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 – Winter

Rather than being a time to relax, winter is often one of the busiest times of the year in an orchard, with plenty of planting and pruning to be done.

The orchard year: winter

While ordinary gardeners may be spending more time looking at seed catalogues than being out in the fresh air, this is one of the busiest…

Pruning apple trees

There are lots of ways to shape fruit trees depending on the priorities of the grower and the space available but pruning is not just…

Choosing apple varieties to plant

There are thousands of apple species out there, and when it comes to choosing apple varieties to plant, it can be overwhelming! Our guide helps…

Pruning veteran trees

In recent years we have done a lot of work restoring old orchards. These orchards are worth saving as they are very valuable in terms…

Planting your orchard

What could be more exciting than planting an orchard for generations to enjoy? Our guide will make sure your trees are cosseted and your event…

How to celebrate our orchard heritage

The seasons give us many reasons to celebrate. From picnics under blossom, to harvest festivals and apple days through to wassailing in the depths of…

How to graft fruit trees

They don’t call it hard graft for nothing but once you get the knack of it, you can start your own mini nursery of fruit…

Growing mulberries

Despite thousands of years of cultivation, the black mulberry (Morus nigra) refuses to hybridise. This means there are no true cultivars or varieties, but any named varieties…

A small ask…

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