Orchard - a year in England's Eden (Book) - SO good!

[Tom Bugs]

Who else has read this glorious book? I think it brings up all sorts of interesting & vital questions around our focus on cider production!

I'd had it 'on my radar' for a while - thinking it'd be about cider & orcharding - but it turns out to be much more nature focused (no surprise as the two authors are naturalists) - there are all manner of joyous bits about the animals & ecosystems. Things like the sweet tooth of blue tits, how jays may purposefully forget acorns - it really opens up so many new areas for someone already fascinated by the produce & history of orchards.

The vital side - the richness of habitat, how important it is not to be too prim & tidy, the long timeframes, how much has been lost in looking for pure productivity, the knock-on impacts of over usage of insecticides, etc etc.

As keen producers, looking for quality fruit (flourishing from a strong ecosystem!) and, perhaps, with a love of the special spaces that are increasingly rare.. I strongly feel that cider producers can take a lot to heart from this book and start, slowly, working to save the wonder of old orchards!

[Duncan Hewitt]

I only get a broken link to an image - what book is it? Sounds interesting!

Duncan Hewitt
Merrybower Homestead
07941 905796

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[Tom Bugs]

A sorry, I can see the picture I attached to the posting, but maybe that isn't universal!

The book is called "Orchard - A Year in England's Eden" by Benedict Macdonald & Nicholas Gates.
https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/orchard-a-year-in-englands-eden-benedict-macdonaldnicholas-gates?variant=32795032289358

[John Were]

Yep, this book is amazing. We've just taken on a small, neglected orchard in Somerset UK and I look at it completely differently having read this. I'm going to be leaving unproductive dying trees in, bramble patches, dead wood on trees and generally doing what I can to manage it for wildlife and biodiversity as well as cider apple cropping. Maybe this is the touch I need to get a medal at the Bath and West where I got, err, nothing again this year!

"Rebirding" by the same author is also great. Polemical but great. Sits nicely alongside "Wilding".

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[Alan Stone]

Hi John

I don't seem to be able to find the invoice for the cider for the B&W

Please could you send me an email with name address - Bacs and amount - made out to Bath and West Shows

many thanks

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[Steilhead Cider]

Just finished reading it!  An excellent, insightful, informative, inspiring and slightly alarming book, beautifully written.  Those chaps must have spent weeks and weeks in that orchard.

[Tom Bugs]

Great!

Yeah, the slow & watchful approach - I'd love to be able to do it, but know myself a bit too ;)

I find all sorts of internal conflict between deeply instilled 'tidyness' battling against both the wish for less trying to control everything and the understanding that natural 'chaos' is wonderful & rich. I want to move both fast & slow - balance, as always, is the key!

But, yes, so very eye-opening!