Can you imagine a future where #CommunityOrchards play a prominent role in improving food system resilience, biodiversity, and social equity? That's the basis of our new 5yr plan launched today (27 May): Read more here 👉 www.theorchardproject.org.uk/news/inspiri...

We had an amazing time at #RHSWisley for the first session of our new Certificate in Community Orcharding Course (CICO) 😊 Based in the new Greener Skills Garden, we're just a few minutes' walk from the beautiful veteran orchard & World Food Garden. 👉 www.theorchardproject.org.uk/what-we-do/c...

Interesting. A potential small-scale alternative to grassing-down once a fruit tree is mature enough to not suffer from the competition..? 🤔 youtube.com/shorts/HIRWR...

So, let’s put it out there. With a huge nod to my friends at @rosscider.bsky.social & their flagship cider, Raison D’être (thanks for the approval, Albert!), & to Adam Wells for suggesting the name while we were sitting at my kitchen table last month, our latest cider release, Saison D’être 2023.

🌱 Today is #OutdoorClassroomDay! We’re celebrating with the launch of our new schools resources, designed to make it easier for teachers and home-schoolers to take learning outdoors. Explore them all here 👉 www.theorchardproject.org.uk/school_lesso... #CommunityOrchards 📷️ Cal Holland

Look at how the Stoneyfields Park #CommunityOrchard is getting on! This lovely new community orchard was planted in Barnet, London back in February. Volunteers have been taking excellent care of the trees. Our team returned to the orchard last month to help add some herbs & flowers to the site. 🌱

Autumn time in the orchard here & time for medlar harvest. Medlars ripen later than most fruit and after the frosts set in. Traders brought them to England in the 1700s. It is recorded that they were added to cider in the 1700’s so we do so to with fruit we grow ourselves. #medlar #cider #autumn

For those in or visiting the UK, the Hartpury Orchard Centre is well worth a visit. They contain most known varieties of perry pear planted by Hartpury Heritage Trust. There are 30 acres of orchards and wetlands grazed by Ryeland sheep and Gloucester cattle. Dogs on leads are welcome #perry #pears

Got round to rebuilding the strawberry cage before the fruits start to ripen. Last year we spent too long crawling about getting caught up in netting. This version is a big improvement!

Maribel, a graduate of our certificate in community orcharding (CICO) course, shared the benefits being a community orchardist has had on her mental health as a neurodivergent woman. Maribel takes action for her mental health by volunteering at her local community orchard, sharing her skills.

For neurodivergent people with ADHD, being in an orchard can help to calm a racing mind, provide dopamine boosts from being in nature, allow for hyperfocus to learn new things, but also provide opportunities for a variety of tasks to choose from. 🌳

This week is #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek, and we have been reflecting on the role of community orchards in supporting good mental health. Community orchards are places where people can be creative, curious, experimental, take things at their own pace, and recover from the stresses of everyday life.🍎

perry russet apples, painted by mary daisy arnold, 1913

The 2026 Urban Tree Festival kicked off yesterday - a week-long schedule in celebration of city trees with activities for tree lovers. In urban areas, orchards provide vital green space and bring biodiversity to our cities. Interacting with urban nature is beneficial to our mental health too. 🌳

Here's something special. A lucid, accessible, highly engaging presentation on breeding new apple varieties by James McDuff, perhaps the UK's foremost amateur apple breeder. Truly, a treasure house of intelligence, insight, practical advice and enthusiasm relating to citizen/community led science.

Who doesn’t love old trees?

Ensuring the original bramley apple tree is publicly accessible seems like a no brainer to us. How about you? www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...

I often work as a Woodsman in the autumn and winter, and 5 years ago I discovered an elderly Crab apple in a sorry state. I've been gradually cutting dead and diseased wood, and this year rewarded by the most extraordinary blossom. 📍Lake District #trees

I'm not sure who needs to hear this, but apple blossom is the best blossom.

Thanks to everyone who supported our recent #BigGiveEarthRaise campaign - it meant a great deal to us. We raised £3,763 in total, which will go into creating more community orchards in areas that need them the most 🍏 Cheers! #CommunityOrchards #BristolCider

Back in 2021, I posted a photo-essay article in which I tracked the development of a single 'Herefordshire Russet' apple from bud, to blossom, to fruit. 5 years on, I thought I'd see how that particular fruiting spur was developing. Here's what I found: orchardnotes.com/2026/05/01/f...

The last five years: a Cider Review retrospective. Adam looks back as Cider Review celebrates its fifth anniversary, reflecting on its growth and contributions to cider culture. #cider #cidre #apfelwein #perry #orchards

Back in 2021, I posted a photo-essay article in which I tracked the development of a single 'Herefordshire Russet' apple from bud, to blossom, to fruit. 5 years on, I thought I'd see how that particular fruiting spur was developing. Here's what I found: orchardnotes.com/2026/05/01/f...

Short review of the @teagasc.bsky.social apple research day. teagasc.ie/news--events...

Help me revise this, #Applesky! What to eat in April: I wrote this evaluation of spring supermarket apples in 2010. What would you change in light of new varieties? EG Lady Alice, Evercrisp,...? adamapples.blogspot.com/2010/04/off-...

Just 4 ancestral species (citron, pummelo, mandarin, & papeda) gave rise to the common citrus fruits, as shown in this graphic from Kalita et al. 2021. A molecular perspective on the taxonomy and journey of Citrus domestication. doi.org/10.1016/j.pp... #Citrus #Rutaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱 1/2

We like to inspire our students by choosing fantastic venues such as this one at Chiswick House, London. The kitchen garden is managed by one of our graduates, Sally Tilson. Few spots left on our upcoming CICO RHS Wisley course: www.theorchardproject.org.uk/events/cicow... #CommunityOrchards

Apple Blossom Day traditionally falls around the last Sunday of April, celebrating fruit tree blossom at its peak. If you can't find any organised events near you this weekend, why not create your own by taking a walk in your local park or orchard? 🌸 #CommunityOrchards #BlossomDay

Have you ever wanted to breed a new apple variety? It might seem like a daunting task, but if you have a few low-cost items, a lot of patience, and a fair bit of space, it’s something many of us could do. James McDuff from Ystwyth Valley Apple Breeders explains how: www.youtube.com/watch?v=84CP...

This Earth Day we're asking for support to deliver real solutions to the climate crisis via #EarthRaise. All funds raised will create climate-resilient orchards in communities that need them the most. Every donation is doubled 22-29 April: bit.ly/48OfZKJ #CommunityOrchards @biggive.bsky.social

New episode alert!! Today, we are going on an excursion to the @nethertonfoundry.bsky.social workshop, to find out about spun iron cookware – something essentially extinct in the UK until owners Neil & Sue Currie brought it back. Available on all podcast apps. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s...

James Grieve apple blossom. A sweet & juicy dual-purpose variety which keeps its shape when cooked. Named after Edinburgh horticulturalist James Grieve whose family nursery was known for hybridising fruit, violas & carnations. Introduced 1893. 🍏 🌱

The Schweizer Wasserbirne (left) have finished their display, but the Bayerische Weinbirne are now in their full glory!

Bud-blossom report! adamapples.blogspot.com/2026/04/spri...

Yarlington Mill cider apples being washed and processed. Lovely dark juice after scratting and pressing. pH 4.2 and SG 1.042. Not bad considering the summer. It was great this year to be working in our new poundhouse as it rained all day. #cider #apples #poundhouse

A few thoughts on the wisdom, or otherwise, of attempting to train a vigorous, triploid, partial tip-bearing 'Bramley's Seedling' apple tree to a tall-spindle / vertical cordon form, by grafting to dwarfing M9 rootstock and then hard-pruning annually. orchardnotes.com/2026/04/18/w...

The old plum orchard is as much a habitat as a crop. Yet this is a commercial orchard, returning a profit in many years. It supports a multiplicity of species, many of which actually help deliver great quality fruits. Managing this orchard and its balance is a challenge and delight.

little russet apples, painted by ellen isham schutt, 1912

Here's a lovely bit of apple- and cider-forward pork fillet cookery from the French Cooking Academy channel on YouTube: youtu.be/1IU6SvrC9tQ?... Yum! 😋

Anyone for "Apple Pie Which is Digestible"? Dr. Alvin Wood Chase's 1871 recipe tells you how, and more importantly, how to avoid making an apple pie which is *in*digestible. I mean, you wouldn't want to make one of those, would you..? orchardnotes.com/2026/04/15/d... #recipe #c19th #applepie

Apple blossom for #FlowersOnFriday

Fate sensed my lack of plan for tomorrow and intervened

Barry (@barmas.bsky.social) chats with Peter Haselberger, about how and why they are breaking away from the perceived style of Mostviertel perry. 🍐

The beginning of every fruit. Every flower is potentially one fruit...if someone doesn't come along and pick them of course! However, we wouldn't want every bloom to be pollinated as the tree would be very stressed (as would the orchardist who has to thin the fruit out!)

Cherry 'Morello' flowers at Quarry Bank t'other day.

Our back garden #blueberry bushes seem to be flowering well this year. Bodes well for a decent harvest later in the year.

Our back garden #blueberry bushes seem to be flowering well this year. Bodes well for a decent harvest later in the year.

Cherry 'Morello' flowers at Quarry Bank t'other day.

All the world's a stage, and all the fruit merely players. #food #foodsky 🍜