Where to Start:

If you'd like to set up your own community orchard or community juicing group and you don't know where to start, there are plenty of organisations or resources available to help you. See below for a list of useful links, then read on for our guide on running your own Apple Day!

Community Land Advisory Service CLAS was set up to help combat the lack of available land for community gardening, community orchard groups and associated green space activities. It helps communities to access land for community use. Advice is provided free of charge.

Orchard Network A partnership of organisations working together for the conservation of traditional orchards as a wildlife habitat. Their website includes information on orchard biodiversity and orchard management. Look up an orchard group or event in your area or add your own group or event to the site.

The Orchard Marketplace An online marketplace to facilitate the exchange of surplus orchard related produce, such as fruits and even services, e.g., trees for sale, skills and equipment. View the produce available throughout the country or post your own request for produce on their website.

South Lakeland Orchard Group The South Lakeland Orchard Group is an enthusiastic & knowledgeable group that aims to conserve, maintain and renovate existing orchards; encourage the planting of new orchards in the South Lakeland, recognising and enhancing bio-diversity and encouraging the preservation of old varieties of fruit.

Gloucestershire Orchard Group Gloucestershire Orchard Group aims to conserve, promote and celebrate traditional orchards in Gloucestershire. The informative website has details of heritage fruit varieties, nurseries, surveys, orchard management, local events, tree protection, wildlife, online marketplace, schools, publications and many useful contacts.

Abundance Network A network of fruit harvesting groups throughout the UK who collect unwanted fruits and put them to good use! You can find a group near you to join, or set up your own local group using their helpful guidance.

Marcher Apple Network

Orchard Link Saving traditional orchards.

Orchards Live Saving orchards in North Devon & apple juicing & cider making courses (in Devon).

Bridport Community Orchard An orchard and green space in Bridport maintained by the Bridport Community Orchard Group and freely available for everyone to enjoy informally. The Group host many apple-related events throughout the year.

Community Veg Growing Project, North London If you'd like to read an inspiring story about setting up a community growing project, have a look at Naomi Schillinger's fantastic blog. In 2009 Naomi and Nicolette Jones joined forces with a few 'green-fingered' neighbours, all of whom were complete strangers, and started to grow vegetables and flowers in front gardens and window boxes. They now have a body of over a hundred households in their neighbourhood who have created beautiful growing spaces which benefit the whole community and have regular get-togethers, such as Cake Sunday, to share tips and inspire each other. It's not just vegetables that are grown - Naomi has had a successful harvest from the loquat tree in her garden!

Running Your Own Apple Day!

National ‘Apple Day’ began life in 1990 when on October 21st the organisation Common Ground took over the Piazza at Covent Garden in London to bring to life the tremendous importance of apples to our culture, wildlife and landscape. Today, the harvest of apples is celebrated nationwide, on or around the 21st October, or in the case of community juicing groups, whenever the apples are ripe!

Community group events aren't just limited to Apple Days in September and October - there many more fun filled get-togethers, including tree planting days, blossom days, Wassails, orchard maintenance days, and not forgetting cider-making activities!

Many groups will use these events as a way of raising awareness and sometimes funds - for the group, orchard, or for other local, national or global causes which they support.

Step 1: Why Run an Apple Day?

Many groups think about running one of these events in response to apples in abundance that often go to waste at harvest time of year. But there are also a host of other benefits that an event like this can provide:

• Bringing communities together in an outdoor, relaxed environment.
• Raising local awareness of a community group or orchard.
• Raising money for your group – the juice that is made at the event can be pasteurised and subsequently sold at fundraisers. Several schools have taken this approach and made the whole event part of a business exercise in the curriculum for Year 6 .
• Celebrating orchards and the great outdoors.

Whatever your reason for running an Apple Day, make sure that you plan carefully so that you achieve what you want from the event.

Step 2: What Will You Need?

There are a few simple things to consider to ensure that your event is a success:

Choose the right apple crusher & press

The type of crusher and press you choose will depend on how many apples you think you will have to juice, the type of event you want to create and whether you have access to electricity.

Hand-operated equipment

Out of all the hand-operated presses and crushers we supply, using the combination of our Classic Crusher with a Cross Beam Press provides the most efficient way of juicing. The process is very straightforward:

• Crush the apples ready for pressing - you will need to quarter the apples to be fed into the crusher, which sits over the basket of the press.
• The milled apples (pomace) fall directly into the basket of the press ready for pressing with the press.

This combination of hand-operated crusher and press requires people to work well as a team (cutting, crushing and pressing) but is great fun! It’s ideal if you want to build a relaxed, happy atmosphere where lots of enthusiastic people can get involved, chat and enjoy themselves in a purposeful way. They also have the pleasurable reward of tasting the juice that they make!

Using the our 20 litre press and Classic Crusher, a group could juice around 300 kg of apples in a day and make around 130 litres of juice if they work hard!

Using powered equipment:

Our electric mills make the process of crushing quick and easy but obviously require a source of electricity. They can mill/crush whole apples. With our Stainless Steel Mill the apples need to be fed steadily into the hopper by hand, but the Speidel Mill can handle full buckets of apples meaning it is possible to mill up to 1000 kg an hour! Either mill can be used conjunction with our larger presses but also with the highly efficient hydropresses range.

Hydropresses use water pressure to squeeze the juice out of the milled apples – a source of mains water needs to be accessible. They are incredibly efficient but must be used in conjunction with an electric mill. This equipment is used by individuals and groups who have an abundance of fruit and want to produce large quantities of juice as efficiently as possible.

Need some help?

If you need some help choosing equipment, please do call us on 01404 890093 or email us at sales@vigopresses.co.uk.

What will you do with all the juice?

There are several options for storing and preserving apple juice. Make sure that you have enough of the right kind of storage and preserving equipment available on the day. Some groups ask people to bring their own containers or bottles whilst some groups have them for sale at the event.

Storing fresh (unpasteurised) juice:

• Store unpasteurised juice in clean glass or plastic bottles and keep it in the fridge - drink within 2-3 days
• Unpasteurised juice can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months. Line an empty fruit juice carton with a freezer bag before filling with juice, and this will save space in the freezer.

Storing pasteurised juice:

Pasteurisation is a method of preservation that gives the juice a remarkably long shelf-life without altering its flavour at all. It involves heating the apple juice in glass bottles or bag in boxes to 75 degrees Centigrade for 20 minutes and requires a source of electricity and a pasteuriser with accurate temperature and timing controls. Pasteurised juice can be stored in bottles or bag in boxes for 1-2 years. Many groups use our pasteuriser on the day to preserve the juice to be taken away.

And don't forget!

Based on our experience these are the most important things you will need for the day, in addition to the crusher & press:

• Table for cutting fruit
• Knives and chopping board (and somewhere to store knives safely away when they are not being used)
• Suitable surface to place the press on if it is too low for easy comfortable use
• A couple of jugs or a flexi tub to catch the juice
• Somewhere to store the pressed apple pomace – sets of flexi tubs or large bins are ideal; you may find a local livestock farmer who is happy to take the pulp off your hands to feed to cattle or pigs!
• Wheelbarrow if you have to move the pressed apple pomace a long way
• Containers to store the juice
• A team of willing helpers - as an indication, for around 200 kg of apples it would be ideal to have 4 people cutting, 2 working a hand-operated crusher and 2 working a hand-operated press
• Bucket, brushes and a source of water to scrub down crushers and presses after use
• A dry area for pasteurising and electricity source
• Fermenters, if anyone is considering making cider from the juice
• Lunch for the team of willing helpers!

Step 3: Safety

As with any public event attention must be paid to health and safety issues. You must carry out your own risk assessment to ensure the safety of all those participating. Points you should consider, along with any others that are relevant to your particular event are:-

• A competent person must always supervise the use of the equipment
• Check any electrical equipment is sound. Never use in an area where it could get wet. A competent person must supervise its use at all times.
• Do not use equipment on an unstable surface
• Keep knives sheathed and put away when not in use
• Choose ‘sound’ apples and wash them thoroughly with fresh water before crushing
• Signage, i.e., ‘Equipment must not be used unsupervised’, etc.

This list is not exhaustive – remember it is your responsibility to ensure the safety of those participating.

Step 4: Apple Fun!

Make the most of your assembled friends – they are a handy source of willing labour!

In return you can reward them by offering a great day out with some of these simple attractions:

• Apple bobbing
• Longest Apple Peel Competition
• Apple displays of local varieties (we have some great Apple Posters at Vigo which can liven up a display)
• Apple identification (if you have an expert in your midst!)
• Pin the maggot on the apple (orchard version of 'pin the tail on the donkey'!)
• Designing labels for juice bottles (kids love this one)
• Apple Shy (orchard version of the Coconut Shy)
• Apple print-making or making apple people
• Drawing apple tree decorations to hang on a tree
• Apple related cookery competitions – e.g., favourite apple cake, apple pie, etc.
• Performances of music and poetry writing

The list is endless!

Step 5: Promoting Your Day

You may wish to advertise your event. Here are some different ways....

• Make use of parish newsletters and websites
• Local papers are always keen for copy and will usually publish features
• Ask schools, local shops and businesses to put up posters/displays - involve the children in make eye-catching posters for these displays

How we can help

For many years Vigo Presses has promoted Apple Days by ...

• Providing informative juicing/cider making posters, Vigo Presses fliers & brochures - you are bound to get visitors asking how you make cider and where you got your equipment from!
• Giving advice on equipment to start-up groups and sometimes lending it
• Occasionally attending the odd Apple Day ourselves (although as it is our very busy season, events tend to be very local!)

Anyone considering setting up their own event for the first time this year is more than welcome to contact us, but we suggest you do this earlier rather than later before we get too busy. Please do feel free to contact us with any questions and we'll be happy to help!