Community orchard

Host: Patrick

Participants: Adrienne, Sweet Running Water, Jane, Pauline, Peter May, Hazel, Kristina, Carolyn, Johnny and others

Main points of discussion:

  • Peter May as main adviser to other groups – Stanmer, Ringmer, Plumpton
  • Crops – are apples/pears not good in a heating climate – vines and nuts?
  • Multi-level growing – trees/bushes/ground cover
  • Biodiversity
  • Social fun activities
  • Soil needs to be free-draining, deep and site frost-free
  • Maybe many small areas/ individual trees are better than a single orchard
  • Sharing of produce – juice, jams, preserving, sales
  • Educational aspects for others and training for us

Focus areas:

  • Audit of existing garden fruit trees
  • Harvest this year’s crops
  • Identify land needed
  • Increase public awareness of fruit sharing
  • Link to honeybee group, water group, preserving group
  • Identify public and institutional land for planting
  • Link to schools for planting, eating and education

Get involved: contact one of the Group contacts on the Groups page