Castle fruit Farm Open Sunday
This Sunday June 9th. Guided walks round our beautiful and bountiful orchards. Bug, Botany and Birds walks Observation Bee Hive, Moth Trap – lots of juice and cakes ! 10.30am – $pm
On the Farm
LEAF Farm Open Sunday June 9th 2019
Come and see a working commercial fruit farm which also wins awards for its care of the environment.Including Guided walks, and Bees, Birds and Moths as special interest sessions. Sunday June 9th between 10.30am and 4pm at Castle Fruit Farm on the B4215 between Newent and Dymock. More information to follow here and on
Spring is round the corner
Castle Fruit Farm High Spots in 2017. Successful growing and harvesting season.Bumper crops thanks to our great team here and our summer family of harvest workers. Richie and Claire have added a new Baby Bentley,baby Maddie to the team. Having our work recognised by several awards this year. Seeing signs of increasing diversity of natural
Award number three! Waitrose Farming Partnership
Michael & Christiana Bentley of Castle Fruit Farm were winners at the 2017 Waitrose Farming Partnership Annual Conference, in the category ‘Farm Risk Assessment’, for their work encouraging biodiversity in a commercially successful orchard. Read here to find out more about our work to promote biodiversity and to
Award number three! Waitrose Farming Partnership Read More »
The latest buzz – recognition for helping pollinators in Gloucestershire
We are thrilled to announce that Castle Fruit Farm was recently awarded the 2017 Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) Silver Pintail Trophy in recognition of our commitment to sustainable agricultural practices and wildlife protection! This year, the Gloucestershire award was focused on creating food and habitats for pollinators, through a range of interventions and
The latest buzz – recognition for helping pollinators in Gloucestershire Read More »
Harvest Part 2.
Harvest is half way through ! The plums have all been picked and packed and sold and the conveyor was put into storage and a cheer went up from Mr B and Damian our packhouse manager. It has been a good year but as you may have noticed Autumn came early , the chill was
Pollination and the weather so far this season 2017
The magic of pollination has happened and we have a myriad of insects to thank and above all think about. Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the male anthers to the female stigma which is essential to kick start cell division and set the fruit. Poor pollination leads to poor fruit set and yield
Pollination and the weather so far this season 2017 Read More »
Conservation Agriculture at Castle Fruit Farm
Bentleys Fruit FarmDefinition of Conservation Agriculture Conservation Agriculture (CA) is a set of soil management practices that minimize the disruption of the soil’s structure, composition and natural biodiversity. CA has proven potential to improve crop yields, while improving the long-term environmental and financial sustainability of farming. The FAO believes that there are three major
Who will Harvest our 2017 Crops
Who is going to harvest our fruit this year ? Buds are breaking on the Valor plum trees and hurrah,the blackthorn is in full blossom so the pollinators can get to work. These are our free workers so we try to make sure pollen is available early on by planting goat willow and keeping some
Winter work in the orchards
Winter Work : ” surely there is nothing to do now it’s winter ” How that makes Clive laugh ! One of the foremost things on our minds is :Tree planting. Orchards are being continually renewed, driven by age, unprofitability and the never ending desire of consumers for the new. It is a necessary and