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.

Lovely day for orchard work

It was really cold and the ground in the orchard was frozen when we arrived but the sun slowly worked its magic and ice turned to mud.
We had 8 adults and 4 children at our workday, some adults already experienced in orchard pruning and some learning skills for the first time. The children got stuck in to remove grass encroaching into the tree pits and then to mulch the areas they had cleared. In 1.5 hours we managed to check tree health, prune apple trees trees, adjust tree guards, remove weeds and add mulch. We had a fun session.

Volunteers setting up at the start of the morning

three children collecting wood chips for mulching

Join in our Orchard winter workday 12th Feb 2018

Half term is coming up and our orchard winter workday will be next Monday.
We will be checking all the trees for pests and diseases as well as some winter pruning of apple and pear trees. We will also be reducing the height of some of the tree guards, removing encroaching grass round the tree pits and mulching.
No prior knowledge of gardening or pruning is needed as we will show you what to do.Introductions and training will be from 10.30 a.m. If you can only stay a short while, it is best to arrive at the start.
Children who join us must be supervised. Wear suitable footwear as the ground can get quite muddy.
If you have any questions, our email address is friendsofmayowpark@ymail.com
NOTE: yes, our email address is ymail, not gmail.