Calderdale Local Orchard Group's Blog

Many, many thanks to all those who have donated apples to our scrumping project.  We have pressed a few already, but this weekend we’ll be pressing both days.  On Saturday we’ll be pressing at the Stubbing Wharf Apple Day in Hebden Bridge (everybody welcome) and on Sunday we’ll be running a cider making workshop at the same venue – limited places so book early!!

Here you can see the apples we harvested from Ian’s orchard at Charlestown and we left many more still on the trees – it’s certainly been a bumper year.

CLOG will be running a Cider Making skill sharing workshop on Sunday 24th October in association with the Stubbing Wharf pub in Hebden Bridge.

Please click on the poster link below for more information.

apple day cider poster

We have been contacted by HM Revenue and Customs in the last few days.  They wanted us to register ourselves and our “premises” with them for duty on the cider we will produce.

This was obviously worrying and after several phone calls over several days and much research within HMRC, they have finally come back to us and said that we neither have to register for duty or even for exemption as we are not selling the cider and we are producing less than 7000 litres!

So it’s full speed ahead.

We have now had several days out collecting apples and also more people contacting us by the day.  If you haven’t heard back from us yet, please be patient with us.

We also attended the Bradford Apple Day at Bowling community Orchard where we managed to get some of the apples we have collected so far identified, including Red Delicious, Laxtons Fortune, Golden Delicious, and Jupiter.

We have also found three different Lanes Prince Albert trees around Halifax – lovely old Victorian cooking apple (see picture).

Following the story in today’s courier: http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/Send-us-your-applesand-we39ll.6565431.jp we have been inundated with offers of apples. If you e-mail us, please be patient, we will try and get back to you over the next few days. We will be unable to collect small quantities unless you are next to another scrumping pickup. Keep ’em coming for now!

CLOG are keen to harvest the surplus apples of the residents of Calderdale. What you don’t want, we can use at community events to promote fruit growing in Calderdale and teach craft cider making. We currently require apples for use at Calder Food Hub’s Fruity Festival and the Stubbing Wharf Apple Day on 23rd October and cider making workshop on 24th October.

Drop us an e-mail and we’ll come and harvest your apples (subject to amount and distance) or alternatively drop them off at the Fruity Festival at Hope St Baptist chapel on the 9th October – see separate post on this blog.

CLOG will be having a stall at Calder Food Hub’s upcoming festival.  Please download the poster and display in your window.

Calder Food Hub press release says:

Hebden Bridge’s first ‘Fruity Festival’

Following the success of ‘Seedy Saturday’in May, Calder Food Hub and the John Fawcett Centre have jointly organised Hebden Bridge’s first ‘Fruity Festival’. The event, which takes place between 11am – 4pm on Saturday the 9^th October at the Hope Baptist Church, is a celebration of  food  and the abundance of our local produce.

Cookery demonstrations using locally and seasonally sourced produce, with Moyles’ head chef Mark Brankin, will take place during the afternoon. Local Herbalist Sue Goodwin will also be showing us how to make simple herbal remedies from plants found in the valley.

Kath Baker from Calder Food Hub comments: ‘We are repeating the seed and plant swap, which was a great success in April. Visitors can split those unruly plants in their garden and exchange them for something new, as well as bringing surplus seeds on the day.’

Alongside the demonstrations, a mini-cinema will be showing inspiring footage of foraging, cooking, farming and medicine making. Craft activities include smoothie making and bike powered juicing for the kids (big and small!).

Kath Baker adds: ‘We will offer a fine array of produce, including homemade preserves, cakes, fruit and vegetables and herbal remedies. The day will also be an opportunity to meet some of the people in our area who are working towards a more sustainable food future in the Calder Valley and find out how you can join in.’

If you would like to know more about the Fruity Festival, would like a stall to sell your homemade produce, or would like a platform to publicise your food related project please call CFH 01422 846540 or email calderfoodhub@ymail.com. Food and refreshments will be available on the day.

The meeting will be at the National Trust office at Hollin Hall (Hardcastle Crags) at 7.30pm.

Please contact us if you need a lift.

The minutes of the 8th September meeting can be downloaded from the box widget on the CLOG blog.

See you all at the Nutclough Tavern in Hebden Bridge.

If you’ve forgotten what you agreed to do then download the minutes from this blog.

We will be having a meeting to discuss both this winters activities, but also our longer term strategy. Everybody is welcome.

Currently on the agenda:
Possible Bridge Lanes Community Orchard
Scrumping project
Apple mapping
Sub-groups – eg Funding, Landowner liaison
What do we want to achieve? – a fruit tree for every person in Calderdale?

Hope to see you there.