Orchard Care Fun Sunday 16 January

Email rec'd from Tim Evans, MUG Committee:

At last, another chance to have fun mucking about in the Millfields community orchard! We'll be doing an orchard care session on Sunday 16 Jan. Start at 11 am and carry on as long as we feel like it, weather permits, or there is stuff to do. No experience or skills needed. Kids welcome. Wear (& dress 'em in) clothes to get mucky in and footwear for long wet grass. Don't forget wet soil can be cold on small hands.

Tools and gloves provided (also rain shelter) but you could probably help by bringing any of the following:

·      wheelbarrow (please let me know in advance to save us bringing them)

·      shovel

·      garden spade, fork, trowel, handfork, weeder

·      secateurs / pruning saw (if good and sharp)

You may fancy bringing snacks & thermos.

Things we hope to do, depending on turn-out, weather, energy etc:

·      Replace a few trees that have died (2 didn't take originally but have been hard to replace exactly, the others got diseased last summer)

·      Weed, especially grass, to reduce competition for moisture & nutrients

·      Mulch with wood chip to suppress grass & retain moisture

·      Adjust guards to allow for growth

·      Learn a bit about pruning fruit trees (if not too cold for standing still to listen!)

Hope to see old & new faces for a cheerful start to the orchard year.

Tim
020 8986 34546