Volunteers Needed for Community Pruning Day at Barn Crescent!

Following other successful community planting and pruning days at City Recreation Ground and Digby Road earlier this year, the Newbury in Bloom team together with Growing Newbury Green are hosting a community apple tree pruning day at the Barn Crescent community orchard on Sunday 8 March from 10am to 2pm.

Volunteers are asked to come along, bring their secateurs, learn some new skills with the onsite experts and help with the pruning. The pruning is beneficial for several reasons, including removing diseased or damaged limbs, maintaining a controlled height from which fruit may be more easily picked, developing a strong structure for fruit production and encouraging new limbs.

Directions

The orchard is off Elizabeth Avenue heading south out of Newbury. You will come to a green space on the right and the pathway to the site is by the electricity substation at the top end. You can park on the right side of the round, avoiding the bus stop, all along that stretch of the road.

Mr. Tony Hammond, of Growing Newbury Green points out “Our community orchards are very popular and it’s great to see more and more volunteers coming along to help out. Pruning apple trees is essential to the overall health of the tree”.

Cllr John Gage, Chair of the Green Spaces Working Group, said, “You don’t have to have any experience in pruning, as Growing Newbury Green are experts and can show you what needs to be done to ensure the trees continue to bear fruit. These edible crops are available for anyone in the community to harvest.”