Horfield Organic Community Orchard
What is the Horfield Organic Community Orchard ?
HOCO is open to anyone, but members must also either have an allotment at the orchard site in Horfield, or be members of the Avon Organic Group. There is an annual Horfield Organic Community Orchard (HOCO) fee of £5.00 for working members and £10 for ‘friends’. HOCO has planted and looks after an orchard growing fruit on organic principles.
Fruit is shared between working members and friends, and surpluses sold at the farmers market in Bristol to help cover costs. Every October HOCO holds an open day on Apple Day, when we invite the public to bring apples for juicing with our apple press, and to see the orchard. We aim to give people the chance to grow fruit organically and to learn techniques of organic fruit cultivation.
When and why did you start up?
HOCO was started by members of the Avon Organic Group ( a local group affiliated to the HDRA which promotes and supports the organic movement in Bristol and area) in 1999. Most HOCO members have gardens and allotments but many lacked the space to grow top fruit - apples pears and plums - so we took on an overgrown corner of the Horfield allotments, where there were already some old fruit trees to create an orchard to grow fruit organically.
In the first season there was a massive amount of clearing of brambles and dead elm to be done which the members undertook themselves,planted, as well as some soft fruit bushes - gooseberries and currants. Varieties of apple suitable for organic growing were chosen for natural resistance to pests and diseases, but we have also chosen mainly old English varieties, many of which are being lost due to the decline in traditional orchards, and also concentrated on those varieties with Somerset and Gloucestershire connections.
In the next season we took on and cleared more overgrown allotment, planted more trees and bought and erected a poly-tunnel. There are now around 70 fruit trees, plus a range of soft fruit on the orchard. In the polytunnel we are able to grow more exotic fruit and have fruiting peach, nectarine, apricot and grapes.We have also dug a large pond which maintains a good frog population and is a breeding site for dragon flies. A local bee keeper has two hives on the orchard which assists the fruit pollination as well as producing a crop of honey.
What are your future plans?
The orchard is still young and needs care and attention. We aim to be self-financing, and produce good healthy crops.
Who are your funders?
We had funding to set up from the Sustainable Neighbourhood Fund, and help in kind from local building contractors.
Contact details for the Horfield Community Orchard:
Rupert Crossbee
email: ru.crosbee@netgates.co.uk
If your group would like to be profiled in a future Voscur newsletter or on our website, please contact Darron Thevarajah at the Voscur office Tel. 909 9949, or email: darron@voscur.org
