Orchard winter pruning workshop

Organised and facilitated by members of our own Friends of Mayow Park (FOMP) group, we ran two workshops  in Mayow Park's community orchard (near the tennis courts) on 24th and 28th February 2023.  

Five people attended session one and six attended session two - eleven people in total.

Both sessions began with a short intro on  tools for pruning and how to look after them. Next came 'getting to know your tree' by looking for damaged, dead and diseased branches on the trees. We talked about  the process of grafting scions, different rootstocks and reasons for mulching.

After the brief theory intro we visited some trees to look carefully at what should be pruned and why.

Then on to the practical pruning, in pairs.   

One of the  FOMP members worked on weeding round the trees and collecting  mulch to lay around each tree.

The two hour sessions did not give us enough time for all the trees but those we worked on seemed very contented after.

Our regular orchard volunteers will continue pruning and mulching over the next two weeks.

Equipment at the ready

choosing which branch to cut

Loppers  being moved to cutting position

A clean cut with sharp loppers

A few trees are not in the best of health. One apple tree has had fungal canker for a few years but seems to be healing some of the wounds this disease caused.

Canker on Crawley Beauty

Unfortunately the Conference pear tree has never thrived. It turns out it has been planted where the ground gets rather water-logged after heavy rain. Now its main trunk is being eaten alive by wood borers.

Any ideas about the creatures causing this damage?

Soon all the fruit trees will have a blanket of wonderful mulch to keep them cosy in winter, cooler in the heat of summer and encourage mycorrhizal fungi that work in symbiosis with the roots of the trees, swapping nutrients and sugars.

cosy comfort of woody mulch

Looking after the plants in the Triangle beds

 Our volunteers had taken our eyes off the rapidly growing 'weeds' in the Triangle  herb and fruit bush beds opposite the cafe. This is the  planted space that visitors see as they walk past the cafe and into the park. We can do better. Only one regular  and another occasional volunteer have done much in a few months, clearing the long grass from the winding path through the herb bed. Oh dear! 

The rain really helped everything grow rapidly.

We are now playing 'catch-up' by having extra informal gardening sessions.  

 On  25th May 2021 three volunteers  got down on their knees busy weeding at the Triangle space. They pulled up some long grass under and around the raspberries  and some minor pruning of the raspberry canes so the berries can be seen more easily. As we were still following Lewisham's Covid distancing rules, three was a good number and we brought our own tools.

There were other informal sessions whenever individuals could turn up. As far as possible, plants and twigs were piled beside the hedgerow to make a 'dead hedge' of sorts.

We are now managing the plants better. 9th September and three volunteers gathered to prune the plum (which should have happened in August!), prune back the raspberry canes that had fruited this year and also keep the canes that are still fruiting as the weather is so mild. 

Another hastily arranged session on 15th September had the plum and apple tree in focus. The long grass was raked away and the trees were given a thick layer of partly rotted woodchip mulch. We were careful to make sure to leave a circular space between the tree trunks and the woodchips.

Mulching helps the fruit trees

Mulching will help the trees. Why? 

1. Mulching reduces evaporation from the soil around the trees in dry weather, keeping the roots moist.

2. Rain falling onto the mulch filters slowly through to the roots so they don't become too wet.

3. Mulch can help prevent weeds taking over the area round the tree. Weeds can compete with the tree roots for nutrients

4.Wood chips around trees can support  mycorrhizal fungi. These  fungi  are helpful to the tree roots

5. When wood chips have rotted down they are good for improving the soil.

Plenty of good reasons then? The orchard trees get the same care and attention.