On 1 March a party of SWECA members ( South West of England Cidermakers Association) visited West Bradley Orchards.
The tour was guided by Neil Macdonald from Orchard Pig Ground Force and Edward Clifton-Brown, owner of West Bradley Orchards. Robert Fouvargue, Agronomist with Pearce Seeds, was also on hand to answer questions.
Neil Macdonald said “ We were very pleased that such a large number of SWECA members came to visit us. We have been growing dessert apples on a wire system for some time and we wanted to share our thoughts on how this system could be adapted to grow cider fruit.”
John Thatcher, from Thatcher’s Cider, has been growing cider apples on a similar system for some time and was very enthusiastic and encouraging.
“It is the way forward, of that I have no doubt” he said.
