Picking the apples with our new long handled picker and harvesting bag Today BEES volunteers were joined by a group from Santander Bank to undertake a variety of tasks ensuring autumn management tasks were completed and the site was prepared for visitors to Apple Day on Sunday.
We follow organic guidelines for top fruit cultivation so throughout the summer we leave the majority of the grass long to ensure there is adequate habitat for the invertebrate predators that control the aphids and other pests. At this time of the year the grass undergoes an autumn cut and the arisings are raked and added to the compost. We aim to leave about 10% of the undergrowth as a winter refuge for the invertebrates.
The trees were given a bit of food to boost the fruit bud development. Calcified seaweed, fine charcoal (which aids uptake of nutrients from the soil) and a mulch from the bottom of the compost bins was spread around the trees. More work was done to organise the compost bins. Pathways, flower beds and veg beds were weeded and the hedges were cut.
We harvested and weighed more of the apples, only a few are left on the trees now and these will be picked next week.
See more photos here