Links and further resources - The Orchard Project

Useful guides

Click through the links below to read a series of practical guides covering traditional orchard management, developed by Chris Wedge, orchard specialist at Natural England and occasional expert for us.

The notes are aimed at anyone who owns, manages or is simply interested in traditional orchards. They are available to download (free of charge) from the Natural England online publications catalogue.

012 Traditional orchards: a summary: provides a summary of the key information contained in the series of technical information notes and a list of orchard related organisations and bibliography.
013 Traditional Orchards: site and tree selection – provides guidance on how to select sites for new orchards and the types of tree to plant within new and existing orchards.
014 Traditional orchards: planting and establishing fruit trees – provides guidance on when and how to plant fruit trees and on their management in the first few years after planting.
015 Traditional orchards: an introduction to pruning – provides guidance on the reasons for, and the basic principles behind, the pruning of fruit trees.
016 Traditional orchards: formative pruning of young trees – provides guidance on why young trees require formative pruning and on how to prune them.
017 Traditional orchards: maintenance pruning – provides guidance on the reasons for the routine pruning of fruit trees and advice on the methods used.
018 Traditional orchards: restoring and managing mature and neglected orchards – provides guidance on how to assess a neglected orchard that is in poor condition and decide what pruning and other management work may be needed to bring it back into good condition.
019 Traditional orchards: fruit tree health – provides guidance on identifying, and managing for, the main pests, diseases and nutrient deficiencies that may affect a traditional orchard.
020 Traditional orchards: orchards and wildlife – provides guidance on the conservation and sensitive management of orchards to preserve and benefit the wildlife contained within them.
021 Traditional orchards: glossary – provides a glossary of some of the many technical terms used in fruit production.

This All About Apples Forum run by the website Orange Pippin also has great answers to lots of common fruit tree issues.

Here are links to organisations close to ours in their aims and values – our list of friends that may be of interest to you. Please get in touch if you think your organisation should be added to this list

National and International Friends

Great British Trees – Specialist Mail Order Fruit Tree Nursery based in Wales who offer a 25% discount on tree orders by charities, schools and colleges
Frank Matthews – Fruit and Nut tree nursery with 100 years of fruit growing experience
Fruit ID – great website to help ID British fruit
Online Pollination checker – Correct pollination of your Fruit Trees increases crop size | Advice from Ashridge Nurseries
Brogdale – home of the national fruit collection
NHS Forest – sponsor a tree to be planted in NHS Forests
The Transition Town Network– people getting on with it across the UK
The Permaculture Association– all about permaculture in the UK
Community Land Advisory Service – offer free advice and useful training to orchard groups about land access, leases and finding a site
Grow Sheffield– the people behind the Abundance Project
City Fruit in Seattle– more stuff about urban growing and harvesting
Fruit-full Schools – planting fruit trees in schools accross the UK
The Abundance Network – harvesting fruit trees up and down the country
Orange Pippin – a comprehensive resource for apples and orchards
Orchard Network – Traditional Orchard UKHAP group
Gloucestershire Orchard Trust – Conserves, promotes and celebrates traditional orchards in Gloucestershire. Website has useful information of national relevance.
Tasting the Future – take practical steps together towards a “one planet” food system
The Federation of City Farms & Community Gardens supports, represents and promotes community-managed farms and gardens across the UK
The Conservation Volunteers help hundreds of thousands of people each year to reclaim local green places
Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming
Project Dirt is the UK’s most active network connecting and resourcing environmental and community projects

In and near London

HoiPolloi – a community orchard project across Harrow
Knollmead Permaculture reserve – large permaculture orchard in Kingston
Edible Landscapes – growing food in Finsbury Park
Urban Harvest – finding free fruit in North London
Capital Growth– promoting growing in London
Naturewise– running permaculture courses
Project Dirt – the UK’s most active network connecting and resourcing environmental and community projects
London Permaculture Network – promoting permaculture in the capital
London Transition network – building resilient, sustainable communities
The London Wildlife Trust– custodians of some of the nicest spots in London
The Tree Musketeers in Hackney– tree lovers in East London
Organic Lea in Waltham Forest– inspiring co-op transforming London’s food
West Ealing Abundance Project– harvesting action in West London
The Friends of School House Lane Orchard– a community orchard in Teddington set up in 2006
Robin Hood Community Garden – community garden in Clapton
Master Gardeners – advice and support growing food in Islington and South London
Fruit City– some folk mapping fruit trees in London
Hackney Harvest– our friends mapping and harvesting fruit trees in Hackney
Incredible Edible Lambeth– our friends mapping and harvesting fruit trees in Lambeth
The Re-Leaf partnership– the mayor’s initiative to plant more trees in London
Hackney Bike workshop– not tree related, but a great initiative nonetheless to get us all on our bikes
You Garden – helpful people who know about fruit trees

Greater Manchester

Red Rose Forest is the Community Forest for central and western Greater Manchester
Kindling is working towards a just and ecologically sustainable society
The Moss Cider Project: Community orchard and cider making project
Grafting for Orchards: An exciting new project that aims to renew the lost orchards and apple varieties of Greater Manchester
Operation Farm is a community-based organisation aimed at linking up sustainable and local food growers and producers with consumers

Birmingham

Growing Birmingham is an information hub about horticulture and local food growing in the city — who’s growing what and where.

Herefordshire

Bulmer Foundation aims to promote sustainable development and sustainable practices in Herefordshire and beyond