Details of the next orchard design course

 Who is the course for?

 Anyone who wants to design a local orchard in practice. You either want to design and establish your own orchard or be able to help others to do so.

 Time and place

 Sunday 27 June 2010. 10am-5pm

 Mount Ephraim House and Garden, near Faversham, Kent

For directions, go to:http://www.orangepippinshop.com/documents/mountephraimdirections.pdf

To see the Mount Ephraim brochure, go to: http://www.orangepippinshop.com/documents/mountephraimgardens_leaflet.pdf

 Course content

 Topics covered:

Orchard objectives, kinds of fruit, uses; Site survey and evaluation; Choice of rootstock and planting distance; Planting pattern; Number and choice of varieties; Orchard layout; Projected yield.

 Field exercises: A site survey and appraisal exercise and a planting pattern exercise.

Case studies: Discussion of sites of particular interest to you.

 You need …

 Warm outdoor clothes including boots, a clipboard, writing materials and calculator. You are encouraged to bring photos of your own site and/or trees for the case study discussion.

 Knowledge of the basics of fruit growing, and preferably some experience, will be helpful.

 The capacity to be active outdoors.

 Course tutors

 Dr Philip Wilson has worked in various aspects of top fruit culture and plant propagation and has an orchard containing over 120 varieties. He originated www.rootle.info.

 Richard Borrie is the editor of www.orangepippin.com

Cost

 £125 including lunch and refreshments

 Number of participants

 Maximum of 12, with two tutors

 Booking, cancellation and refunds

 Booking and other administration can be done at: http://www.orangepippinshop.com/product.aspx?productid=10893

 Recommended reading

 General background can be found in any popular text, such as:

 Baker, H. Growing Fruit. 1999. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Practical Gardening Series. Mitchell Beazley, London. ISBN 1 84000153 4.

 Hessayon, D.G. 1995. The Fruit Expert. Expert Books, Transworld Publishers, London.