We’ve released Newsletter 2 (PDF) which has been distributed to many homes around the orchard in New Mills. Printed copies are also available at the New Mills Heritage Centre.

We’d like to monitor the wildlife as much as possible in the orchard - please leave any sightings in the comments below.

The next meeting of the Friends of the New Mills Community Orchard will be on Thursday 2nd September 2010 at 7.30pm at the Library Lecture Room in the New Mills Town Hall.

Here’s a map if you’re not sure how to find the meeting. The entrance to the Library Lecture Room is to the right of the entrance to the library itself, not the main entrance to the Town Hall.

Mark your calendars for the Sunday, September 19, from 2 pm to 4 pm for the New Mills Community Orchard Apple Day celebration. There will be a treasure hunt, face painting, stalls, pippin planting, and cakes galore! Fun for the family!

Come join in or just relax in the orchard.

Here you can see a few photos from last year’s Apple Day.

Catherine Barber (with assistance from Jo Barber) offered her expertise in trapping and identifying the finds.

There will be two surveys done in 2010, July and August, and four more in 2011, May June July and August. The results will be used to record a starting point for the biodiversity on this plot which we can monitor regularly and so find out if there have been any substantial changes over time.

We include a few pictures which show Catherine and Jo at work in July 2010 (with the assistance of a couple of volunteers who tried to help - but who felt like they mostly got in the way!)

Our thanks to Catherine and Jo and all the little bugs that participated.  The final survey will be posted on the site.

– Jill H.

Tools for the job

We’re happy to announce that the New Mills Community Orchard has received a Green Pennant Award® as one of the best green spaces in the UK managed by a voluntary community group.

Eligible green spaces are judged based on how well they fit the following criteria:

• A welcoming place
• Healthy, safe and secure
• Clean and well maintained
• Sustainability
• Biodiversity and heritage
• Community involvement
• Management/Achievements

Read more about the New Mills award here, where you can also vote for Best Green Flag Award® Site.
Congratulations, everyone!

If you’re not sure how to find the orchard, here’s a map.

If the weather turns unpleasant, we will meet at the The Queens Arms instead. The Queens is at on Church Road at the junction with Union Road. Here’s a map.

If you are familiar with how to use redcurrants and the blackcurrants, you might want to stop by the orchard soon. The birds are feasting on them and may not be willing to leave any for us humans! They’ve had a good time eating a lot of the whitecurrants already.

Please be aware that if you pick and eat fruit that isn’t ripe, it may cause illness and may also damage the plant. We recommend making yourself aware of how each fruit matures, and how to use it properly and safely before you eat it. Some fruit is best cooked before eating. All fruit should be washed before use.

Gooseberries are among the earliest of the soft fruits to ripen. While the fruit looks very different, gooseberries are related to blackcurrants and redcurrants.

Our gooseberries are grown as bushes, although other methods such as a cordon are also used. The New Mills Community Orchard has several Hinnonmaki varieties (Red, Green, and Yellow).

Gooseberries have quite a history in England, especially in our region. The Egton Bridge Gooseberry Show in North Yorkshire is the oldest surviving gooseberry show in the country (over 200 years old). The Allostock Gooseberry Society in Knutsford, Cheshire, also has a show, with a write-up of the 2009 show appearing in the local press.

Care and Cultivation

The plants are covered in sharp thorns, so wear gloves when handling gooseberry bushes. Gooseberry fruits on old wood, and not on this year’s growth.

There seems to be some controversy about when to prune. Some authors recommend November, while others say early spring. Gooseberry pruning is similar to pruning apples: remove dead, diseased, or crossing branches, and aim for an open goblet shape bush. Finally, trim the top 1/3 of new growth from the branches, leaving each branch with an outward facing bud.

Care and Cultivation Links

• BBC Gardening Guide to Growing Gooseberries
• Gardening Master Class - Gooseberry growing tips from a champion

Gooseberry Recipes

According to Eat the Seasons, the gooseberry season falls into two parts: early season small green cooking gooseberries, and later season dessert gooseberries.

Recipes include:

• Gooseberry crumble
• Gooseberry pie
• Gooseberry compote
• Green Gooseberry and Elderflower Compote

Please note that we haven’t tried these recipes ourselves, so we can’t vouch for them. If you have any recipes of your own, please let us know.

Also, please be aware that if you pick and eat fruit that isn’t ripe, it may cause illness and may also damage the plant. We recommend making yourself aware of how each fruit matures, and how to use it properly and safely before you eat it. Some fruit is best cooked before eating. All fruit should be washed before use.

If you’re not sure how to find the orchard, here’s a map.

If the weather turns unpleasant, we will meet at the The Queens Arms instead. The Queens is at on Church Road at the junction with Union Road. Here’s a map.