Riverside Community
Orchard
The orchard was established in 2012 by Riverside Community Council with funding from Forth Environment Link and has been going strong ever since!
Every month we spend a little bit of time nurturing and maintaining the orchard.
Volunteering with us is a great way to meet new people within our community, it gives you a chance to learn new things and you can truly make a difference by making Riverside even more beautiful and help heal our planet at the same time.
We meet on the last Saturday of each month at 9.30am, though due to the Coronavirus crisis all maintenance sessions have been postponed.
No experience is necessary and all help and enthusiasm is welcome.
Enjoy some pictures of our 2020 Orchard Blossom and Fruit here, taken by Paul Dumbleton, one of our trustees.
Jump to...
Our Fruit Trees
We have a wide selection of fruit trees in our Orchard. This changes over the years as some trees need to be replaced due to age or disease and some are added to expand our range.
You can find out more about our trees in our interactive map below just click on a tree.
.jpeg)
3 - Scotch Bridget
Cooking Apple
.jpeg)
12 - Michelin
Cooking Apple
Michelin
#3
Cooking Apple
Tam Montgomery
#17
Eating Apple
Misty Mountains
Scotland
4/11-5/12
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Caring For
Our Orchard
November, December, January
Carry out any replanting needs
Removing any dead or fallen fruit and continue to harvest any late growing fruit
Rake up leaves and dead wood to avoid disease
Begin winter pruning
Check tree guards
Re-label trees if necessary.
February, March
Continue any winter pruning up until March
Apply organic mulch/feed
April, May
Feed trees
Commence scab control measures at bud burst
Pick off powdery mildew shoots
Hand pollinate weather if to bad for flying bees
Monitor for pests and diseases
Irrigate trees if necessary
Remove dead or dying trees
June
Thin numbers of fruit if prolific
Commence Summer pruning of Plums and other stoned fruit
Continue to monitor for pests and diseases.
July, August
Check guard and ties as the trees grow
Prop up any heavily laden plum branches
Continue summer pruning of apples and pears as required
Remove unwanted extension growth and suckers
Continue to monitor for pests and diseases
September, October
Harvest early fruits for immediate use
Pick and store the better quality late fruits for storage for later use
Continue to monitor for pests and diseases.
Pruning
Remove the dead, dying and diseased wood
Eliminate crossing/rubbing branches
Prune to create an open centre or branches
Remove upright growth from the top of the tree
Cordons and restricted forms, cut back to fruiting spurs on restricted framework if not done in summer and thin our crowded spur systems
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)