Show time! August to September 2023
by | posted in: cider, cider apples, Hartpury, identification, Juice, New Events, pears, perry, perry pears | 0

GOT members will be attending and exhibiting fruit, juice and cider and perry at several shows this season.

There’s the Malvern Autumn Show, 22nd to 24th September where Jim Chapman will again be exhibiting his amazing collection of perry pears. Three Counties Showground, Malvern WR13 6NW.

Jim will also be displaying perry pears at Hartpury on the afternoon of Saturday 16th September. 

And also on Friday 13th October at the Hereford Courtyard Theatre, Edgar St., Hereford HR4 9JR.

Additionally, there may be a display of plums at Hartpury on the afternoon of Sunday 27th August, primarily to show Gloucestershire’s plums varieties. If it happens, this will include the Bristol plum; until recently the only known tree had plum pox, but we now have a clean tree from which to propagate.

Not forgetting…the Frampton Country Fair, Sunday 10th September, one of the last truly country fairs.  Tim Andrews, Trustee, will be there with his Orchard Revival cider and perry. For more information visit the website https://framptoncountryfair.co.uk or call 01452 740152 or email info@framptoncountryfair.co.uk

GOT in the news #3: Martin and Tim on Youtube
by | posted in: apples, Longney, orchard, orchard history, pears, perry pears, plums, TV, varieties, video, volunteers | 0

Gloucestershire’s Country Matters – interview with expert orchardist Martin Hayes, on CPRE Gloucestershire’s Youtube channel:

This is a video filmed in GOT’s orchards at Longney:  This is the summary from the CPRE page:

An interview with Tim Andrews, County Director of CPRE Gloucestershire, and Martin Hayes. Martin is an expert orchardist and key member of the Gloucestershire Orchard Trust. The interview explores why orchards are special to Martin and Gloucestershire, and the work Martin does to reverse their decline. Around 75% of orchards have been lost in Gloucestershire in the last 50 years.

The interview was filmed in Longney, near Gloucester at an orchard owned by the Gloucestershire Orchard Trust. CPRE Gloucestershire is presently helping to restore around 10 acres of orchard at near Slimbridge in Gloucestershire.

Tim Andrews directed, filmed and edited the video – it was his first try at doing this.  And it is rather good, though Tim says ‘improvements are planned for next time’.

 

Pictures from Days Cottage Apple Day
by | posted in: apple day, apples, cider, cider apples, community, Days Cottage, Events, harvest, orchard, varieties | 0

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The perry pear painting on the bench is by Chris Bingle, whose work can be seen at subtlecolours.com

Apple Days are here
by | posted in: apple day, apples, cider, cider apples, community, harvest, orchard, Past Events | 0

Have you been to an Apple Day this season yet?  Many of our local events have happened already (click on our Past events tab to see these), but some are still to come.

National Apple Day was launched in 1990 by Common Ground. Their aspiration was to create a calendar custom, an autumn holiday. From the start, Apple Day was intended to be both a celebration and a demonstration of the variety we are in danger of losing, not simply in apples, but in the richness and diversity of landscape, ecology and culture too. It has also played a part in raising awareness in the provenance and traceability of food.

The concept was initially set as 21st October but, in practice, the date is variable depending on which area you’re in and what orchard group is doing what.

It has become incredibly successful over the 30 years since – with events taking place all over the country organised by local orchard and apple groups, across a range of dates throughout October.

For information on Apple Day events around the country visit https://ptes.org/campaigns/traditional-orchard-project/orchard-network/apple-day/

https://www.commonground.org.uk/apple-day/

Shaking the Severn Bank
by | posted in: apples, cider, cider apples, Days Cottage, harvest, orchard, varieties | 0

Helen from Days Cottage getting a full work out while shaking a Severn Bank apple tree in the Museum Orchard at Day’s Cottage.

She writes that ‘we’ve used the fruit to make a first experimental barrel of 100% Severn Bank as the crop has been so heavy this season. Will let you know how it turns out next year.’

Big Apple Harvestime 8th and 9th October 2022
by | posted in: apple day, apples, cider apples, community, Events, harvest, identification, Juice, Past Events, pears, perry, perry pears, varieties, volunteers | 0

Big Apple, the orchard association for the Much Marcle area, is holding its annual Harvestime weekend on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th October.

Nine venues are ready to welcome visitors to Much Marcle over the two days.

The venues have plenty to offer visitors. There will be opportunities to enjoy the local orchards, see, hear and smell cider and perry being made and taste and buy many different varieties of apples, local ciders, perries and apple juices.

Full details at https://www.bigapple.org.uk/harvestime2022/

Apple Day at Fishponds Community Orchard 9th October 2022
by | posted in: apple day, apples, cider, cider apples, community, Events, harvest, Juice, Past Events, volunteers | 0

Fishponds Community Orchard are holding their Apple day on 9th October at Thingwall Park Allotments.

From midday until 5pm.

There will be juicing, cider, other produce plus woodturning, live music and story-telling.

Details from fishpondsorchard@gmail.com or their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/FishpondsOrchard/

 

Rockness Orchard/Stan’s Patch Apple Day, 9th October
by | posted in: apple day, apples, cider, Events, identification, orchard, Past Events, plums, stone fruit, varieties, volunteers | 0

Apple Day at our Rockness Orchard  near Nailsworth, will be on Sunday 9th October in the afternoon. There is a wonderful amount of fruit.

The orchard has now been scythed and cleared. Particular summer profusion on the banks of betony, field scabious, St

Johns wort and wild marjoram. We also have newts in our little pond.

 

Great excitement, as where the huge ash was felled, plums have shot up bearing wonderful delicious fruit. What a gift.

If anyone can identify from a photograph, we would be thrilled.

Early fruit (in profusion) has gone to the Long Table in Stroud to be redistributed and shared.

 

More information from Fiona Valentine fionav@phonecoop.coop

Days Cottage Orchard & Rural Skills Centre Apple Afternoon 16th October
by | posted in: apple day, apples, biodiversity, cider, cider apples, Events, harvest, Juice, orchard, Past Events, pears, perry, perry pears, varieties, volunteers, wildlife | 0
Dave Kaspar identifying apples. Small number of representative samples only please!

This year’s apple celebrations at Days Cottage will be on Sunday 16 October 2022, 1-4pm.

Apple Day Afternoon with Dave Kaspar and Helen Brent-Smith, www.dayscottage.co.uk Upton Lane, Brookthorpe, GL4 0UT.

Mulled apple juice, lovely apple and pear themed cakes, family event, music, heritage fruit to try and buy, rare trees for sale. Buy juice, cider and perry from unsprayed fruit. Now is a chance to chat to Dave and Helen about your orchard/fruit questions. But they do get busy!

Browse their mature and young orchards, bring a picnic. Walk around the Museum Orchard of rare Gloucestershire varieties. Maps available (please return). Signage will be out.

Bring a few representative samples for identification and a small amount (two carrier bags) for juicing at the farm.  Small charge for the latter.  Only a small number of representative samples please!

One way system in operation. Yurt and roundhouse. Forest garden to explore.

They also run a rolling programme of Pruning, Grafting and Bud-Grafting workshops here in  winter and summer. These will be advertised on the Days Cottage and GOT websites.

 

Dave Kaspar identifying apples at his and Helen’s Days Cottage Apple Afternoon in October.

2022 DNA fingerprinting scheme for apples, pears and cherries launched
by | posted in: apples, cherries, cider apples, dna, identification, pears, perry pears, varieties | 0

The DNA Fingerprinting Scheme for apples, pears and cherries in 2022 (the 7th year of the scheme) has been launched, and is open to anyone who wants their fruit tree to be fingerprinted.

The scheme is run with NIAB-EMR at East Malling in Kent providing DNA analysis through their laboratory and submissions co-ordinated by Peter Laws of fruitID.com.

The charge will be £27.60 plus VAT per sample.

if you have an apple, pear or cherry tree that you would like to be fingerprinted, and identified if it matches the fingerprint of a known cultivar, you will first need to complete a sample bag request form and return it to Peter Laws as soon as you can. Bags will be sent out in May and June.  No money is required at this stage.

Samples need to be submitted from mid-May to the end of June.  There are details of scheme and the sample bag request form on the help page of fruitID.com, https://www.fruitid.com/index.html#help

Or you can access the relevant documents directly with the links below:

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