Wot2Grow

May and June have been busy months getting the orchard ready for the summer growing season. Volunteers have been busy clearing grass from around the trees and soft fruit where the mowers cannot reach. All the plants have been fed and we are keeping an eye on the water situation as the soil dries out quickly.

A good amount of apples have set and the first “June drop” has been done to remove the weak ones with another thinning at the end of the month. Although small the trees that blossomed have had really good pollination thanks to the masses of bumblebees as well as our honey bees.

We harvested our first honey, which is initially available to members of the orchard, and reports are that it is delicious! A good milestone to celebrate in the progress of the orchard from field to local produce.

As the trees and plants grow and enjoy the warm and damp weather so do the pests and bugs. We are logging everything and taking photos of as many as possible as this will enable us to build a picture of what we face at the orchard!

Our wild flower annual and perennial strips along with our sensory garden are established and we are seeing them growing strongly which will encourage the good ones too!

We continue to engage with the local schools and will have our picnic for the children on July 10^th where they get to know the orchard, water the plants and can be measured to see if they have grown more than our “measuring” tree!!

If you would like to join us/ find out more do come along to one of our sessions on a Wednesday at 10:00 and a Sunday at 2:00 or contact one of the team listed at www.wot2grow.co.uk

This site is maintained by villagers of Oxhill for the benefit of the community and those interested in the history, news and activities that make the village such a pleasant place to live.

Send mail to the editor of the Oxhill News at news-editor @ oxhill.org.uk.

Last modified: July 10, 2014