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KILDUFF

Our Orchard

The fruits of our labour

Orchard

Kilduff Orchard

Apples are synonymous with a change of the seasons. Summer slowly merges into autumn. There is a crisp edge to the air and a golden carpet of leaves begins to build underfoot. In the kitchen robust flavours and hearty servings are to be expected as the days get shorter and comfort is craved.

Crisp, sweet or sour, there is nothing quite like an apple picked fresh from a tree and, over time, if you choose to plant a fruit tree in your garden you will be sure to reap a healthy bounty. Not only does an apple tree give you fresh tasty fruit, by planting an apple you are also helping the environment hugely and providing a habitat and food source for a wide range of wildlife.

How do you like them apples

Here at Kilduff Farm we already have an established orchard from which we have enjoyed bountiful harvests for many years. However, over the past few years with biodiversity and environmental impact at the forefront of everything we do, we decided to create a second, larger orchard in one of our established grass paddocks. There is no better action to take to help protect our environment than to plant a fruit tree or two and if there was ever a time to take action then it is right now.

In the spring of 2021 we planted 28 different varieties of apple and pear trees sourced from Scottish Heritage Fruit Trees.  John and his team are dedicated to working with farms, schools and communities to plant more fruit trees and preserve more of Scotland’s older varieties. 160 of the trees we planted are of The Heritage Collection and we are excited to help preserve the existence of many of the heritage varieties of fruit trees in East Lothian.

Orchard
Orchard

Sweet collaboration

As well as providing food and shelter for wildlife and birds, apple trees produce spring pollen and nectar, and their bowl-shaped flowers are perfect for our precious pollinators. Bees are an important part of our story here at Kilduff. Our relationship with The Scottish Bee Company allows us to have a number of bee hives on the farm ultimately producing the most wonderful honey, but more importantly helping to promote and protect the bee population. Just like for our pumpkins, bees are essential when it comes to growing apple trees (or any fruit tree for that matter). Cross pollination between trees is vital for a successful fruit crop and we rely on bees to move pollen between trees by pollinators who visit the flowers to collect their nectar.

By planting such a large number of different varieties of trees we are also helping to remove and store carbon from the atmosphere, slow down heavy rain fall, reduce flooding, improve air quality and enrich our soil.

We all have a responsibility to look after our world to provide a fruitful future and the team here at Kilduff take this incredibly seriously. In return we hope to be able to produce delicious fruit to share with you. We are working on a number of new apples recipes as well as our own range of apple juice, adding to our offering from The Kilduff Kitchen.

A new and exciting chapter is set to unfold.