Southill orchard planting
Thank you so much to all those who came to Southill solar farm on Saturday and planted the trees. It was a really good turn-out and great to see so many adults and kids despite the cold (and some rain). Through the morning we planted 50 orchard trees and 60 whips in just under 3 hours.
These trees will provide many benefits for the solar farm. As they develop the trees will provide additional shielding for the site and nesting habitat for farmland birds. More importantly, the orchard trees should provide an excellent crop of apples of many varieties, as well as a few plums and nuts in future years. Many thanks to Christine Elliot for the wonderful work she's done researching the varieties and coordinating the orchard planting and to Guy Parker for organising and overseeing the activity.
Thanks also to Andy and Kieran from Nicholsons who provided excellent management of the planting and supplied equipment and advice to keep us on track. Thanks also to you professional gardeners out there who provided good tips to us all through the morning!
Thanks again and best wishes,
Tim and the Southill team