Steyning Community Orchard – May 16 News

Where is the Community Orchard?
Some people still ask us where the Community Orchard is.  We are in the corner of the Memorial Playing Field which can be accessed from Newham Lane or Charlton Street.  If you walk from the cricket club towards the Downs and look left as you approach the far hedge, you will see our noticeboard and newly planted trees.

If you get the chance, do try and get up there this month. The cherry and pear trees should still be in full blossom followed by the plum and apples later in the month.


Recent tree plantings in the Orchard.
We have now planted 9 Sussex Heritage apple varieties in the Orchard. They are all grafted onto a vigorous rootstock, which will produce trees 4m tall with a 4m spread. So in time, you should be able to walk, and picnic, under the spreading branches of these trees. And in May the blossom should be spectacular. Then there will be the apples, lots of them.   Most of them will be a new experience for all of us. Who in Steyning has ever tasted a Duck's Bill, Sussex Forge or Bossom?  None of us have!

These trees will also become an important local feature, as we don't know of any other place where these old Sussex variety apples can be found growing in a traditional orchard setting.

We covered the first 4 Sussex apples planted in the Community Orchard in the July 2015 edition of Your Steyning (you can still read this article by going to the Magazines tab on their website - YourSteyning.co.uk.).

Descriptions of 4 more of the Sussex apples we have planted.

Duck's Bill


An old Sussex apple sent to the National Fruit Trials in 1937 by Mr Fred Streeter, head gardener at Petworth House.  Middle to late in season, it is a large, tall and often conical apple with pronounced ribs. The body is pale green/yellow, flushed with orange, scarlet and carmine stripes, with russet dots. The flesh is crisp, white, with a good blend of sweetness and sharpness.
It is a dual purpose apple, but perhaps more cooker than dessert.
Picked in early October, it keeps to December.
This is still a rare apple.

Dr Hogg  
     
Introduced by Sidney Ford, Head Gardener of Leonardslee Gardens in 1880. Named after the eminent Victorian pomologist Robert Hogg. A very large cooking apple, which is ripe in September. Attractive stripy blossom.  The flesh is rich and sweet. Excellent for baking and cooking to a purée. It stores until the end of October.

Sussex Mother

A nineteenth century dessert apple, described by Hogg in 1884, and still found growing in Sussex, especially around Heathfield. The green apples are conical and angular, become yellow, sometimes with a flush, sprinkled with russet dots.  It has a soft flesh with a sweet, spicy taste. Picked in early September it is used straightaway as it does not keep.

Sussex Forge 
    
Recorded by Hogg in 1851, but believed to be much older. It was widely grown around Surrey and Sussex. It is also known as the 'Cottager's Apple' as it can be used for cider, for cooking and then by Christmas is sweet enough to eat.
The name Forge derives from the old iron working areas of the Weald, especially around Crawley and East Grinstead.
The fruit is ready to pick in late September for cider/cooking. If left on the tree until late October, it becomes sweeter and can then be stored for winter use.

OTHER NEWS
We have planted over 500 native bluebells and snowdrops in the uncut grassy areas to each side of the Orchard. Both establish much better if they are planted 'in the green', ie whilst they are growing, either before or after flowering. They may take a while to establish - but we're not in a hurry!

??We paid for the huge pile of prunings and brash from our clearings to be chipped on site. We use these chippings as a mulch around our trees. (We have not received, or asked for, any financial support from the Parish Council.  Due to generous tree donors and our own fund raising activities, we are completely self-financing)

You can find out more about Steyning Community Orchard and keep up to date with the latest activities and plans on our new website at www.steyningcommunityorchard.org 
 
You can also keep up-to-date with our events on our Facebook page:
facebook.com/steyningcommunityorchard