Introduction
As stated on the previous page the Filby Orchard Village Project is a partnership between the Filby in Bloom team on behalf of the village, Norfolk County Council, Planning and Transportation Department and The East of England Apples and Orchards Project, this is the story of our journey.
Beginnings
The initial idea for our community orchard was floated by Joan Saul over coffee in late November 2007. None of her listeners had heard of the concept before but it seemed to have great potential and could form a useful part of the village's 'in bloom' development and the thought of using native Norfolk varieties a great motivator.
The fact that it is permanent planting, will provide an amenity for the village and adds carbon capture to its merits is a bonus.
A ten minute 'Google' revealed the community orchard movement to be massive, well developed and widespread. A link to the Norfolk County Council web pages and a quick phone call resulted in information sheets arriving through the letter box the following day.
There followed a series of interesting phone calls to a number of nurseries on a County Council's list to learn about what varieties were native to Norfolk, their availability and cost. The answers were: not many, very few and don't forget the VAT.
A phone call to the East of England Apples and Orchards Project and the ever helpful Martin Skipper revealed there were potentially a lot of native Norfolk varieties, some of which may have been lost but many available at a reasonable cost. Also there is no VAT of apple trees; they are a food plant. More leaflets and copies of the EoEAaOP twice yearly newsletter arrived shortly after.
The more we looked into the concept the more sense it made to see if it could be made to work in Filby. Keith offered to put it to the next meeting of the Filby in Bloom committee in early December.
11 December 2007
The meeting agreed that the idea was worth pursuing and the hunt for a home for the orchard started. The idea that trees be planted throughout the village was also agreed.
Things then took on a life of their own
17 December 2007
We met with some of the residents of Pound Lane and an officer from Great Yarmouth Borough Council to seek permission to locate phase one of the orchard to the rear of their bungalows. There was a lot of concern among the residents about parking but nothing detrimental about the orchard idea, Indeed one resident offered to look after and prune the trees. We await formal permission from the borough council.
19 December 2007
We met with Toby Cheadle from Norfolk County Council to get approval for phase one of the scheme. With this approval we are eligible for grant aid.
Informal approval was given and he also liked the proposal for the wildlife area on the Pound. A separate grant could be applied for for this scheme.
8 January 2008
Filby in Bloom meeting. Report back. Still awaiting permission from GYBC.
February 2008
GYBC advise that a poll taken of the tenants has rejected the proposal by 4 votes to 1. We need to find another site quickly.
Things move quickly and, with the consent of the Parish Council, Stephen Elderkin gives over part of his allotment for us to plant our orchard.
6 February 2008
Keith takes a trip to Acorn Planting Products at Loddon to collect the stakes, ties and guards previously ordered.
29 February 2008
Having been ordered in advance, Keith went to the East of England Apples and Orchards Project at Rougham near Kings Lynn and collected our trees.
The School House, Rougham- What a great place for the East of England Apples and Orchards Project to be based.
The trees are loaded- Surprising how little room twenty one bare rooted trees can take up in the car.
1 March 2008
The Saturday Crew and friends- Joan and Keith join the Saturday Crew to help to plant our trees in the virtually unprepared orchard site. Adrian is taking the picture.
The Saturday Crew at work- The Saturday Crew help to plant our trees in the unprepared orchard site.
Checking the labels- As some of the trees are to be 'hosted' in gardens throughout the village we need to make sure they are not planted here by mistake.
This one goes here- It is a salutary lesson, we really do need to prepare the ground thoroughly before we plant phase two.
Valerie Brock plants a tree- Valerie Brock, secretary of the Filby and District W.I. came and planted the two trees the W.I. has 'adopted'. They have chosen a Sandringham, tree 5, and our sole Norfolk Beefing, tree 7.
We will have quite a job to sort out the area without disturbing the trees.
Trees were also delivered to the properties where they are to be 'hosted'.
12 March 2008
The Parish Council notes that we have planted the trees, confirms our tenancy of the plot and resolves that the orchard is protected in perpetuity.
Mr J Baldry, one of the Parish Councillors, undertook to pay the £9.00 a year rent for the land.
14 March 2008
Keith took the grant application to County Hall to ensure it was delivered before the cutoff date.
19 March 2008
Joan and Ken Saul and Keith made a start on cleaning up the area we have taken over. This is not just the part where the trees are but an area where a lot of stuff has been placed. Whilst Joan tackled the roots Keith and Ken started the task of placing weed matting around each tree. We completed eight of the fourteen in the time we had. We noted the first chiff chaff and pruned the Green Roland trees as they all have suffered damage to the tip of the leading branch. The other varieties have not been affected in this way.
29 March 2008
Joan and Keith completed laying the weed matting and removed some more roots. These things are stubborn.
4 April 2008
The grant cheque is received from Norfolk County Council and passed to the chairman. This will provide initial funding towards completing phase one and starting phase two.
12 April 2008
Clearing the site- Joan and Keith got on with weeding the site and the area around the trees. Weeding hardly seems an adequate word as they all seem to be well established. The remains of the vines on the site are particularly difficult to get out. It makes clearing the remainder of the site somewhat daunting. It will be the real challenge on the next phase. The removed roots are being used to define a boundary. About a third of the planted area was rotavated. The trees are doing well. Some more advanced than others. At least you can see where we've been.
8 May 2008
Able to speak to Toby Cheadle and bring him up to date with progress on phase one and to start discussions on phase two. He appears pleased with our progress and supportive of our plans for phase two.
Email to Toby Cheadle to formally apply to Norfolk County Council for grant aid for phase two.
There will be estimates to get, forms to fill and the scheme approved before we can spend anything on phase two.
10 May 2008
Where did this lot come from?- A bit of rain and sun and the fertile nature of the soil is revealed as the nettles and brambles take off. Now where do we start?
There is a lot of new growth!- Taking advantage of the terrific weather, Joan and Keith decided to put in a couple of hours removing roots and strimming the nettles. The weed growth over the past few, really warm and sunny, days has been considerable.
Time to get down to it- There is a lot of corrugated iron sheets, chicken wire and carpet in amongst this lot.
Rubbish- There really is a staggering amount of corrugated iron sheets, chicken wire and carpet mixed in with this lot. It will exact a heavy toll on strimmer line and take some shifting.
The site has got bigger- The increased area, now we have had the acquisition of the rest of the plot confirmed, has almost trebled the area we for which we have responsibility. However, the rotavated area has remained relatively weed free. An encouraging sign for the future. Let strimming commence.
Victor came to help- We met Victor Tungate walking his dog and to our great and very pleasant surprise he returned shortly after with his strimmer and set to with a will. He has offered further help with the maintenance as time permits. A very productive morning and a new volunteer.
Keith and Victor- Keith and Victor strim in tandem.
Keith and the brush cutter- Among the nettles there are mature brambles and vine roots. The brush cutter can tackle more robust greenery than strimmer line.
Victor working among the vines.- Until we can remove the remaining vines it is important to keep the area tidy and hit the weeds until they give up. Meanwhile the trees are coming on well. No blossom yet. It is interesting to note the very wide difference in progress amongst even our limted number of varieties.
28 May 2008
Keith and Lesley call to see how things are progressing. Trees are thriving. The amount of improvement Victor has made is truly amazing. Must get the formal application for grant off to County Hall. We need a big barrel or tub to collect rainwater and arrange for the metal and carpet to be removed before judging.
11 June 2008
Victor has cleared the side path- Keith and Joan set out for a couple of hours clearing. It is clear that Victor has continued to make great progress. He has cleared the path at the side and it is virtually ready for grassing.
Margaret, who has the neighbouring allotment, has been burning some of the woody rubbish and another neighbour has disposed of the corrugated iron sheets for us. It is encouraging to see others becoming interested in the project.
Victor clearing the rough area.- Joan set to removing persistent roots and Keith attacked the brambles with the brush cutter when Victor arrived and set about clearing the bottom area where all the rubbish had been dumped. A considerable quantity of chicken wire and other fence wire was pulled out. This stuff destroys strimmer line.
After an hour or so the brush cutter starter unit self destructs. It transpires that a new one will take seven to ten days to arrive and will cost around £120. Despite this it was a very productive morning, a great deal of progress has been made. The site will be presentable, crosses fingers, for judging next month. Later the area where the orchard is located is described to Keith as Filby's best kept secret.
21 June 2008
Midsummer's Day and Joan, Keith and Victor have a long session clearing wire and completing the brush cutting of the area still occupied by the vines in, what can only be described as a continuous light drizzle.
Despite the weather it is a very productive morning and the Ben Burgess brush cutter makes light work of the brambles.
An appeal for a small shed for the orchard will appear in the next Filby Flyer.
23 June 2008
Spoke to Martin Skipper, East of England Apples and Orchards Project, re progress to date and phase two ideas. Discussed whether to plant more of the same varieties or try some different ones. We agreed we would plant some two year old trees in phase two and reserved some of their limited stock in principle. It would be nice if we could get hold of some Dr Harvey previously grown in Ormesby. Martin is to send me a list of what is on offer. Agreed the EoEAaOP's display stand is to be in the Church Hall for Open Gardens weekend, a further opportunity for residents to learn more of what we are doing. Filby may feature as a case study in an article on community orchards in the project's magazine.
