast their leaves and entered a period of dormancy. Poetry, song and the banging of kitchen utensils are some elements of the ritual.
The celebration of a bounteous crop is in autumn when apples are brought from local gardens to join those in the orchard for pressing to extract the juice. Music, practical demonstrations and refreshments are part of the proceedings.
The Bullfield Orchard in Alnwick has led the way locally in celebrations for several years, and quite recently permissions were granted for a similar attraction in Lesbury village. Happily, in March 2023 several local families converged to plant young trees on the chosen site. The collection comprised of eight varied apple trees, a ‘Victoria’ plum, ‘Conference’ pear and a Kentish cobnut.
Young children were encouraged by their parents to become involved in the planting and were assured that the trees would soon grow and become covered in fruit. Fast forward three and a half years to last week and some returned to view and taste the first crop. Sisters Indica and Juniper arrived with their father to inspect the tree they’d planted and proudly held red ‘Discovery’ apples, a reliably heavy cropper and first dessert to ripen in the north. Biting into them they were impressed to find that the flesh carried pink patches deep inside the fruit – a magic moment for all!
The value of this positive experience for young and old alike should not be under-estimated - and we’ve seen it at every community orchard event attended.
The pear and plum trees planted in 2023 have not borne a fruit yet but that’s normal. We spend the first few years pruning them into shape and strengthening growth then enjoy harvesting in the decades that follow. By comparison, the cobnut has grown two metres tall and in July had clusters of nuts but now they’ve gone. Only empty shells and husks remain, telling us that squirrels are likely culprits!