We are still in Bishops Frome, the village where Henney's Cider has been based since day one, but we are now living at Tree Farm, a smallholding on the outskirts of the village.
At the moment there is precious little farming going on at Tree Farm - a bit of haymaking, a few tenant sheep over the winter, one bee hive and three pet goats - but the plan is to establish a traditional standard cider apple orchard over about four acres.
We committed to buy the farm ages ago - have had a lot of work done on the house before moving in - so Mike was able to start planning the orchard and ordering trees back in 2011. He chose 10 different varieties of standard apple trees, which have been growing in the nursery at John Worle Ltd for the past 18 months.
Now in their dormant winter state, it is safe for them to be uprooted and moved, so in just a few weeks time a vast number of trees will be arriving ready for planting.
It's going to be an exciting time - to finally see Tree Farm start to live up to its name - and I'll make sure to capture the journey step by step on this blog.
Tree Farm - before the arrival of any trees
Rufus the goat can't wait for the tasty snacks apple trees to arrive
and practices his tree nibbling on an elder.
It's looking good, but you really have to get some pigs to live in that orchard, they'd do brilliantly.
ReplyDeleteKune Kunes would be ideal, they are small and stay pretty small and as long as you protect the trunks of the trees until they mature, the two would live very happily side by side.
They'd get on well with Rufus too :-)
Sue xx
Thanks for the idea Sue. I have raised it with Mike. He does not seem enthusiastic. I will keep trying :)
ReplyDeleteCharlotte
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