Why an orchard belongs on the village green

Few things say "village" quite like a line of fruit trees on the green. A community orchard is more than a landscaping feature: it is a shared larder, a wildlife corridor, a classroom without walls and a place for wassailing on a frosty January evening. It also grows slowly enough to be genuinely for the next generation rather than for us. Get the first few years right and the trees will outlive everyone who planted them.

Before you order a single sapling, sort out the practical groundwork. Find out who owns the land — usually the parish council, sometimes the church or a private estate — and get written permission. If the green is registered common land, check what is allowed before you put a spade in the ground. Ask the district or unitary council's tree officer for advice, and check whether the site has any protection order or conservation area status. Finally, walk the site in winter and again in midsummer: you need somewhere with at least six hours of sun, ground that does not sit under water in February, and enough clearance from footpaths, overhead cables and the cricket square.

Choosing native and traditional fruit trees

Stick to varieties that have earned their place in a British climate. They will cope with our damp winters, late frosts and unpredictable summers far better than anything exotic.

• Apples: Discovery and Worcester Pearmain for early eating, Egremont Russet and Ashmead's Kernel for storing, Bramley's Seedling for cooking, and a crab apple such as Malus sylvestris to pollinate everything else.
• Pears: Conference and Beth are reliable; a perry pear adds local character if you fancy a pressing day.
• Plums and damsons: Victoria and the Shropshire damson are tough, generous croppers.
• Cherries: Morello is self-fertile and happy on a north-facing wall or a cool corner.
• Something unusual: a medlar or a quince gives the orchard a talking point and a glut of fruit for jelly.

Mind the rootstock, because it decides the final size. M27 and M9 keep apples small enough for a garden-scale corner or a wheelchair-accessible bed. MM106 makes a manageable 4–5 metre tree, ideal for most greens. M25 produces a full standard at 7–8 metres — magnificent on a large green, but it needs mowing clearance and a long-term pruning plan. Aim for at least two varieties that flower at the same time so pollination works, and space MM106 trees about 4–5 metres apart, standards at 8 metres.

Getting the school involved

Schoolchildren are the best orchard committee you will ever recruit. Start with a class visit in the autumn term: let them dig, taste fruit from a local grower, and mark out the planting positions with canes and string. Each child can then "adopt" a tree, choose a name for it and paint a durable label — aluminium plant markers last far longer than lolly sticks.

Keep the link going through the year rather than letting it fizzle after planting day. A spring bug hunt under the mulch, a September measuring session where each class records trunk girth and height, and an apple-pressing day in October all fit neatly into the curriculum. If your village keeps the old tradition, a wassailing on or near Twelfth Night — 5 or 6 January — with a lantern procession, apple juice and toasted bread in the branches gives everyone something to look forward to in the darkest week of the year.

Planting day, done properly

Plant bare-root trees between November and March while they are dormant, but not when the ground is frozen or waterlogged. Dig a square hole, roughly three times the width of the roots and no deeper than the original soil mark, so the roots spread out rather than spiralling. Fork the base to break up any pan, tease out the roots, and backfill with the excavated soil, firming gently in layers as you go.

• Fit a sturdy stake for the first three to five years, angled into the prevailing wind.
• Use a spiral guard or mesh sleeve against rabbits and voles, and a taller guard where deer roam.
• Mulch with a ring of well-rotted manure or bark, keeping it clear of the trunk to avoid rot.
• Water in thoroughly — a full 20 litres — even if rain is forecast.

The watering rota that saves the orchard

Most newly planted community trees are lost to thirst, not disease. A tree needs roughly 20 litres a week for its first two summers, and more in a hot, dry spell. One deep soak beats a daily dribble, because it drives roots downwards rather than encouraging them to lurk near the surface.

Build the rota before planting day. Divide the trees into groups of four or five and pair each group with a household, a street, a scout troop or a business. Put a laminated rota on the noticeboard and mirror it in a village messaging group, with a named coordinator who chases gaps. Store water on site: a couple of water butts fed from the village hall gutter, or an IBC tank, will save endless wheelbarrow trips. Ask each volunteer to record the date and amount on a clipboard so nobody double-waters or forgets.

Looking after the years ahead

Give the trees a light formative prune each winter for the first three or four years, aiming for an open goblet shape with well-spaced branches. After that, prune mainly to remove dead or crossing wood and to lift the canopy above head height. Keep the mulch rings topped up, mow carefully around trunks with a strimmer guard rather than close to the bark, and thin heavy crops in July so branches do not snap.

When the first real harvest comes, share it fairly. The old gleaning rule works well: a third for the pickers, a third for the wider village — school, lunch club, church fete — and a third left on the trees and on the ground for birds, insects and small mammals. Record what you plant and where, keep the labels legible, and hand the paperwork to the parish council. In thirty years, someone will read it and thank you.