In 2016 Roger and his wife Rachel planted 750 heritage apple trees and 10,000 native broadleaf trees with support from the Woodland Trust.
The apples are grown as a commercial crop to make cider and apple juice. This is sold from local delicatessens and farm shops in the area as well as from neighbouring Lindores Distillery.
Why Trees?
Roger's looked to integrate apple trees with arable crops, with the aims of:
- improving biodiversity
- establishing a low input crop that lasts for decades
- using the trees to provide shelter for the crops
Ten rows of apples trees were planted with in rows 27 metres apart in a field sown with grass and rotating back to barley. The broadleaf trees were joined up with existing shelter belts, providing a wildlife corridor and space for grazing livestock.
The species are a mix of:
- oak
- silver birch
- rowan
- hazel
- Scots pine
- flowering wild cherry and elder (to attract pollinating birds)
