Cuttings, Planting and Apple Pressing!

Friday mornings always have a diverse range of activities and at the end of May we were starting propagation by cuttings, planting more pond plants, translocating the bittern and apple pressing!

The apple pressing in particular continues a tradition that started with our good friend Malcolm McKenzie bringing along his wonderful wooden apple press – we had many good community days with Malcolm and we fondly remember him as we continue these events. There are a number of “blast from the past” photos below remembering good people and good times!

Now, we borrow Russell and Bronwyns state of the art apple press, but there is a catch. There is no chipper, so apples need to be prepared by freezing (and defrosting) ready for pressing and the press works hydraulically and so is much easier to operate. On the Friday we started after morning tea and continued after lunch pressing whatever people brought along. We, ourselves ended up with over 25 litres of juice which we use throughout the year. Cider apples were collected too and we look forward to sampling the resulting cider made by others!

In the next few weeks we will continue with propagation from cuttings, planting and other winter tidy up jobs.

Chris and Brian