Rokeby Recreation Ground Community Orchard
Working Party Activity 2024
Dates for 2024
January 20th from 3pm - our annual Wassail - all welcome to celebrate our orchard and help it flourish
January 20th - tagging the new trees with plaques
First Tuesday of the month from May - September from 7pm - various essential maintenance activities like weeding, repairs, watering, mulching, etc - and as always many hands help - so please put these dates in your new 2024 calendar
May 7th
June 4th
July 2nd
August 6th
September 3rd
January 2024 Update
January 20th. Here are some photos from the Wassail gathering.
Follow this link for the words to the song Armalegaan had written and performed for us on Saturday - and part of it relates specifically to our orchard!
February 2024 Update
February 18th: We started pruning the apple and pear trees today under the expert guidance of Gill (who used to run Cross Lanes Orchard for many years).
It takes a surprising amount to time to assess each tree, decide on the main branches to retain in order to give a good shape to the tree going forward and to also decide which branches to remove this year.
There is more to be done and we hope to be back in the orchard over the coming days depending on the weather.
March 2024 Update
March 1st: The orchard looking splendid in the spring sunshine (in between torrential downpours) with all the trees pruned, some showing blossom already and the daffodils appearing around the bench too.
March 2024 Update
March 3rd: Last Sunday we had 2 local students, Max and Zac, start work with us at the orchard for a few weeks as part of their Duke of Edinburgh program. They took down the mesh and added replaced/added another stake to the trees then stapled the mesh back on, giving more supprt and protection to our growing orchard.
March 31st: Max and Zac were with us again the weekend of the 31st at the orchard.
This week, they carried on with the stakes which involves adding and replacing stakes and re-stapling the netting on them. They completed about 8-10 and we're extremely grateful for their efforts!.
April 2024 Update (photos in chronological sequence)
April 23rd: The grass is growing quickly again and so Graham has again kindly got his yellow mower out and cut around all the trees. Likely we are going to need to mow every month to keep the grass down to a reasonable height. The new bench is also visible and looking splendid in the sunshine
April 21st: Today Zac and Mac,volunteers from the DofE, worked on installing a new bench and secured the legs in concrete. They assured us it was great fun!
April 14th: A group of us (see photo) spent an hour or so in lovely Spring sunshine at the orchard weeding around every tree, trimming the grass near the trees that the mower could not reach and also planting Limnanthes too.
Also, Richard & Christine Bisgrove dug up from their garden and donated 20 Cowslips which have been planted in the wildflower area (see photo) plus Sylvia grew and donated a Hesperis, an Ice Eye Daisy and a Valerian which have also now been planted.
May 2024 Update
During May we had our first monthly working date. We decided to celebrate the blossom and health of all our trees as well as water the trees and refill all the buckets.
The new benches needed oiling and with the grass growing Graham has been out again with his mower to cut a couple of times.
June 2024 Update
June 16th: Some good signs of fruit on several trees now starting to appear. Here's hoping for some to harvest later in the year.
July 2024 Update
July 2024: Last session Max and Zac fgrom the D of E were trimming the bases of the trees and tidying them up making them look nice.
3rd July 2024: Evening views of the orchard showing the blooming Limanthes, apples on one of the trees and a profusion of daisies growing
August 5th 2024 Update - 1
Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme
Installed a plaque today at the orchard as recognition of the support provided by FiPL during 2023 and 2024. Many thanks too to Gareth Clay who successfully helped us through the grant application process.
August 2024 Update - 2
August 6th: A group of us harvested 586g of apples and 48g of plums this evening. Delighted that we are seeing the fruits of our labours. More to be picked and shared as it becomes ripe over coming weeks.
August 2024 Update - 3
2024 August 17th
Orchard looking lovely in summer sunshine and with 3 areas mown in advance of autumn wildflower planting. So some thanks needed - to Martin who arranged for the grass cutters from Mapledurham Golf club to cut the section opposite the benches, to Paul who cut one of the strips over several hours and of course to Graham who has once again cut the grass in and among the trees.
TOKERS GREEN, CHAZEY HEATH AND DYSONS WOOD COMMUNITY ORCHARD - SUMMER 2024 UPDATE
Introduction
This short update is to provide everyone in the village with information on progress and plans for our community orchard. Information is also provided in the quarterly Kidmore End Parish Newsletter and online via the Mapledurham Parish Council website.
Maintenance of the orchard
All the trees are healthy, with much blossom evident in the spring and fruit now appearing. With a variety of trees planted the fruit will be ready to pick at different times during the autumn. Watch out for a WhatsApp message when fruits are ready for picking. As this is a community orchard we would like to pick the fruit collectively and then use the fruit in cakes, jams and similar which can then be shared.
We have watered the trees as needed this year – only about twice so far given the rain we have had. As we have a community orchard we aim to water every tree at the same time so please do not just water individual trees. Thanks to Monica and to Howard for the kind use of their taps. Going forward the trees will hopefully be sufficiently established to no longer require watering next year.
We do appear to have a “phantom waterer(s) as all the buckets have been emptied a couple of times shortly after being filled – that’s a bit of a mystery??? Anyone got some info??
The Limanthes have grown well around the base of some of the trees and the variation is due to different seed sources – so we now know where to buy the best from next year. Regular weeding has been done to keep the base of each tree as free as possible of competing plants. Much of this work has been done by our DoE volunteers – so many thanks to Zac and Max.
You may have spotted Graham on his mower cutting the grass regularly in and around the trees. It makes a fantastic difference to the orchard with the regular cutting – so many thanks to Graham. We have asked MPC to arrange a full cut of the whole field in October and this will be after any flowers have seeded and before we plant more wildflowers.
Benches
Two new benches were purchased and installed earlier this year, under the supervision of Trevor and with help from Zac and Max. They have been placed to encourage you to pause, to relax and to chat.
Next steps
We will expand the orchard again this year and are planning on around a dozen new apple trees. A message will be sent out on the village WhatsApp asking for interested neighbours to get in touch.
Ideas for an interpretation board are being developed and we hope to install a board early next year.
More wildflowers will be planted later this year to further enhance the diversity of plants in the field.
Each of the trees will need to be mulched and this will be done later in the year.
We are planning our next Wassail on January 18th – and that should be great fun again
Get involved
Everyone is very welcome to get involved in our community orchard, so please get in touch.
November 2024 Update
November 2nd
A group of us planted 98 plants and sowed 12 packets of wildflower seeds today. The plants were grown and donated by Richard & Christine while the seeds were sourced from Greener Henley.
We used an auger to drill a hole suitable for each plant and they were all planted in an area opposite the benches. The seeds were sown into 12 patches of bare soil i 2 strips alongside the path, after we removed the turf. We planted a variety of flowers in both areas. Plenty of Yellow Rattle was scattered in both areas to help the wildflowers thrive.
December 2024 Update
December 8th
We planted another 17 trees in our orchard and there we a lot of people involved. Most trees were planted by family groups and it was lovely to see parents and children involved. All the trees planted are apples this time. This takes us to 76 trees in total.