Spring work party - Sat 28th Apr

Help is required on Saturday 28th April from 11am to 1pm to help clear the ground around the fruit trees. This helps the trees develop stronger roots and saves them competing with the grass for nutrients. It also means that the council workmen do not have to strim around the trees; a practice that can damage young trees.

Contact me (Henry Paul) if you have any questions.

St Andrews Community Orchard – Wildflower Meadow project

We hope to change if from this:

Where the grass is cut every two weeks and no wildflowers are able to compete against the more invasive grass. To something more like this:

An area where wildflowers will be established and the grassland will be mown once a year and the cuttings removed. We will use Yellow Rattle in our Organic conversion of this area into a Wildflower Meadow.

Yellow rattle is an attractive, semi-parasitic, grassland annual. In the past this plant was a serious pest for farmers as it weakens grasses and as a result can reduce hay yields by as much as 50%. In a landscape or garden context however, this suppression of grass growth is welcomed as it produces a better display of wild flowers and eases the mowing required.
Yellow rattle germinates late February to early March, flowers in June, and sets seed in July. At the end of each growing season as the annual yellow rattle plants die away they leave behind gaps into which new wild flowers can establish. As a result, wild flower seed sown into an existing sward will establish more readily in areas where yellow rattle already does well.

Apple Press

The St Andrews Orchard Group have obtained an electric fruit shredder and a large apple press. These were paid for by a grant from the St Andrews Common Good Fund and are available to anyone who lives in St Andrews. The trugs of apples in the picture were crushed and juiced in half an hour and produced 60 litres of juice.

Second planting in St Andrews Commonwealth Orchard

Fortyeight fruit trees were planted in March 2011 to complete the St Andrews branch of the Commonwealth Orchard. We had pupil and teacher volunteers from Canongate, Greyfriars, Madras additional support and Madras Eco club. We also had some community councillors and members of the public helping. The day was dreich but, all of the trees were planted.

Fruit Tree Planting Wednesday 30th March

Hi,

As part of Madras' Eco day we are planning to plant 50 more fruit trees in Stanks Park (behind Mac's papershop on Lamond Drive). We will meet at 1pm in the park and please bring a spade if possible.

If you require any further details pease contact me.

Spring tree planting on Wednesday 30 March 2011

We have 50 mixed fruit trees and plan to plant them on Wednesday 30 March. The trees will be planted in Stanks Park, alonside the 28 trees planted last spring and the planting will be organised with Madras college as part of their efforts to secure a second Green Flag. I will post more details closer to the date.

Henry Paul
henrythenav@hotmail.com
07977-131635

2010 AGM - Sunday 17 October at 3pm in Botanics

The St Andrews Orchard Group will be helping out at the Apple Day at the Botanics on Sunday 17 October. We will hold our AGM, immediately after the day has finished, at 3:00pm in the Glass Class.

Please contact me if you have any agenda items you would like to discuss.