Guides & Advice

We’ve gathered all our expert advice in one place to create a comprehensive guide to everything orchard.

Whether you’re just starting out, or need a bit of a helping hand on a particularly thorny issue, hopefully you’ll find the answer on these pages!

Many thanks to the amazing experts who have helped to develop this urban fruit growing knowledge bank.

Your orchard – Summer

Hot summer months with little rain can make keeping trees alive and thriving a real challenge, so we have some tips to help!

The orchard year: summer

Long days filled with watering and the pleasurable sight of fruits growing before your eyes, followed by warm evenings with perhaps a glass of cider…

Helping young trees establish in summer

Our summers are getting hotter, and this can be challenging for young urban fruit trees trying to establish and spread their roots. Studies have shown…

Pests and diseases

How to avoid problems from pests and diseases and, if the worst happens, what to do next…

The importance of mulching

Mulch has become something of a mantra for us at The Orchard Project. That’s because it is such a simple action that yields multiple benefits….

Summer pruning

Generally, fruit trees are pruned during winter, but certain trees like trained forms or stone fruit require summer pruning. Summer pruning increases the light available…

Watering fruit trees

Watering fruit trees is an essential part of orchard care, and urban trees in particular require adequate water to combat the ‘urban heat island’ effect….

A small ask…

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