Apple Day at Sheffield Organic Growers

Visitors sample the freshly pressed juice

"I've been to an apple day!" I said to my father who asked what I'd done with my Sunday.
"This may be a stupid question, but what is an apple day?" was his response.

For him, and anyone else uninitiated with the joy of apple days, I thought I'd write a little review of the recent apple day at Sheffield Organic Growers.

Sheffield Organic Growers is a cluster of five independent organic growers, based on a 12-acre site in the beautiful Moss Valley on the edge of Sheffield. Part of their site is now a successful orchard producing a variety of desert and cooking apples and pears, supplying various shops across Sheffield including Beanies!
We arrived in the glorious sunshine to find the orchard already teeming with people; mainly, it turns out, from the University Conversation Club on an a day trip. There was plenty to do, including having a go at pressing apples to make fresh juice - an activity popular with the children and supervised by Beanies' own Matt West.

Hugh, another grower, gave a large group a tour of the orchard, explaining how they manage the trees in accordance with their organic principles, and dishing out tips and advice to budding apple enthusiasts in the crowd. Being allowed to pick and eat apples fresh from the tree and warm from the sun was a particular treat.

Matt pressing the apples

A mini cafe was set up selling proper coffee, homemade soup and cakes, and there was even a craft and story-time corner set up for the children. A chance to taste the different varieties such as Kidds Orange, Spartan and James Grieve produced on the orchard was well received! There was also plenty of freshly picked apples, as well as other produce from the surrounding fields available to purchase.

A delightful day all round, helped by the glorious weather and made even more special thanks to the lovely team working at the event. I'd strongly recommend future apple days and other events at this unique location in Sheffield.




At Beanies we currently have the aforementioned varieties and many more! Come visit!

Words: Rachael Eyton
Photos: Keenan Goddard-Donovan