Preparing the orchard for winter

We received a pile of wood chips thanks to Glendale Lewisham (the contractors who manage most of Lewisham's parks on behalf of the council) and this motivated us to get to work in the orchard, preparing the fruit trees for winter.

Our plan was: remove grass around the trees to a radius of 1 metre from the base of each tree, chop up comfrey leaves at the base of the trees, then a thick layer of wood chips 10cm deep (or 4" in old measures).

With our team of volunteers and good weather, the work was completed very quickly and the trees now have a thick blanket around them ready for winter.

APPLE DAY 6TH OCTOBER 2018

We had a very successful Apple Day last year (2017). All our orchard fruits had been 'taken' weeks before so we had none of our own to offer the community to taste. Instead we bought in some heritage apple varieties from Brogdale in Kent and some from local greengrocers. The most popular proved to be a variety bought in Lidl and called 'Zinga'.
This coming Saturday, people will be encouraged to walk round our orchard trees, to learn about the varieties we are growing and perhaps to feel motivated to volunteer to care for our orchard at our workdays.
Our story teller last year, Rich Sylvester, proved to be a great hit with young children and their parents and will be back on Saturday.
We could do with more volunteers to help on the day with refreshments. See you on Saturday.