Friends of Waterloo Meadows
Saturday, 23rd February 2013
Waterloo Meadows ~ Regular monthly task - Planting community orchard
Despite the cold and continuous flurries of snow, the Friends of Waterloo Meadow and Transition Town Reading (TTR) where joined by students from Reading University and members of the local community including local councillor and Labour Party parliamentary candidate for Reading East, Matt Rodda, to help plant TTR's latest community orchard. Approximately 30 volunteers participated in the event, planting a total of 51 trees.
This was the second orchard planted by TTR this year, the first being an extension to the old orchard in Prospect Park near the Mansion House. Over the next two years the group plan to plant a further three orchards. TTR raised the bulk of the funding for the project through the Forestry Commission's 'Big Tree Plant' scheme.
Although the orchard had been located on the site of an old tip, the soil appeared to be of a reasonable quality and planting proved to be a less arduous task than might have been anticipated.
The event received excellent press coverage being attended by both local papers and it provided us with an excuse to show off our new banner.
With 30 volunteers to cater for our supply of tools would have proved insufficient had it not been for the loan of extra spades, forks and mattocks from The Conservation Volunteers to whom we offer our thanks.
By midday the planting was complete and while Phil applied the finishing touches .....
..... the rest of the group prepared to depart.
The fruit trees planted were:
Apples
Bountiful (mid season - cooking) (1986)
Bramley Seedling (late season - cooking) (1809)
Cobra (dual purpose - cross between Cox's Orange Pippin and Bramley Seedling) (2009)
Cox's Orange Pippin (late season - desert) (1825)
Dr. Harvey (mid season - cooking) (16th century)
Falstaff (late season - desert) (1980)
Fiesta (aka Red Pippin) (late season - desert) (1972)
Gloster 69 (mid season - desert) (1969)
Irish Peach (early season - desert) (1819)
Jonagold (late season - desert) (1953)
Laxton Superb (late season - desert) (1897)
Pinova (late season -desert) (recent introduction)
Rajka (mid season - desert) (1990's)
Red Windsor (early season - desert) (1985)
Varieties were chosen to give a long fruiting season (picking times and storage) and include both cooking and dessert apples, some of which are noted for juice as well.
Most if not all are on an MM106 which should result in a final tree height of between 4 and 5 metres.
Plums
Victoria (1840's)
River's Early Prolific (1820)
Opal(1925)
Gages
Oullins Golden Gage (1860)
Reine Claude de Bavay (19th century)
Damsons
Merryweather (1907)
Cherries
Morello
Kordia
Pears
Doyenne du Comice (1849)
Conference (1884)
Williams (1760's)
Humbug (Recent introduction from Ukraine)
In addition the following were planted:
Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris)
Juneberry (amelanchier lamarckii)
Black Alder (alnus glutinosa)
Blackthorn (aka sloe) (prunus spinosa)
Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides)
Our thanks to Transition Town Reading for all their work including obtaining the funding, which made the creation of this orchard possible. We hope it will increase interest in the site and encourage more local residents to join the Friends of group. Thanks also to Chin Yee of Transition Town Reading for the photographs.
Press coverage:
getreading - Waterloo Meadows
Reading Chronicle - Waterloo Meadows
getreading - Prospect Park