Ein Coed
PEMBROKESHIRE TREE SHARING NETWORK
Ein Coed (our trees) makes it possible for people to share fruit and nut trees with each other, across Pembrokeshire, like a book swap. The aim is to give everyone in Pembrokeshire access to a rich variety of fruit and nut trees that are well-suited to our climate. For free. Fresh fruit, locally grown, is about as good as it gets. We'd like to see more fruit trees growing, especially ones that grow well here and ones that might do well in a future, changing climate. Ein Coed is a simple way for anyone in Pembrokeshire to get access to a cutting or seeds of a fruit or nut tree variety they'd like to propagate from someone else that already has one. It keeps things, simple, free and local and it helps build a community of fruit-tree lovers. This whole enterprise is voluntary. It's based on the sound principles of trust, cooperation, community and kindness.
HOW EIN COED WORKS
Request a variety: If there is a type, or specific variety, of fruit or nut tree you would like to grow, you can look at the list of trees in Pembrokeshire's "Mother Orchards" below, or ask in the Ein Coed network, to see if it's available. If someone has seeds or cuttings, they can offer them to you for free to grow or graft into a tree of your own.
Offer a variety: Likewise, if you have fruit or nut trees (or any other tree) that you are pruning or collecting seeds from, you can offer out the cuttings or seeds for free on the network. Simply post your offer on the Facebook group and if someone wants it, they'll be in touch to come and collect them from you.
Mother Orchards: To help with all of this, we have planted five Mother Orchards, which collectively host a wide variety of fruit and nut trees. Pears, Apples, Damsons, Chestnuts, Walnuts, cultivars of Hazels and Elders and much more. Some are heritage varieties, some are from elsewhere but well-suited to the area, and a few have been selected because they show signs of being resilient in a changing climate. In a sixth site there is a mature Forest Garden packed with all manner of agroforestry plants. These Mother Orchard exist primarily for you to collect cuttings and seeds from them. They are being planted in early 2023 so will be offering cuttings on the Facebook group in two or so years' time.
Collecting: Cuttings and seeds can only be collected by arrangement as all the sites are privately owned. Which varieties can be offered in any one year depends on the tree's health, productivity, and growth, so offerings will change year-by-year.
Learning: Over winter 2022/23 we're organising training on how to prune and how to graft. See our events below to find out more. Also, our friends at The Orchard Project have some great resources on how to prune and graft.
THE MOTHER ORCHARDS
We have six mother orchards where you can collect seeds and cuttings. Moylegrove Forest Garden has established trees and can be contacted now; the rest are being planted and will be ready when the trees are established (2-3 years).
This map shows each site location. For more info about what trees are available, and how to contact the landowners, see below.
FIND YOUR NEAREST MOTHER ORCHARD
Scolton Manor, Haverfordwest
Cuttings/seeds available: NOT YET
Scolton Manor has many mature fruit trees available for cuttings. Contact Simon Richards to arrange a visit or to find out more. Below is a list of additional Mother Orchard plants that Ein Coed provides to add to the collection. Juneberry - Amelanchier (sweet fruits, good hedgerow shrub) Crab Apple – Malus gorgeous (excellent for jellies) Damson – Merryweather Rose – Rosa rugosa (Asian, excellent, large, apple-like hips) Rowan – Sorbus aucuparia ‘Asplenifolia’ (heavy fruiting) Hawthorn – Crataegus succulenta (American – large, edible, sweet fruits) Hazelnut – Lang Tiglig Zeller (German, good quality nuts) -Cosford (English, good quality nuts) Elder – Haschburg (heavily fruiting Austrian) Apple – EATERS Fiesta (keeps well, climate suited) Howgate wonder (keeps well, tough, comfortable in exposed sites, disease reistant) Jumbo (handles wet climates, disease resistant, massive fruit) Lord Lambourne (climate suited) Rosette (scab resistant, happy in wet areas, doesn’t keep) Saturn (warm/temperate so low chill hours, disease resistant) Honeycrisp (warm/temperate so low chill hours, disease resistant) Apple – LOCAL HERITAGE Pig Y Glomen (Pembroke) Pen Caled (Llandudoch) Brith Mawr Bardsey Almond : Phoebe Robin Mulberry – king James Pear: Doyenne Du Comice Onward Concord (eater) Moonglow (Eater - warm/temperate so low chill hours, disease resistant) Catillac (cooker – old French, diseae resistant, large fruit, keeper)
Meigan Hill, Boncath
Cuttings/seeds available: NOT YET
Elaeagnus: Big Red (non-local but well suited) Brilliant Rose (non-local but well suited) Elder: Samnor (non-local but well suited) Sampo (non-local but well suited) Samdal (non-local but well suited) Damson: Shropshire Prune (non-local but well suited) Farleigh (non-local but well suited) Apple (local heritage): Morgan Sweet Croen Mochyn Brith Mawr Pig Aderyn Bardsey Apple (non-local but well suited): Devonshire Quarenden Adams Pearmain Ribston Pippin Laxtons Epicure Rajka Suntan Herrings Pippin Falstaff Duke of Devonshire Plum Vite Tidicombe Seedling Woolbrook Pippin Ashmeads Kernel William Crump St. Cecilia
One Planet Organics, Whitland
Cuttings/seeds available: NOT YET
Apple (non-local but well suited): Devonshire Quarrenden Gasgoyne’s Scarlet Claygate Pearmain Pitmarston Pineapple Charles Ross Lord Lambourne Red Falstaff Cevaal Sunset Bloody Ploughman Laxtons Epicure Suntan Rajka Herrings Pippin Falstaff Duke of Devonshire Plum Vite Discovery Court Pendu Plat St Cecilia Apple (Local Heritage): Croen Mochyn Nant Gwtheryn Pren Glas Bardsey Bakers Delicious Ffredric Pear (non-local but well suited): Concord Conference
Forest Garden CIC, Cardigan
Cuttings/seeds available:
YES, please email to arrange a visit
Blackcurrant cuttings Aronia cuttings Edible bamboo roots Phyllostachys auria 4m tall and P.viridis-gluacesence 6m tall (these both make good garden canes as well as edible shoots)) Hazel seedlings Pine needles for tea (great for winter colds/flu etc)
Awel Y Mynydd
Cuttings/seeds available: NOT YET
Apples (Local heritage): Troen Mochyn Pig Y Glomen Pren Glas Apples (non-local but well-suited): Charles Ross Red Falstaff Tidicombe Seedling Damson: Merrywhether (non-local but well-suited) Eleagnus: Brilliant rose (non-local but well-suited) E. Big Red (non-local but well-suited) Hazel: Gunslebert (non-local but well-suited, climate resilient) Langtidlingzeller (non-local but well-suited, climate resilient) Sweet chestnut: Marlac (non-local but well-suited, climate resilient) Marsol (non-local but well-suited, climate resilient) Maravel (non-local but well-suited, climate resilient) Walnut: Broadview (non-local but well-suited, climate resilient) Buccaneer (non-local but well-suited, climate resilient) Rita (non-local but well-suited, climate resilient)
RESOURSES
Our friends at 'The Orchard Project' offer some great blog posts.
Here are a few suggested blogs for you to check out!
As part of the Fruit and Bounty project, Simon Richards at Scolton Manor created an education pack to use alongside the Mother Orchards there, which focuses on foraging and collecting food and the history of food cultivation. It is particularly designed to be used alongside the special "three hedges" design we partly created at Scolton as part of Ein Coed, which exists to tell the story of fruit cultivation.
Feel free to download the Education pack, perfect for family trips to Scolton Manor or
home-education groups.
Age group ~ Key stage 2 and 3.
Simon Richards has also put together a resource pack with instructions on how to take and grow cuttings from fruit trees and bushes.Download the PDF here.