Orchard Consultation & contacts, how?

Wild Carrot

Member
Hi there!

It has been a while since I was last on this forum. Intro and update on my situation:

1. I have always dreamed of one day buying some land and planting and growing my own orchard (perhaps an apple one...). However I have no real contacts in the agricultural sector nor real knowledge on orchards (stupid dream I know lol). More lately in life, buying land started to become a feasible option.

2. So a little while back I signed up to this forum to start asking questions (on a wide range of farming matters). However it quickly became apparent that there was so much I needed to know...

3. So I bought a load of books on agroforestry etc and took a break from the forum to start doing some proper thorough study.

4. I'm currently working my way through these books. And man, there really is a lot to know! But studying aside, I feel like I could really do with some advice from someone with real life experience in the industry. So I've decided on going to an orchard event in October to see more about what the industry is about (and hopefully get to meet people who really know their stuff on orchards).

5. But equally, I don't want a free ride (and I could do with a proper consultation on agroforestry). Is there anyone here who has done such a thing (paid for a consultation on agroforestry) and if so, how did you find your contact?

If I got into agroforestry, it would be an entirely new enterprise for me and so I can't hope for recommendations from word of mouth etc (as I know nobody).
 

franklin

New Member
I am looking to plant a nice orchard using traditional varieties over 10ac. The way I have approached it is that there are folk who know a *lot* more than me, and so I have asked them for help. As they know it is a genuine project they have been keen to give advice from varieties; land prep; maintainence etc. I found my contact through someone I had lay a hedge for me. The question for me is, will 10ac of lovely traditional apple and cherry orchard add anything to my farm or will it be either a money pit, or worse a time pit and generate no income at all?

I know everyone wants to own their own land, but do you really want to sink 200k into a nice field and then plant some trees? Nice position to be in, but beyond a dream what is the actual point if not to produce a product and make an income?
 

Kidds

Member
Horticulture
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
I didn't write that but wish I had. :)

I have grown apples all my life. I now have enough money to retire if I wish (not made from growing apples!) but have decided after a lot of thought that I would like to keep spending my time growing apples for as long as I can afford to.
Very difficult to make money but very enjoyable and rewarding in other (much more important) ways. I still fill up regularly just from being amongst my apple trees.
So much to learn that 40+ years later I am still engrossed, still learning a lot of new stuff and still eager to do so.

Marvellous way to spend your time, so best of luck and don't put too much reliance on the teaching of others. Ask yourself why they are "teaching" such stuff rather than doing it. Probably because it pays better!
 

ARW

Member
Location
Yorkshire
Feck buying the advice, load of shyte. Get the land bought and get it planted using common sense.
Go and work in an orchard, that's the only way to learn
 

Wild Carrot

Member
I am looking to plant a nice orchard using traditional varieties over 10ac. The way I have approached it is that there are folk who know a *lot* more than me, and so I have asked them for help. As they know it is a genuine project they have been keen to give advice from varieties; land prep; maintainence etc. I found my contact through someone I had lay a hedge for me. The question for me is, will 10ac of lovely traditional apple and cherry orchard add anything to my farm or will it be either a money pit, or worse a time pit and generate no income at all?

I know everyone wants to own their own land, but do you really want to sink 200k into a nice field and then plant some trees? Nice position to be in, but beyond a dream what is the actual point if not to produce a product and make an income?


One thing I have been aware of from the outset is how poor orchards can be at turning profits. But it does seem that profits are doable...The reason why I want to do an orchard is less because I see it as some sort of lucrative venture and more because I love tree's, fruits, nature and the British countryside. I want to do something in life that adds more of a sense of meaning to it (and for me, that's orchards).

I would be making a lot less money in life if I did an orchard as it to buy the land and fund the venture, I would have to sell up a lot of other investments. But I've been doing my research on orchards and the main 2 things which I have seen/mused which makes me think that it might not be such a terrible idea, are:

1. It seems that there is actually quite a lot you can do with orchards (that it doesn't all have to be about selling apples or something). For example creating your own products from the produce (craft ciders, fruity squashes, jams etc), photography and use of the site as a venue, raising animals or crops on the land beneath the tree's and more (so that all in all, while they're not very profitable things, orchards have many options/uses).

2. If worst came to worst and everything turned out to be a nightmarish venture, I would at least still have the land (and it wouldn't be difficult to turn it back to a plain old field and sell it on or do something different with it). Land at least in this country, seems to keep a pretty steady and rising value (so as far as investments go, you could sink your money into a lot riskier things!).

I'd be interested to see your reading list; if you haven't got it already take a squint at Martin Crawford's 'Creating a Forest Garden'.

Sure thing! So far I have bought:

Temperate Agroforestry Systems by Andrew Gorden: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Temperate-...swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1504091946&sr=8-1

Apples & How to Grow Them: A Comprehensive Guide To 400 Apple Varieties With Practical Tips For Growing, Harvesting And Storing by Andrew Mikolajski (2014-09-07): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Apples-How...1634120&sr=1-15&keywords=apple+tree+varieties

How to Grow Orchard Fruit by Kate Whiteman: https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Gr...501633196&sr=1-12&keywords=orchard+fruit+tree

[(How to Prune Fruiting Plants: A Practical Gardener's Guide to Pruning and Training Tree Fruit and Soft Fruit, with Easy-to-follow Advice and Over 300 Step-by-step Photographs)] by Richard Bird: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prune-Fruiting-Plants-Easy-follow/dp/B00XWXMKD2/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503510854&sr=1-2&keywords=Pruning+Fruiting+Plants:+A+Practical+Gardener's+Guide+to+Pruning+and+Training+Tree+Fruit+and+Soft+Fruit

Compact Farms by Josh Volk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Compact-Fa...id=1502896234&sr=8-5&keywords=starting+a+farm

For the Love of an Orchard by Jane McMoorland Hunter: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Orcha...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2F3H951WB7RA5VCEABFV

Orchards (Shire Library) by Claire Masset: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Orchards-S...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2F3H951WB7RA5VCEABFV


As well as various other books related to tree's, farming and fruit. Some of these books I have read or are reading while others I am still waiting to arrive. Thanks for the heads up on Martin Crawford's book!


I didn't write that but wish I had. :)

I have grown apples all my life. I now have enough money to retire if I wish (not made from growing apples!) but have decided after a lot of thought that I would like to keep spending my time growing apples for as long as I can afford to.
Very difficult to make money but very enjoyable and rewarding in other (much more important) ways. I still fill up regularly just from being amongst my apple trees.
So much to learn that 40+ years later I am still engrossed, still learning a lot of new stuff and still eager to do so.

Marvellous way to spend your time, so best of luck and don't put too much reliance on the teaching of others. Ask yourself why they are "teaching" such stuff rather than doing it. Probably because it pays better!


Thank you for the heads up! Even if its difficult to make a living by, it does sound idealic to retire amongst apple blossoms and fruits (such beautiful tree's!).

Feck buying the advice, load of shyte. Get the land bought and get it planted using common sense.
Go and work in an orchard, that's the only way to learn

I do want to get some experience working in an orchard at some point however at the moment I do not have the time to take on another job (TBH a lot of things probably aren't going to kick off until next year and so in the meantime, I am just trying to learn as much as I can in other ways).

I don't want to just work on someone else's orchard in a bid to steal their contacts and advice etc while getting paid for it. If I work at an orchard, I want to do it to see if the work is truly for me (for example if I can physically cope with the work).


Apart from trying to figure out if I can run a sustainable orchard, my main fear is that my back won't be able to cope with the work; I have good stamina and enjoy working outdoors but my lower back has some permanent damage and this limits me to what sorts of tasks I can do (or the length of time I can do something for before it starts to hurt etc).
I do worry about my back (and how much physical work doing an orchard will require) but I don't want to give up on my dream until I have at least given it a really good shot.
 

Kidds

Member
Horticulture

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