Small orchard planting

[Mark]

Hi all,

I know there has been a few orchard planting topics in the past (which
I have read with interest) but it would be great to have some advice
on my own plan.

I have access to an approx 1/3 acre which I would like to plant as a
small orchard. My current layout plan (which excludes variety
selection) can be seen here: www.rkbev.com/plan2.xls

The sight is in the South West and at an altitude of around 550ft
which I understand is quite high for fruit growing - should this
affect my choice of varieties? There is an established 12ft ish hedge/
tree line along the Southern boundary which will hopefully act as a
wind break. In terms of the wider area the South East is at a higher
altitude and the North East lower, so the plot is not a high point.

Currently planning to use MM106 root stock with a tree and row spacing
of 15ft (previously toyed with 12x15 and 15x18) and a total of not
more than 40-50 trees, trained to have strong central leader (pyramid/
Christmas tree?).

Ultimately I would like to have a couple of sheep to keep the grass
down. I would intent on having standard rabbit guards and perhaps the
Shropshire sheep variety which I've read have less inclination to
destroy trees than others! Does anyone know roughly how long I would
need to wait before I could safely graze sheep amongst the trees?

Any general thoughts and comments would be greatly appreciated!

Mark

[Vigneron Rowland]

Sounds like a solid plan. I havnt worked with shropshires, but I have
had some success with the old english southdowns, sometimes called
"babydoll" southdowns. I would still recommend putting some guards on
the trees for the first 2-3 feet.

[Alasdair Keddie]

On a similar subject, I have access to 7 acres of grazing paddocks in South West Hertfordshire and I would be interested in converting some to orchard.

The land is in a valley with a river bordering on one side and a stream running through the middle.  The soil is rich, although probably quite chalky due to the valley begining in the Chiltern Hills.

Is there a particular soil composition that suits cider apples? Eg, could I grow a stand of Kingston Blacks here or should I be considering a breed better suited to the local environment?