Cow Hall organic orchards

An original half-acre of orchard, with one remnant tree, was probably planted in the 19C to provide the farmer and workers with the regulation half gallon of cider a day. Scratting and pressing would have been with mobile kit travelling the farms in the Clun valley, which continued until the 1930s. Many farms still have remnant orchards. In the 2000s the Cow Hall orchard was replanted, mostly with local, traditional and rare varieties of apples identified by the Marcher Apple Network www.marcherapple.net The apples are used for apple juice, cider and fruit.

 

Together with one graft and one layering of the original Cow Hall tree we have planted the following 22 varieties:

 

Bittersweet <0.45 Malic acid

Dabinett x3 1900 0.29% tannin, 0.18% acidity
Redstreak 1600 Cider. SG 1079
Tom Putt – late 1700s cider also a good eating apple. May be a sharp.
Marged Nicolas – general purpose and cider
Cummy Norman Mid 1800s. Medium bittersweet
Twin Sheriff – mild bittersweet

Yarlington Mill – late 1700s. Medium bittersweet. Tannin 0.32%. Acid 0.22%.

BitterSharp. >0.45 Malic acid
 

Lord Derby – 1862 cooker and cider
Breakwells seedling – 1890. Tannin 0.24%. Acidity 6.4

Kingstone Black x 2 – Earky 1800s. Sharp. Acid 5.6. Tannin 0.19. Malic 0.58%
Knotted kernel –  1842 Cider. Sweet with moderate bitterness and acid. SG 1059 acidity 0.24, tannin 0.34 Slow.

 

Other varieties

 

Cowarne red – Cider high acid SG 1071
Ladies finger of Shropshire - Dessert (and cider )

Keswick codlin – 1790 Good Cooking apple

Scotch Bridget – 1851 good for harsh conditions, cooker

Royal Jubilee – 1888 cooker
Monmouthshire green (Landore) -  good for harsh conditions, dessert and cooker, keeps.
Skryms Kernel – Pre 1788. cider, eating and culinary

Cow Hall graft

Moor Hall graft

Sleeping Beauty - early 1853 M111. Culinary. Keeps. Lincolnshire

Summer Golden Pippen  M106 Pre 1800. Eating

 

The orchard includes damsons, a pear, a mulberry, hazels, wild cherry and 10 grafted semi-dwarf walnuts.

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