Trees in the ‘Desert’

Clive Humphreys

In this post Clive describes how the Oundle Community have managed to nurse their newly-planted fruit trees through two successive summers with very little rain. It just shows what a little ingenuity and a lot of enthusiasm and volunteer energy can achieve.

The last two summers have been very difficult for the young fruit trees in the Community Orchard on Oundle’s Fletton Field.

In the winter of 2024-25 we planted 25 mixed fruit trees, granted to us from the King’s Community Orchard Fund. We selected, as best we could, Northamptonshire varieties, so there would be a local connection to the trees and the opportunity to educate, which was always an important part of our aspirations and plans for the Field.

The planting was a success it was clear by the spring that all the trees had taken – not one failed to put out leaves.

We did have help from the weather that first year, with a good amount of rain through the winter and  early spring. We were so pleased, a wet spring and what we thought would be a fairly ‘normal’ summer would see our trees really thrive.

Then as everyone will remember it changed. The greatest heatwave this country has had since 1976 settled in. ‘It will be okay’; everyone said, ‘it won’t last long it never does – one week of sun then rain for two, usual British summer, no need to worry’.

However it wasn’t quite like that, the sun came out and stayed out.

So we had to make plans for watering the young trees that were slowly but successfully putting down their roots into their new permanent home. We have no water near the field, what we needed was watering cans, lots of watering cans, so we got some. But It very soon became apparent that our optimism for using just watering cans was slightly misplaced. Cans are great for a small garden but 25 trees in a field a long way from the nearest water source was not going to work. A better, more efficient method was needed to get water to the trees.

We were very lucky in finding an old abandoned spraying tank once used by the Town Council. It didn’t work, the battery was gone, the electric motor was seized but if it could be repaired then it would do the job and the 55 litre tank would save so much effort.

So out came the tools, motor stripped, cleaned and reassembled. A new rechargeable battery was bought and ....success.... it worked! A few new hoses and plumbing parts were added and we had a  bowser on wheels with a pump that we could use to water the trees. It would still take time but with three trips per session all the trees could be given a drink.

Anyway it was only for the one summer, wasn't it? The hot summer of 2025 would be a one off, wouldn't it? We now had the means to water in emergencies but we probably wouldn’t need to do it again, would we?

The winter of 2025-26 was wet and so was the ensuing spring. The daffodils we had planted between the trees in the October came up and gave a brilliant spring show, exactly as we planned.

But then came the long hot summer of 2026. It was even hotter and dryer than the previous one and as we all know has continued for weeks.

The constant sunshine gave us an unexpected opportunity. We installed a small solar panel on our shed to recharge the battery on the bowser. This has been really useful, making us more independent.

I must admit, it has been fantastic to get up every day and only have to wear tee shirt and shorts but how the trees and the field itself have suffered as you can see from the before and after pictures below. But twice a week for the whole of this summer the trees have been watered and, no doubt saved because of it. We have even had our first apple and a couple of plums.

• 

• 

In the spring we had seen different varieties of wild flowers that we never thought were there coming back and they then attracted myriads of butterflies because of the drought. It has also been a fantastic year for rose hips. All this has shown us that young trees can survive these hot summers, if they are looked after. Not cutting the wild area around them has helped (it wouldn’t have been cut anyway) but it does help hold moisture as rewilding demonstrates.

We are certainly optimistic for the coming years and hope that as future generations of trees survive these ‘new summers’ they will become more resilient and their roots will adapt. We have had to work a little harder than we expected, but that is okay - I’ve topped up my tan!