Category: Environment Team
More Apple History
NATURE NOTES
More Apple History
We left last month with apple-growing in Britain at its peak and several thousand varieties available, many of them developed and bred in Britain. Wenvoe had at least 15 orchards in 1900, clearly shown on the Ordnance Survey map. Whilst the odd relict tree may remain hidden away in a garden or farm, the rest have gone and the apples you buy offer very little choice. So how did it come to this? Currently 75% of our apples are imported and there are no signs of this trend being reversed, a trend that actually started a couple of hundred years ago. In the USA Johnny Appleseed had wandered around in the late 18th/early 19th century planting apples wherever he went and it was not long before countries like America, Canada, South Africa and more recently, China, were producing consistent, good-looking apples that supermarkets were happy to stock. Production costs are lower abroad and transport costs minimal. Our climate is also not as helpful as it might be. Typically commercial orchards in Britain have declined by around 80% in the last 100 years.
Once every farm had its orchard and the farm workers were paid partly in cider, brewed on the farm. When it became illegal to do this, the need for the orchards began to disappear. Maes y Felin, for example, had an orchard running down the field to the east of the house to not far from where the Welsh Orchard is now situated. And then there were the country 
houses which often had an area set aside for fruit. The large house, The Grange, in Wenvoe was one such and Orchard Close is a reminder of what was once there. At the other end of the scale was the cottager who might have a cow, some chickens and, of course, a fruit tree or two. Both have been replaced by modern housing. Gardens are getting smaller and increasingly are paved over. Many orchards were dug up during the last war when Dig For Victory actually encouraged uprooting fruit trees and replacing them with vegetables which were considered a more efficient use of land. Agricultural subsidies often provided similar incentives for farmers.
So the reasons for the decline are many and varied. What some perhaps find more disappointing is the apparent lack of interest in reversing the trend. With all the housing development in the parish has a single fruit tree – even a crab-apple – been planted as part of the landscaping? Does the Vale of Glamorgan Council or do the Highways authorities include fruit trees when planning their roadside planting? And then there are our businesses whether pubs, farms or quarry operators? Hopefully the next issue of What’s On will include letters from around the parish on the positive actions that people have taken to put things right.
Orchard Field Work Group
ENVIRONMENT GROUP
Orchard Field Work Group
The group will meet on Monday 14th September by the gate to the Orchid Field at 9.30am with the aim to clear some of the rapidly growing brambles around the field. Please bring suitable tools and gloves. (Sharp garden shears are very good for cut-ting back).
The meeting is open to all who wish to attend. There is plenty of space to ‘social distance’ while working.
Locations of Community Orchards
Environment team tips for July
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
Environment team tips for July.
- Start saving seeds as we may have a shortage again next year.
- Make watering the roots of plants a priority. Watering the foliage is a waste.
- Keep a diary of what grows well and where.
- Always buy british grown plants. This will keep pests and diseases at a manageable level.
- Start your own compost heap.
Allotment holders tips.
- The more productive you are, the less space for weeds.
- Neat and tidy equals less disease.
- Remember it’s always colder at the allotment than down in the village.
- Use fruit bushes as a windbreak.
- Grow some comfrey, it’s free fertilizer.
There were some great front gardens to be seen in June. If you venture into Orchard Close you will see lovely gardens brimming with colour facing you. They belong to Mr & Mrs Green and Mr & Mrs Thomas. On Old Port Road Mr & Mrs McDonald have done a brilliant job on their garden since coming to Wenvoe. With restriction on movement still in place, a short walk around Wenvoe looking at people’s gardens will soon brighten your day.
July is another good month for pests and diseases in the garden. Aphids will try to ruin your runner bean crop. However you can treat these with insecticide or by squashing between your fingers; it’s a good way to shorten their lifespan. Powdery mildew, rust and clematis wilt are just some of the diseases that will affect your plants at this time of year. Cut out the infected areas as soon as you see it, then give the plants a feed to help them recover. Keep clearing up leaves and debris around plants, especially roses as this can harbour a lot of disease. It is a boring job but a garden vacuum will make this job easy.
Cut the spent stems off lupin, hollyhock and delphiniums down to a bud, then give them a liquid feed and you should have a second flush of colour. Once herbaceous geraniums have flowered, cut the whole plant back to about 10cms, it will then go into overdrive and give you another display, albeit not as good as before.
Deadheading is so important when trying to keep plants flowering, as once they have set seed their job is done. With your runner beans, you have to keep picking the young beans otherwise they will stop cropping. If you’re growing courgettes, you will need to pick them before they become marrows. Take off the leaves below set trusses of tomatoes, to allow air and light to get to the fruit.
Be on the lookout for any Ash or Sycamore seedling that have escaped your gaze. If they become established you will have a devil of a job removing them when they grow amongst your plants.
Take care and happy gardening
Save A Farm Animal
SAVE A FARM ANIMAL
Responsible dog owners ensure their pets are regularly wormed to help keep them healthy by reducing the worm burden.
We are all aware of the dangers posed from dog faeces hence owners are expected to act responsibly about clearing up after their pets especially around areas where children play. BUT are you also aware that dog faeces are equally poisonous to farm animals especially lambs and calves?
Many owners so often ignore collecting their dog’s faeces when exercising their pet on footpaths across farm fields where it can so easily unknowingly be collected in with the hay and silage from the field to be fed to animals at a later date.
Clear up after your pet at all times and dispose of the bag responsibly
A Lovely March Morning
A Lovely March Morning
On a lovely March morning, the large turnout (4) cut back the roses on the village green. Group member, big John, told us of the method Len Jones used to cut roses back in the early Spring. Unfortunately, Gardeners’ Question Time has been cancelled, but we will reorganise this in conjunction with the Community Library, as soon as we are able to.
The Environment Group will not meet until further notice. Thank you
Wenvoe Men At Work…
The Ongoing Felling Of Trees
It is with great sadness I witness The Ongoing Felling Of Trees in and around our lovely village. When nature itself wields the axe there is little to do but acknowledge the circle of life and the safe removal of the fallen tree that inevitably follows is also a necessity.
However there does seem to be a big appetite to fell or seriously trim back other trees that are standing tall, strong and magnificent. There seem to be innumerable reasons justifying such activity from disease; danger; leaves blocking drains or trees allowing animals to access rooftops. Factor in so called expert opinion of Arborists and those of us who wonder at trees stand little chance of countering any such claims and the trees’ destiny is down to a simple signature on a form authorising destruction.
Hundreds of years of incredibly slow growth gone in an hour; the home to thousands of insects; animals; birds and even other plants gone in a day. Replacement with 10’ saplings is little compensation for the magnificent 200 year old 150’ tall Ash or the 150 year old Horse Chesnut.
At a time when we’re all being urged to fundamentally change our thinking away from exploiting nature to helping to heal its wounds, this ongoing determination to change the wooded skyline of Wenvoe is so sad, irrespective of what rationale you choose to apply…
Martin Thomas
Unsightly Litter Surrounding Wenvoe
I am sure that the amount of unsightly litter surrounding Wenvoe’s roadsides has not gone unnoticed.
Whilst on a recent walk along Station Rd East on route to the Salmon Leaps, I was appalled at the amount of litter in the trenches alongside the road, so much so that I took it upon myself to return and collect it.
Armed with a pair of plastic gloves and one black bag, I set to work & in twenty minutes the bag was full with rubbish from one side of the road only!
I contacted the Vale Council’s Refuse & Re-cycling department & informed them of my collection and that the rubbish contained much which could be re-cycled. They were very accommodating, arranging to collect the bag from outside of my house the following day – which they duly did.
However, whilst grateful for this efficient service, I was mindful of one driver and one van coming to collect one bag!
I don’t know the answer to the problem of individuals dropping litter or throwing litter from their cars, but I wonder if any village residents who, like myself, have a spare hour in which they could collect litter from a designated area and collectively have it collected by the Vale. Thus attempting to keep the village devoid of unsightly litter.
Any responses to What’s On or the Wenvoe Community Council (see page 2 for contacts)