The beginnings of a Cider Empire ?

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The beginnings of a Cider Empire ?
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goosey

Joined: 29 Apr 2009
Posts: 380
Location: Merry England

Posted: Fri Jun 05, 09 12:52 pm Post subject:

Well done bodger!
Very interesting to follow the progress of your project.
I love cider. Have you thought of a brand name yet?
'bodger's'

Top Tip for good crops - go out to the orchard mid-January with your mates and family, and wasseil the trees.
Drink cider, pour a little round their roots, put a bit on some bread in the branches, sing 'Here we go awasseiling' The trees will love it. Now blast a shotgun upwards to deter any nasties

Great fun, I wish you bumper harvests and happy days

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Fri Jun 05, 09 1:04 pm Post subject:
Been there done that goosey. Brilliant isn't it ? Its what I'm signing up for. How do you fancy doing a bit of this with your horses ? https://www.heavyhorses.net/Pages/cider.htm How dreamworthy is this ?

goosey

Joined: 29 Apr 2009
Posts: 380
Location: Merry England

Posted: Fri Jun 05, 09 3:35 pm Post subject:
I fancy that a lot I know Doug, I went up to his place in Herefordshire in 2007, to practice extracting timber from woodland, with horses. I slept in the woods all alone at night. It was a defining moment. I didn't get any cider tho

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Fri Jun 05, 09 4:03 pm Post subject:
We're off to Woodfest on Sunday goosey, there are normally between 15 and 20 loggers there and their horses taking part in various competitions.

goosey

Joined: 29 Apr 2009
Posts: 380
Location: Merry England

Posted: Fri Jun 05, 09 7:11 pm Post subject:
I'm not planning to go this year unfortunately, or I could have said 'hi' to you. Have a good time Last edited by goosey on Sat Jun 06, 09 8:13 am; edited 1 time in total

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Fri Jun 12, 09 9:02 am Post subject:

I've been in touch with my local planning officer again today, I'd left them to stew for a week since first contacting them. I think I've had a bit of a result. This is what they came up with. As long as my enterprise is small scale and all the apples that I press are grown on the farm, then at the moment they say i don't need planning permission to sell cider from the gate. Seems a bit strange that one to me, if I was to stick to the letter of what they say then my next door neighbours orchard would be denied to me.

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Fri Aug 07, 09 12:29 pm Post subject:

Friday 7th August 2009
-------------------------------

Two bits of news today.

I've made contact with a bee man who seems very keen on keeping his bees in our orchards. He's coming this evening to see if our site is suitable. Hopefully the arrangement can be of benefit to both parties.

I've also had a phone call from Matthews Nursery regarding which trees I'm having off them this coming winter. This time, I'm selecting eating apples with a view to both selling the apples and turning them into juice.

They are suggesting that I have the following varieties.

Discovery
Katie
Red Windsor
Red Falstaff
Fiesta
Ash Meade Kernel.

I've provisionally booked ten of each on 106 or 111 stock.

Fee

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 15922
Location: Earth

Posted: Fri Aug 07, 09 3:34 pm Post subject:
'citing!

yummersetter

Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 3241
Location: Somerset

Posted: Fri Aug 07, 09 7:43 pm Post subject:
do they have Kidds Orange Red as well?

Marts

Joined: 06 Sep 2005
Posts: 352
Location: London

Posted: Fri Aug 07, 09 11:39 pm Post subject:
Can�t believe I missed this when you started posting it. Just had a good half hour reading it. Thanks Bodger. Great fun to read and inspiring. Questions.... What are 106 and 111? I guess root stocks of some kind - but dwarfing or what? What will be their mature fruiting size? Have you thought about letting chickens loose amongst them?

sueshells

Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 690
Location: North Bucks

Posted: Sat Aug 08, 09 12:35 am Post subject:
Love the project and the pics, Bodger, can't wait to see the first pics of your trees laden with fruit (although I expect I may have to as they won't bear for a few years yet?) I love cider - reminds me of that Corona drink I used to have as a kid - but with different side effects!

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 09 1:48 am Post subject:
Hi Marts. Yes, you guessed it correctly, they are both semi dwarfing root stocks and I do have chickens running amongst them. Yumsetter, Kidss Orange Red isn't one that I've see on their list.

joanne

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7100
Location: Morecambe, Lancashire

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 09 9:05 am Post subject:
Bodger - Question about the bee's - Are you planning to spray the orchards ? If so - please don't site the bee's in the orchards unless you are going to close up the hives for a couple of days when you do it If you are going down the Organic route I don't think it's as big an issue unless there is some aspect of pest control used commercially that I don't know about

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 09 10:14 am Post subject:
I don't intend to spray at all, but I will remember the good point that you have made.

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Wed Jun 08, 11 9:05 am Post subject:

I meant to keep this thread going as a bit of a blog showing the progress that I was making in creating a small cider orchard but I've been a little remiss.
On the 22nd of January 2011 I planted :-

Eating apples.
25 Red Windsor
25 Discovery

6 Bramleys

Cider apples
10 Michelin.

My orchard is starting to look like a proper orchard now.

This update brings me up to this morning.
I've been on the phone and ordered next winters bare rooted apple trees.
I'm having 60 more cider and 15 eating apples.

25 Tom Putt
25 Browns Apple
10 Yarlington Mill

and because I've heard so much about the eating and juicing quality of this particular variety, I've gone for 15 Ashmeade Kernel.
The trees will be on either 106 or 111 root stock, which are semi dwarfing.

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