The teaching gardens provide an opportunity for members to improve their experience and skills in growing a wide variety of fruit with the help of other members.
We start our year in January with work in the teaching gardens at Dewhurst Road, Huddersfield and Ash Road, Leeds
We meet at Dewhurst Road on a Wednesday and Ash Road by arrangement.
Meetings continue at fortnightly intervals throughout the year, weather permitting.
The work is varied according to season and follows the fruit growing year. As an example:
- January: Winter pruning of young fruit trees, older established trees and cordon trees
- February: Planting and maintenance of soft fruit, grafting course
- March: Grafting courses and management of newly grafted trees
Work continues fortnightly on both sites through til December, giving the opportunity to gain experience in all aspects of fruit growing. Full details of work days are published in the member’s quarterly newsletter.
Members of the Northern Fruit Group are always welcome to come along to any, or all, of the work days. There are always experienced people on hand to answer questions and often snippets of plants are available for re homing as well as spare, in season, produce.
Dewhurst Road Allotments, Huddersfield
This is an established site with an area approximately equivalent to 8 standard allotment plots. We are establishing a reference orchard of apple cultivars and have, so far, around 50 different apple varieties. These have all been grafted from scion wood obtained from reference collections at Brogdale and Wisley so that we can be certain that each cultivar is true to type.
We also have a wide selection of other fruit trees and many varieties of soft fruit.
Taking a break: 2016 December Lunchtime looking south across to Holme Moss 
Harewood patch in March 
2017 the apple cordons in February
Ash Road
This allotment was acquired in early 2024 for trees moved from the Otley site. Please contact us for details of working days
Get Involved
If you are not a member of The Northern Fruit Group but would like to get involved with these projects, then why not join? Our membership fee is very reasonable and will qualify you to receive our quarterly newsletter too. Click here to see details of membership
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Become a member of The Northern Fruit Group and join a group of like minded people, passionate about growing fruit in the North of England.
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The Northern Fruit Group 