View the full details with images and attachments

Late in spring, after several long bright days, Katy and Keswick Codlin were at their most prolific and petals were already twirling down from many trees. A good number of NCOG members made the journey up the fell in Mosser to visit Mark's unique and beautiful orchard for a tour, tutorials on tool maintenance and the opportunity to eat a month's worth of cake in a day!

North Cumbria Orchard Group gathered on the terrace at High Mosser Gate, where there was soup to warm your hands around with many thanks to Alison Evens, enough cake for a mad hatter's tea party thanks to the baking skills of various members, and a long sunlit view on to the northward hills.

Mark Evens led an informative walk around his juice and cider orchard, where there was some discussion of how not to grow trees, on which, owing to perseverance and experimentation, he has become something of an authority! Further wisdom was shared on how to get yellow rattle to thrive, the taste, storage and decorative advantages of various apple varieties, including Tom Putt and Lord Lambourne, not to mention memories relating to why mistletoe both looks beautiful and belongs in apple trees.

Chris Braithwaite was to hand on the terrace where he offered guidance on how to maintain tools, and many people left with much sharper and cleaner secateurs.

For those who wished, a tour of the cider barn was offered, where the importance of cleanliness was stressed, and there was certainly an education on the potentially lethal propensities of yeast in the wrong hands! Proof was offered that Ashmead's Kernel stays sweet for half a year when kept right.

To round off an afternoon that has become a highlight of late spring, NCOG members were encouraged to try every single one of at least a dozen cakes! The excuse for eating so much was of course that we needed to determine a winner in the best cake competition, and Sara Braithwaite's flavoursome rhubarb and almond cake stole the show.

View the full details with images and attachments

Was this North Cumbria's best attended grafting workshop? It's certainly possible, with 150 rootstocks being grafted onto scions to form new trees, swelling the numbers in existing orchards or making something brand new.

A contingent from Cumbria Wildlife trust also attended, in recognition of the invaluable and biodiverse wildlife habitats traditional orchards form. Amongst the most popular varieties of the day were the widely commercially grown Katy and the versatile and hardy Scotch Bridget.

Hilary demonstrated grafting with her usual quiet aplomb, and she, Mark and Chris (ably assisted by Mark Shipperlee) were constantly on their feet offering welcome advice and technical assistance. The morning session was all systems go, with a steady stream of members leaving with entire orchards in bags. Both practical demonstrations were clear and easy to follow, even for those with less experience, and after so much hard work and concentration, refuelling with coffee and cake was most welcome. Sara took charge of the kitchen whilst Alison kept careful tabs on everyone's rootstocks, assistance without which the event would not have been possible. We were fortunate too to have the use of Thursby Parish hall, an excellent venue for ensuring multiple people could safely and comfortably carry out refined knife work. Events such as these ensure skills such as whip and tongue grafting remain current, and traditional orchards can live on amongst north Cumbria's challenging weather.

View the full details with images and attachments

Ideal weather, great food and the orchard near Cockermouth with some impressive old apple trees was left looking both happy and healthy. The tripod ladders came out, so did the sun and an impressive array of cakes. Hot soup and mulled cider was particularly appreciated by the record number of guests in attendance at a pruning event. Richard Goodwin of Low Yard Barn orchard explained that his garden had always proved a challenging site for apple trees owing to orientation, position of hedges and vulnerability to wind. The previous apple crop has been described as 'modest but useable'. The general feeling once NCOG's more seasoned and trainee pruners had departed was that the Discovery and Irish Peach trees shown stood a greater chance of channelling their energy into productive growth, as a result of all the care and attention they had received. The images include before and after photographs of the trees, which had their main limbs tidied and the tangled froth of water shoots mostly removed. Low Yard Barn was an ideal site for those wishing to learn more about pruning techniques.

(For reference, the pictures of Irish Peach show a treehouse and polytunnel in the background, whilst the others are Discovery)

The soup was much admired amongst visitors, and just what the doctor ordered on a crisp winter's day. Richard has kindly supplied the soup recipe below:

2oz dry red lentils washed (50g)

Dried Apricots 2oz (50g)

1 large potato peeled or v well scrubbed - chopped smallish cubes

2pts (1.2l) Vegetable Stock

Juice 1/2 lemon

1 tsp ground cumin

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

Mix all - bring to boil - simmer 30 mins. Allow to cool if wanted and liquidise.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reheat as needed. If using a hand blender stick could be liquidised hot. With lid on keeps ok overnight in a cool larder but can be quickly made on the day

Note - I chose to add the Parsley AFTER simmering - still cooks enough in hot soup while cooling.

Brighter colour and more flavour.

This soup description, amongst other things, caused the website news editor to greatly regret her absence from the event described.

View the full details with images and attachments

Tradtional orchards in Britain are defined as a collection of five or more trees which are non-intensively cared for and harvested. Another facet of a traditional orchard is that it is often put to multiple uses, for example, as permanant grassland or meadow, as the home of multiple crops and plants, or even as grazing land for animals. Yet this article discusses the consequences of an alarming reality: that since World War Two, this type of orchard has suffered a ninety percent decline. This in turn has led to decreased biodiversity and a rise in more intensive, less sustainable methods of apple growing.

In particular, Herefordshire cider and perry maker David Nash called for protective legislation, which could compel commerical cider makers to adhere to a minimum of 50% apple juice. The UK's biodioversity and range of insect species is in jeopardy when compared to other countries. Undoubtedly the conversion of traditional orchards into bushland or alternative crops has played a significant role in this decline. Whilst making orchards an irreplaceble habitat in the same way ancient woodlands are, or requiring an environmental impact assessment on conversion are not realistic, alternatives are here discussed. One of these is promoting, through marketing and cider tourism development, the rise of aritsan, high apple content cider. This could lead to a national change in juice content, resulting in a national change in perception as to how orchards are valued.

a link to the article here

View the full details with images and attachments

This year’s event was extremely well attended by members of all ages. Kate Roberts gave a surprising and illuminating talk about how the health of the earth feeds into all aspects of life. Most of us will take away a greater concept of which fruit and vegetables deplete soil and which can heal, rather than harm. Kate’s vast knowledge also encompassed how cultivating, planting and growing are a continued dialogue with the earth.

On the menu this year was artisan pizza, which kept on coming and coming thanks to the efforts of those involved and along with various imaginative salads and baked goods, it certainly did not disappoint.

The event was rounded off by NCOG’s annual cider competition, which was certainly a warm and pleasant note on which to head home. The well-deserved winner of 2024’s cider cup was Phil Royal, in whose absence Jon Nutley accepted the accolade. Another highly commended cider was that from Mosser, which was an altogether headier and drier flavour. Fortunately members’ palettes were sufficiently discerning not to promote the Asda’s own brand, brimming with sugar and fizz, beyond its modest desserts.

View the full details with images and attachments

Please see the attached file for the report.

View the full details with images and attachments

Please see the attached file for the report on this event.

View the full details with images and attachments

A group of enthusiastic members proved the saying "many hands make light work" today at the Sawmill orchard in Hutton in the Forest. Chris Braithwaite provided expert guidance on summer pruning and tying-in. A lot of weeds were removed, leaving the site looking much tidier, and the trees well cared for. Thanks to everyone who assisted.

The orchard continues to develop well. We have over 100 different varieties of apples, mostly growing as cordons. A number of these were more mature cordons moved from Newton Rigg when it closed: these are already full height and bearing fruit but had been rather neglected prior to their relocation to Sawmill and need corrective pruning. The other cordons are much younger and in the growing phase rather than fruit-bearing yet.

It was noted that there was a lot of scab present, particularly on the more mature trees. This seems to be a widespred problem this year with many of the members present reporting that their trees were also suffering.

View the full details with images and attachments

A dozen or so members gathered at the Sawmill Orchard in Hutton in the Forest on Sunday 26th May prior to the AGM at Hutton tearoom. The weeds had grown spectacularly and the group worked diligently to clear the growth around the trees. The weed mats along the cordons have done a good job restricting the weed growth but a lot of hand weeding was done between the trees, while the strimmers tackled the wider spaces. There is a lot of comfrey growing on the site which will provide good mulch later in the year.

View the full details with images and attachments