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Apple
Pruning Workshop
Camphill Blairdrummond, nr Stirling
Saturday 11 February 2006, 11 am - 4.00 pm
We
will be visiting the orchards of Camphill Blairdrummond to enjoy this unique opportunity to learn the
art of apple pruning from leading organic apple nurseryman,
John Butterworth.
John's apple nursery is set amongst 300 acres of broad-leaved woodland on
the banks of the River Lugar, 10 miles inland from Ayr. His aim is
to promote the planting and preservation of fruit trees in Scotland,
especially using organic and biodynamic techniques. He brings a
wealth of experience of caring for fruit trees in less than ideal
situations, and is keen to encourage people to nurture their own trees,
whether they have one garden specimen or a whole orchard in need of
revitalisation!
The course is now fully booked but we hope to run another one next year.
About Forth Valley's Orchards
Think of Forth Valley,
and orchards would not be the first land-use that would spring to mind,
but orchards were once an important part of the landscape and food history
in the area. The Augustinian monks of Cambuskenneth Abbey near Stirling,
founded by David I in 1174, grew the ‘Cambuskenneth Pippin’. Dr MacIntosh
emigrated from the Lower Polmaise Estate near Bannockburn in 1796 to the
USA and then to Canada in 1811 where he sowed the seeds of apples that are
now known as ‘McIntosh Red’. In Forth Valley today, we have Margaret
Miller,
headteacher at Gartmore Primary School who started the Gartmore
pomologists and who is the niece of James Grieve, the Edinburgh
nurseryman.
Orchards thrived on the sulphur emissions
from industrial works and were grown extensively for miners and foundry
workers. It is ironic how orchards have suffered as the air has become
cleaner! Tart apples with strong flavours were grown for the foundry men
and miners (as they were in Somerset for Welsh miners), as their sense of
taste was lost due to the working conditions.
To rekindle interest in the regeneration of
remnant orchards or orchard fragments in Forth Valley, FVFL is developing
an Orchard Regeneration Project. We hope to work with farmers, landowners
or growers to restore, maintain or develop these orchards by pruning and
husbandry on old trees and replanting with new stock.
We are investigating the availability of
grants to help with pruning and labour costs for harvesting the fruit.
Once productive again, we would encourage orchard owners and growers to
sell the produce to local schools for their Healthy Tuckshops and Free
Fruit in Schools Scheme, but we are aware that whilst locally-grown apples
may be tastier than supermarket apples, they will have blemishes, and will
therefore not be attractive to children. We will investigate the
viability of processing apples for juicing.
Can you help?
We
would like to hear
from anyone who owns or knows of any remnant orchards within Forth Valley
area. We are interested in mapping the site of any orchards and
investigating their current state. The social history of orchards would be
of interest, particularly their place in the lives of those who owned and
worked in them, so if you have any information then please get in touch.
Anyone keen to look again at their old orchards might be interested to
know that there is also the possibility of some grants being available via
the Rural Stewardship Scheme and other funding initiatives.
Please
contact us for
more details, we would be very glad to hear from you!
References:
John Butterworth Tel: 01290 551088
www.butterworthsorganicnursery.co.uk/
Margaret Miller, Gartmore Pomologists
Central Core Network—Catherine Lloyd
cathlloyd@ukf.net
Patrick
Bowden-Smith—CBowdenSmith@aol.com
Apples in Scotland,
John Butterworth £6.50 Langford Press ISBN 1-904078-00-1
Apple Journal
www.applejournal.com/uk08.htm
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