Apple pressing

After much debate about the lack of fruit on trees this year because of the bad weather we decided it was time to harvest the apples. We are fortunate to have a lot of very big mature apple trees, with lots of different varieties. Lots of the tree did have a good crop as they were so big. We discovered some very good little red apples which make excellent eater and a range of cooking apples. The combination of different apples on site means that you get the right ratio for making...cider. On the glorious sunny day we set to it harvesting and crushing. In the end we counted 24 gallons of apple juice. Half of this has been shared with Simms Hill and the other half is bubbling away gentle getting ready for our Wossail event on the 26th Jan. Wossail is used to welcome in the new year and to bless the land in the hope of another excellent growing season. January is a perfect time to have a big event as we can shake off winter and launch ourselves into the new season.