Donkey Lane Community Orchard - The Apples

 As stated in the previous article on the Chinnor Plum, we knew there were at least 20 apple trees in the orchard, according to the 2013 on-site survey by Derek Tolman of Bernwode Fruit Trees. However, there was no ‘actual’ identification of the varieties of apples on the sketch map but it did tell us some identifying features of the trees such as, double based, single late season, flat - small trunk, split and engulfed!

As clearing of the area began, we were delighted to start finding the fruit trees and by using Derek’s map and numbering system were able to identify them. Not only did we find all 20 trees, we found one more!

After carefully clearing the area around the fruit trees and trying to divest them of the enormous amount of thick growth of ivy, they were numbered and labelled in accordance with the map for consistency.

Any subsequent new fruit trees not identified on the map but in close proximity to an identified tree were given a suffix to identify it; for example by tree number 8 there was a small apple tree sapling which was numbered 8b.

At this stage, although identifying the location of the trees, we had no idea what varieties of apples were in the Orchard. The next question was ‘how were we going to identify them?’

What we knew – the area was thought to be occupied by cottages from c1700 with the last one demolished c1920; the cottagers most likely planted the fruit trees and no apple trees had been planted in the Orchard since it had been abandoned. We were hopeful that some of the apples would be a rarity.

How did we find help to identify them? In September 2019, members of the team, with an assortment of Orchard apples and leaves, visited an apple identification day run by Mid-Shires Orchard Group who had the Chair of the Fruit Section of the RHS attending. Some of the fruit taken had been picked too early so was difficult to identify. This is what we found out. Read more...