The future of the West Country’s supply of cider into the 2030s has been secured after a mammoth effort to create a huge new orchard at Sandford.
13,000 apple trees are being planted in Somerset this week as Thatchers Cider creates a new 50-acre orchard – roughly the size of 31 football pitches.
The planting at Sandford follows three years of regenerative farming to prepare the land for the new trees, ensuring top quality soil for the tastiest apples.
Two apple varieties, Red Windsor and Katy, were carefully selected, offering a sweet and refreshing taste, as well as being well-suited to the Somerset climate.
Martin Thatcher said: “Great cider begins in the orchard, so making sure the soil is in peak condition is vitally important. It can be up to eight years from taking on the land, to harvesting our first full crop, and then we want it to be a fruitful orchard for decades to come, producing top quality apples that we can craft into delicious ciders.”
The new orchard will also capture around 325 tonnes of CO2 a year, in addition to the thousands of tonnes already sequestered into the soil by Thatchers’ existing 500 acres of orchards at Myrtle Farm.
Thatchers Cider Head Farmer Chris Muntz Torres with new apple tree
Thatchers’ Head Farmer Chris Muntz Torres with one of the new apple trees
Martin Thatcher, a fourth-generation cider maker, added: “We’ve been working in partnership with nature for 120 years, and it is a harmonious balance we strive to protect. Every one of our ciders is made using 100% renewable electricity, including power from the 3,500 solar panels on the farm. Nothing is wasted— even the apple pomace leftover from pressing is used for green energy or to feed local cattle, and we’ve installed cutting-edge technology to capture CO2 produced during fermentation and reuse it as bubbles in our cider.
“Our orchards are not only places of cider production, but havens for biodiversity; from the bees that pollinate the trees to the worms that enrich the soil.”
The business is getting plenty of help with planting the trees too – with Bath Rugby and Gloucestershire County Cricket Club players, as well as Great British Bake-Off contestant Briony May Williams, and actor Joe Sims getting involved.