Orchard Revival

Scotland's charity for traditional orchards

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Variety ID – using DNA

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Our friends at Fruit ID are running their DNA scheme again this year:

Identification of apple, pear and cherry varieties using DNA

Following the success of the 2016-20 DNA Schemes with over 5,100 samples analysed, our DNA Scheme is again being offered for 2021.  East Malling Research have confirmed a price to us of £27.60 plus VAT for Apple, Pear and Cherry samples. 

If you would like to participate, please take a look at the Announcement and Timetable on https://www.fruitid.com/#help where there is a Request Form to get sample bags.   There is sample handling guidance, the Scheme results from previous years, and an Introduction to DNA Fingerprinting.

Please feel free also to circulate this to anyone you think might be interested and let me know if you have any questions.

Kind regards

Peter Laws

Scheme Administrator

Scottish Scything Festival

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We’re supporting the Scottish Scything Festival at Blackhaugh Community Farm near Auchterarder, Perthshire. This is the inaugural Scottish event (as far as we are aware).

Why? Scythes are a great way to manage the orchard floor. They are much less damaging to invertebrate life than a rotary mower. And faster (and quieter) than a strimmer. Plus they keep you fit and healthy!

https://blackhaughcommunityfarm.weebly.com/scythe-festival.html

https://www.facebook.com/ScottishScything

Monimail apple day

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Orchard Revival was at Monimail Tower Project in Fife helping with the Monimail Apple Day on 20th Oct. Thanks also to Will from Tayport Community Trust’s PLANT project for running the press this year.

In go the apples

Young juicers love the day

Plenty to store in our freezers

Clips from BBC Radio Scotland piece

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BBC piece on the Orchard Inventory here in bitsize chunks

Clips from Good Morning Scotland on 7th October 2018

Crispin (Inventory Coordinator) on some of the historical background to orchards in Scotland, how the Orchard Inventory was carried out, and hopes of an orchard revival.

Sue Pomeroy (Local Facilitator for the Inventory in the West Highlands) on remote orchards surveyed and crofting interest in fruit trees

Kate Holl (SNH Project Officer for Inventory) on biodiversity and benefits of orchards

Ron Gillies ( Cairn o’Mhor Winery) on making King Jimmy cider

Kate on different fruit and nuts grown in orchards

Ron with a guileful plug for his cider – how far apart to plant your trees

All clips copyright BBC 2018

Great response from Orchard Inventory feature on BBC website

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Great response from Orchard Inventory feature on BBC website

People have been contacting us from people across Scotland to the feature on the Beeb website

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-40012732

Some wanted to ensure their orchard has been included, and others to volunteer for survey work. A few have been seeking advice about varieties and planning new orchards. We’re working through those now so we get back to everyone.

Biodiversity is one of the factors assessed in the National Orchard Inventory for Scotland

We worked with a BBC journalist to develop the piece, and to try and include as much of interest as possible from what the Inventory found .  Of course the full story is contained in the Area Reports which are available to download.  However the piece gives a good overview and its gets to a very wide audience.  That has to be good for raising awareness about orchards in Scotland.

Jyll Bradley joins us for an Orchard Revival tour

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Crispin took artist Jyll Bradley on an orchard tour of Fife and the Carse of Gowrie orchards recently.  We took in various walled gardens, mature domestic orchards as well as the field scale former commercial orchards of the Carse.  Jyll is researching for an installation at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh in 2019.  We included a couple of other sites by the River Tay that are linked its role for transport and the monastic influence so vital to the development of orchards.  

in the 1780 peach house

 

Pictured are Jyll with Head Gardener Graham at the 1780 peach house of a private walled garden.  Peaches and nectarines are still being grown today !

What to do with old variety pears ? Make a yummy snack

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old variety Hessle pears to yummy snack

old variety Hessle pears to yummy snack


What to do with those old variety pears that tend to be left on the tree ? Use them – they are fantastic! Varieties like Hessle, which have a small fruit, but there are a lot of them on a tree. Pick them and dry them in the pear equivalent of apple rings. Only they aren’t a ring as they don’t need coring.

Picking time is crucial: Picking the old varieties of pear at the right time is a trick. Don’t wait for them to be ‘ripe’ as you would a more modern variety of table pear. If you wait, the centre will typically be rotten. Pick before that stage when they have become sweet but are still crunchy.

Just slice them up (about 5mm thick slices). The picture shows a dehydrator rack (which is essentially a low temp fan oven) but you can do this in your own electric fan oven at its lowest temp, or on a cake rack over a fire or radiator. It takes about 12 hours in a dehydrator/oven, longer with other methods.

Once dry, put in an airtight jar and they will last for months – but only if you hide the jar or lock it. Otherwise they only last a few weeks because they are so bloomin’ tasty !

Opportunity: Local Facilitators

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We are currently seeking individuals who would like to take up the roles of Local Facilitators (in their area). This is a part-time role running from July through to November.
The role in involves working with a local collaborating organisation – which could be a development trust, orchard group, or similar not-for-profit body – and organising volunteers to undertake the orchard survey work across your local area. The graphic here shows the projects structure and where Local Facilitators fit in.

local group structure v2We provide all the material resources and methods – it all set up. The Local Facilitator facilitates the action on the ground in their area.
If you are interested in the role, fill in the Volunteering Form but state in the last comment box that you want to be a Local Facilitator and tell us any additional details you think would be useful. We’ll get back to you. Thanks

Job Opportunity: Orchard Animateur & Support Worker

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SAYR0022 unnamed apples small
We’ve also got a great job opportunity for an enthusiastic person to help encourage and support local groups that are collaborating in the orchard inventory project. Its part-time, one day a week and runs for six months starting June.
Social media and some wordpress skills are needed too.
See Jobs page
Closing date 31st May 2016.

Tags

#ORinventory Apple Day ayrshire BBC BBC Scotland biodiversity Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership Crispin W. Hayes CW Hayes Associates dundee field survey fife diet forth valley orchards Fruit Festival funding gathering gis GIS deskstudy heritage Highlands inventory job Landward Local Facilitators National Orchard Inventory for Scotland newburgh Nick Nairn opportunity orchard Orchard Inventory orchards orchard surveys pear Perth scotland scotlandthefruit Scottish National Orchard Inventory scottish_smallholders_association slider post SRDP UK urban_orchard vision volunteers worker

Tags

#ORinventory Apple Day ayrshire BBC BBC Scotland biodiversity Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership Crispin W. Hayes CW Hayes Associates dundee field survey fife diet forth valley orchards Fruit Festival funding gathering gis GIS deskstudy heritage Highlands inventory job Landward Local Facilitators National Orchard Inventory for Scotland newburgh Nick Nairn opportunity orchard Orchard Inventory orchards orchard surveys pear Perth scotland scotlandthefruit Scottish National Orchard Inventory scottish_smallholders_association slider post SRDP UK urban_orchard vision volunteers worker

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