Bowling Park Community Orchard

bee on Keswick Codling Blossom: Bees are essential for the pollination of the fruit, so we manage the orchard to attract them.

bee on Keswick Codling Blossom

Volunteering at the orchard
Would you like to join the volunteer group to help manage the orchard? We are keen to welcome new volunteers to help with tasks through the year. Having dominated our time through September and October, the harvest is complete now, so we are now moving onto juicing and preserving.
Through the winter we need to prune the trees and manage the hedges and edges. By late winter we move onto feeding the trees, ready to welcome the spring blossom. Through the summer we aim to control some of the unruly vegetation (while making sure we are managing the grassland to support the predators than control the pests). Summer pruning is a job for August, and then we are back to harvesting....

This makes it sound easy, but we need more volunteers if we are to maintain the orchard satisfactorily. 

Some of the management is done on BEES conservation volunteer days, but a lot is done by the Friends of Bowling Community Orchard. We usually meet on the third Saturday of the month, 10.00 - 1pm, though this does vary. If you are coming along as a first timer please contact BEES in advance to make an arrangement. 

Forthcoming dates; 
1. Friday 24th November; BEES Task day . at the orchard from 10.30-3.30
2. Saturday 25th November; Friends of Session at the orchard. Meet at the gates on Bowling Park Drive at 10.30am. 
3. Tuesday 28th November. Juicing at Culture Fusion. Come along from 9.30 until mid afternoon (until we have gone through the shed we don't know how much we will have to juice, so please come along early so we can get as much done as possible). We aim to work outside so dress warmly. Washing up gloves are useful for staying warm when washing the apples. 
4. Wednesday 29th November. Pasteurising at Culture Fusion. Get in touch for details. 
5. TBC Saturday 16th December; Friends of Session at the orchard. Meet at the gates on Bowling Park Drive at 10.30am. Getting started with the winter pruning. 

 

Apple Day 2023 was held on Sunday 15th October 12-4pm

We will have a reasonable harvest this year, though at this stage it is hard to know how this will progress. We have noticed the early croppers such as Discovery are not lasting as well as usual. We may have had to juice much of the fruit before Apple day, meaning there may be less to juice on the day. 

Apple Day will be full of the normal range of activities; juicing, cakes, chutneys, activities, advice about your fruit trees, harvesting and a time to meet with friends and hang out in the autumn sunshine. And apples to buy.

Keep an eye on the Apple Day page for updates, and for requests for donations of baking etc, and about volunteer opportunities. We would really welcome new volunteers to help us make the event run smoothly, so please do get in touch if you are able to help. [email protected]

We hope to see you at the orchard soon.

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Our Jams and Chutneys are available all year round.
Look at this link to our jams, chutneys and juice to see what preserves we have in store. Place an order at [email protected] and we will discuss collection/delivery

https://tinyurl.com/BCOPreserves

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Call for Volunteers (and other help...)

Can you make a cake for Apple Day?

The cake stall is always a popular part of Apple Day, but we rely on volunteer contributions to get the range and the number of cakes needed to satisfy our eager crowd. And this year we are celebrating our 21st birthday, so cakes seem all the more important. If you would like to bake for us please email and we will send a brief outline. Basically we are looking for cakes, biscuits etc using apples, pears, plums or English soft fruit...
We look forward to hearing your ideas.

Chutney - have you got any spare jars? 

In order to make the most of the apple harvest, be it using windfalls or just preserving fruit that won't store,  we make a lot of chutney. However, we are short of jars (we prefer to recycle rather than buy new) and would welcome any donations.  Ideally we would prefer that they arrive to us without the labels - these need to be removed before we sterilise them and sometimes they are just too hard to get off.

And while we are talking about chutney, if you want to get involved with making some please talk to us. Or if you have a favourite recipe you'd like to recommend to us please get in touch. We'd welcome new inspiration. 

Do you know of spare apples for juicing?

The fresh apple juice we produce at Apple Day is another firm favourite. To make enough this year we will need to find contributions from outside the orchard. Do you have a glut of apples at home? Have you seen a tree in your neighbourhood that doesn't get picked? Get in touch with any thoughts and we will discuss collection. 

Volunteering on the Day 

We need volunteers on the day to help with setting up, helping to run activities and stalls and with packing away at the end. You can volunteer for a part of the day if you like. 

If you wish to get involved with volunteer days at the orchard through the summer, keep an eye on the task programme here, or contact the office (still limited time to the office to keep staff safe, so best to email [email protected] at the moment). 

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We do not have card facilities at the orchard. 

We know that everyone has become used to cashless transactions over the last year or so...but ....
please bring CASH for your cakes, apples, chutney, juice etc. (and of course your donations too!!)

Thank you. 

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We are twenty years old! On Sunday 26th March 2023 we celebrated 20 years of the orchard. 
It was a chilly morning but we gathered with our photo albums and cake to take a moment to appreciate what we have achieved. 

BEES lead a pruning workshop on Sunday 8th January at the orchard. 
This training was targeted at people who live in the Bowling area, as part of the Festival of Trees. 
Apple and pear trees should be pruned in winter to maintain a healthy shape and size and to ensure they will fruit plentifully for future decades. We worked with the group to talk through the theory and have a little bit of practice of winter fruit tree pruning.

The Harvest 2020

Reflecting a challenging year all round, the harvest this season has been severely compromised by frost and we have a fraction of the number of apples of previous years. Hardly any eating apples - even Katy, normally so prolific, has only had a few apples, which means we have not mean able to make any juice this year. 

Keswick Codlin has done well, but coming towards the end of it's shelf life. Make sure you book onto one of the orchard visit slots if you want a  few. 

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The 2019 Harvest.

We harvested a grand total of 994 kilograms of top fruit (take the blackcurrants into account and we may well have made it to a ton!)
969.5 Kg apples and 24.5 Kg plums and pears. 

Coming in top of the list is Bramley who produced 122 kg, but a special mention has to go to Katy with a whooping 121.75 kg - so productive for a smaller tree. We even managed to make better use of the Katy apples this year by pressing 60 kg in late September to make juice. 

Our weighing methods wouldn't pass any weights and measures quality control, but it gives a good indication of the potential of the orchard to provide locally grown organic fruit. 

So, what do we do with it all? 
Of course some of it gets eaten fresh; some straight from the tree, some stored and filling our apple fruit bowl through to the spring. There are plenty of Bramley in the store, as well as Ribston Pippin, Jupiter and several other eating varieties. 

But we also make pasteurised juice, chutney, jam and dried apples. 
We have finished our autumn and winter markets for the time being, so just get in touch if you wish to arrange to buy any apples or products. 

What's on at the orchard?

Work days through the winter will be organised as part of BEES conservation volunteer group - keep an eye on this page or email [email protected] to be added to the mailing list. 

In addition Friends of Bowling Park Community Orchard will continue to gather at the orchard on the third Saturday of the month, 10 am till 1 pm. These sessions are not organised by BEES. People meet at the orchard (sometimes arranging to share lifts but there is no minibus transport provided) and we liaise to bring appropriate tools and refreshments.  go. 

If you use Facebook the easiest way to keep in touch with plans for the Saturday sessions is to joining the Friends of Bowling Park Community Orchard Facebook Group. [this is inactive at present] This is a closed group used mainly just to communicate about details of sessions, with very occasional extra bits of info. Or email [email protected] and we will be in touch about sharing email addresses etc. 

The sessions are occasionally changed or cancelled if too many of the group are unable to attend, and the gates to the allotments are locked so we do need to arrange to meet for your first visit. 

Friends of BPCO

The Friends of Bowling Park Community Orchard was established in 2005 to take forward responsibility for management of the orchard. It is a loose, unconstituted organisation which to date is mainly made up of BEES volunteers. The 'friends' commit to management sessions to supplement the volunteer task days that BEES organise at the orchard. We plan to have work sessions in the evening during summer months, and dates will be publicised here once they are arranged. Anyone is welcome to join the group, please contact BEES is you are interested.

Our first wassail

We enjoyed our first wassail at the orchard at the end of January 2017. We'd thought of doing it many times, but never quite got round to it. 

Sue led us in a few appropriate words around Belle de Boskoop, our most productive tree, but really it was just an excuse to have a social gathering at the orchard. We had a fire to get rid of prunings and hedge cuttings and it was a good opportunity to catch up with friends and take stock of what we need to do to have a successful year ahead.

There are some key tasks to undertake; revamping the paths, benches and shelters, ongoing grass cutting, weeding etc. We need to create more storage for apples. Can we make something (a straw bale shed, flowering roof?), or shall we buy a shed? We want to continue to increase nectar sources in the orchard so the bees are happy all year round.

How do we coordinate work days and harvesting visits?  Interestingly a re-read of our management plan (attached at the bottom of this page) highlights the lack of any mention of the harvest! This is now a key task, and crucial that we plan it properly so that we make the best use of the apples. 

So, at the same time as updating the management plan we will make sure this year's action plan reflects what we need to do and how we are going to do it. 

If you have got any ideas, or want to get involved, please get in touch

About Bowling Park Community Orchard

The orchard is developed on six disused allotment plots adjacent to Bowling Park.

In March 2003 we planted over 40 trees including

  • 35 varieties of apple,
  • 6 pears and
  • 4 plums.

The orchard is managed by BEES conservation volunteers and we have established the Friends of Bowling Park Community Orchard who we hope will take responsibility for the orchard into the future. New members are welcome - please contact BEES if you wish to find out more.

Bowling Park Community Orchard Management Plan

The management plan is attached at the bottom of the page. It gives an overview of the orchard; background, ethos, intentions and an outline of the seasonal work plan.

Please get in touch if you have any comments.

BPCOrchard Harvesting Record

The harvesting record shows the weight of each variety of apple harvested each year.

More

Community Orchard Development

BEES has been involved in developing Community Orchards at Bowling Park Allotments, Redcliffe (Keighley) and in many school grounds.

Why?
We see them as a place to grow fruit, develop wildlife habitats and create sociable urban green space.

Orchard cultivation nationally has declined by 57% since 1950. Community Orchards offer the opportunity to counteract this decline whilst learning and sharing fruit growing skills and growing varieties that are distinctive of our locality and that we cannot readily buy elsewhere. They offer space for wildlife and for the community to celebrate and enjoy the harvest and heritage surrounding fruit growing and its use.

External Links

 

Directions

Map of BPCO

 

You can find the Orchard on Google Maps with this address; Bowling Park Community Orchard, Bowling Park Drive, Bradford BD4 7ES

By Bus from Bradford Interchange

Bus information is also available at: www.wymetro.com
The orchard is within the allotment site which can only be accessed from Bowling Park Drive.
Open access is available when we are holding events. If you wish to visit at other times please contact us.

On Sundays the 621 (First) bus leaves the Interchange from Stand K at 17 minutes and 47 minutes past the hour. The destination is Bierley.

It goes up Wakefield Road to the big junction by St John's Church, then turns right along New Hey Road, Brassey Road then Paley Road. Get off at the stop at the end of Paley Road, then cross the bottom of Bowling Hall Road/top of Hall Lane and walk down Bowling Park Drive until at the allotments gate.

If that stop is missed get off at the next stop a little way up Bowling Hall Road and walk back down. If you pass Bolling Hall you've gone too far!

The 621 returning to the Interchange leaves the stop at the end of Paley Road at 14 and 44 minutes past the hour.

That's best advice for Sunday, though there is the 671 (First) bus to West Bowling, leaving the Interchange from Stand B at 25 minutes past the hour. Get off at the end of Parkside Road and walk down Avenue Road then bear right onto Bowling Park Drive.

 
Geolocation

53.777934, -1.744025

Conservation Work

Friday 27th July 2012, Bowling Park Community Orchard

Thirteen volunteers tackled a variety of tasks today, some general management and some remedial work.

We continued to construct the new compost bins, but we still have some way to go; we will continue as and when we have timber. We completed the summer pruning, done to restrict size and control the shape of the espaliers and cordons and also made a start at restricting the size of some trees which are growing into each other. 

As well as some grass cutting and general weeding, we had to fell the elder near the benches as the main bow had broken a couple of weeks ago, collapsing onto the veg beds. This clearance work will give the hedge underneath a chance to thrive. We also fitted a new door on the shed; for a moment or two we were doubtful we could do then it suddenly slipped into to the frame and was secured. 

 

Friday 1st February 2013: Bowling Park Community Orchard

We had a productive day the orchard, encouraged by the occasional warmth of the sun and a feeling of spring (in truth these moments were short lived, the wind was fairly bitter and we needed to keep busy to be warm).

We completed almost all of the winter pruning of the apples and pears, with the exception of checking the trained fruit for any disease or damage that will need removing. A few of the trees have areas of canker, and we took the decision to remove a branches from Kidd’s Orange Red and Peasgood Nonsuch, as much to see how they respond as they both have disease in the lower trunk that we cannot remove. A few of the trees, in particular the Allington Pippin and Winston are very crowded. They have a growth habit of lots of twiggy branches. We removed a fair few branches but on our next visit we guess it will be hard to tell that we had done anything.

Blackcurrant, redcurrant, gooseberry, rhubarb and strawberries were planted in beds. Encroaching plants were removed from the boundary near the Egremont Russet and the cornus was cut back at the top of the site.

The last of the stored apples were distributed and we talked about the orchard’s forthcoming 10th birthday, which we will formally celebrate at blossom time on 3rd May.

Today we worked with 11 volunteers.

Friday 11th October 2013 Bowling Park Community Orchard in allotments, Bowling Park Drive, BD4

Our task today was to prepare the site for Apple Day 2013. The important job of harvesting the apples was carried out. This is a skilled process to ensure only the ripe fruits were picked; they were then weighed and stored separately in their respective varieties ready for selling. Other areas of the site were given attention the grass was mown, hedges cut, path weeded and compost turned. All the cutting and weeding produced a good deal of material that we will aim to make useable compost in the future. It is a lot of work to keep on top of the management and today was a big help towards this. The visitors on Sunday will get a good impression.

We worked with 17 volunteers today.  

Click here to see other photos of the day and site.

Friday 10th Oct: Bowling Park Community Orchard

Preparing the orchard for Apple DayPreparing the orchard for Apple Day

13 volunteers worked hard to make sure the orchard was looking at its best for Apple Day on Saturday. We weeded the paths and seating areas that have become over grown and added a top dressing of chipped bark. The hedges around our plots and along the path were cut, this task is important as the excess height is shading the orchard. A temporary willow hurdle was comleted to protect the pond, this had been started by CSC young people earlier in the week. Veg beds and wildflower areas were weeded and more clearance around the trees was done with sickles and sycthes. Athough there is always more to do, we felt comfortable with how the orchard will appear to visitors new and old.

Vist the gallery to see more pictures from conseravtion tasks

Friday 17th April: Bowling Park Community Orchard,Bowling Park Drive, West Bowling

ariel view of the siteariel view of the siteSeven volunteers worked at the orchard today in a productive session that included several different tasks.

We erected three bird boxes that had been made by pupils at Dixons City Academy. These pupils had also made some insect homes using dock, willowherb and loosestrife stems from the orchard placed in recycled plastic bottles.These, and a couple of shop bought ladybird and bee homes, have been secured in sunny spots.

Last summer the grass areas were not mowed very often and as a result there has been a significant increase in ground elder. We hope a stricter regime of mowing will bring it back under control. We also made a start on general weeding of vegetable beds and around the trees.

The plums and greengage were in full blossom and the pears just starting.

The afternoon was very sunny and we saw comma, orange tip and small tortoiseshell butterflies.

Friday 11th Sept : Bowling Park Community Orchard, Bowling Park Drive, West Bowling.

Fri 11 Sept 09 Bowling Park Community Orchard: Enjoying the sunshineEnjoying the sunshine 

Today we carried out some of the regular maintenance jobs at the Orchard, this included mowing of the grass, cutting the hedge and weeding round the trees. We also started to replace the path by removing the woodchip. This will prepare the site for Apple Day on 10th October. Today's task was carried out in glorious sunshine and was enjoyed by 10 volunteers.

Click here to see other photos of the Bowling Park Community Orchard.

Friday 7th May 2010: BLOSSOM DAY 2010, Bowling Park Community Orchard, Bowling Park Dr, BD5

Visitors enjoying the dayVisitors enjoying the dayToday we ran one of our open days at the Orchard. A number of activities were planned and organised. We were please to welcome all sorts of people to the site including, YMCA staff, communitiy groups, school pupils, individuals and our volunteers. Art activities, minibeast hunts, habitat homes prepared and site tours were arranged for visitors. The volunteers were kept busy creating a minibeast habitat from old pallets, weeded the dogwood area and prepared one of the growing areas. Although the blossom on the apple trees was later than previous years, there was a pleasant atmosphere and the site looked very well cared for.   

Click here for other photos of Blossom Day including another special cake.

Today we worked with 15 volunteers.

Sunday 10th October: APPLE DAY 2010 Bowling Park Community Orchard in allotments Bowling Park Drive

view of the siteview of the siteToday was the 10th Apple Day to be held in Bradford. This is the annual celebration of our apple and fruit heritage. We were blessed with glorious autumn sunshine which help to attract over 700 people. The site was transformed with marquees put up where various activities took place. There was a lovely atmosphere during the day and the visitors really enjoyed the range of activities that were on offer and the way the space looked. Volunteers helped with the setting up of the site, running of the activities and packing up at the end of the event. We are very grateful for all the help that we received. 

Click here to see other photos of the day. 

Friday 26th Aug 2011: Bowling Park Community Orchard, allotments off Bowling Park Drive, West Bowling

A group of 11 volunteers visited the orchard today to continue with the site management tasks. First the group were introduced to the orchard and people new to the project were given a tour round. A good number of the trees were found to of produced an abundance of fruit and the first job was to collect the fallers and pick any that were ready. We soon found that the apples will require a little longer to fully ripen. Others jobs included weeding the vegetable growing beds, mowing some areas of grass, clearing around the compost bins and weeding the paths. Although we had to run for shelter due to the rain by the end of the day the site was looking in good shape as we prepare for the harvest which should produce a good crop this year.

Click here to see other pictures of the day.