Practical help for your apples
Services for You
Whether you want us to turn your apples into juice, help surplus fruit find a good home, or give your trees some expert seasonal attention, our practical services help you make more of your orchard.
What can we help with?
Choose a service to see how it works.
Juice for You
Enjoy the fruits of our labours in your glass.
You can bring your apples to The Greenhouse and have them juiced and pasteurised for you — or simply juiced for cider or cider-vinegar making. James manages the process from start to finish, so this is the option for people who want the juice without having to do the pressing themselves.
Bottled & pasteurised
from £1.50 per bottle
Your own apples are pressed, bottled and pasteurised into shelf-stable juice.
Fresh juice for cider
£1.25 per litre
Unpasteurised juice for cider or cider-vinegar making, using your own containers.
How the service works
The service is available throughout the apple harvesting season. Ideally, you drop off your apples the day before pressing and collect the finished juice the day after. Other timings may sometimes be possible by arrangement.
This was a highly sought-after service last season because it gives you a straightforward way to have your own apples turned into juice without having to operate the equipment yourself.
Which juicing option is right for me?
Community Juicing is the smaller, hands-on option: you bring up to two flexi-tubs of apples, take part in the process and can make about 25 bottles in roughly an hour.
Juice for You is the next step up when you would rather hand over your fruit and let us manage the process.
If you have a large amount of apples and are happy to press them yourself — either alone or with others — hiring one of our complete juicing kits lets you make as much juice as you like.
Preparing your apples
Your apples go straight into the mill to be crushed for pressing, so please bring them clean and in good condition.
- Wash off mud from windfalls and bird mess from fruit picked from the tree.
- Discard bruised or poor-quality fruit.
- If you see a black hole running right through an apple, discard it: this can indicate moth damage and may introduce bacteria.
It is better to get less juice of a high quality than a larger volume of poor-quality juice.
Drop-off & collection
The normal arrangement is to drop your apples at The Greenhouse the day before they are pressed and collect the juice the following day. If that does not work for you, other times may sometimes be possible by arrangement.
Bottles & bottle reuse
Bottle Reuse & Pricing
At Brendon Orchards we’re committed to reducing waste, so we actively encourage the reuse of clean glass bottles.
Bringing your own bottles
If you bring washed glass screw-top bottles (apple-juice bottles or standard-height wine bottles, up to 750ml) with lids, the cost is:
£1.50 per bottle of Juiced-for-You Apple Juice
If you need new bottles
If you don’t have bottles to reuse, we can supply new ones: + £1.00 per new bottle.
Bottle tops
We will fit new tops on all bottles, unless you bring clean wine-bottle screw tops to reuse with your wine bottles.
How much juice will my apples make?
Enquire about Juice for You
Apple Match-Making
Helping local apples find the people who can use them.
This community service connects orchard owners, apple-pickers and juice, cider and cider-vinegar makers so that useful local fruit does not go to waste.
Have apples?
Tell us if you expect surplus fruit, need help picking, or simply want your crop to go somewhere useful.
Need apples?
Let us know if you are looking for fruit for juice, cider, cider vinegar or another productive use.
Apple Match-Making is not limited to apples — other surplus orchard fruit is welcome too. Our Apple Talk communities are a good place to offer or look for surplus fruit, arrange swaps and connect with other local growers and juicers.
We also connect this work with Power of the Press, where volunteers come together to help pick and juice fruit from local orchards.
Prune for You
Experienced help to care for your fruit trees.
Brendon Orchards has been running pruning courses for over a decade, helping hundreds of people gain the confidence to care for their trees and keep them healthy and fruitful. Pruning your own trees can be very rewarding, and our pruning courses continue to offer a way to learn.
If you would like more hands-on help, Prune for You can put you in contact with experienced pruners whom we recommend to care for your trees.
How it works
- Read the pruning helpsheet below. It explains what affects the work involved and will help you describe your trees.
- Send us an outline of your needs using the form below.
- We will link you with a pruner, who will discuss the work and give you a price.
- Agree a suitable date directly with the pruner.
Download Jon’s orchard pruning helpsheet (Word document)
What affects the work and cost?
Tree size
Small trees under 2 metres may need just a few formative cuts. Trees up to 4 metres may need small branches removed; trees from 4 to 6 metres can require longer tools and larger branch removal. Trees over 6 metres may have a complex structure and take several hours each.
Previous pruning
A well-structured, open crown usually needs less work than a dense, crowded crown with crossing branches. Tell us when the trees were last pruned and whether this is their first attention for several years.
Cut material
Clearing up, moving branches, cutting and stacking firewood, or arranging chipping all add time and may add cost. Explain where you want the material left and whether it needs moving any distance.
Access and timing
Tell us how people, tools and machinery can reach the trees, and about obstacles such as fences, greenhouses, ponds, neighbours’ walls or power lines. Discuss the timing and extent of the work with the pruner for your particular trees.
Useful pruning terms
- Crown lifting
- Removing lower branches to an agreed height, for example to allow access underneath.
- Crown reduction
- Shortening selected branches, for example where they contact a structure or neighbouring tree.
- Crown thinning
- Reducing branch density so more light and air can reach the fruit.
- Rebalancing
- Working on a lopsided tree to reduce its heavier side and encourage growth on the other side.
The full helpsheet also explains canker, goblet and espalier forms, tree sizes and forks.
Who carries out the work?
The pruners are independent and do not work for Brendon Orchards. We provide a matchmaking service. Our recommended pruners have been trained by us and their pruning has been checked by us.
You agree the scope, price and date with your pruner and pay them directly and promptly.
Interested in joining our pruning team?
Brendon Orchards supports local workers and green skills. If you would like to join our list of pruning contractors, get in touch to discuss your experience and how we can support and train you.
Enquire about Prune for You
Use the form below or email prune4you@brendonorchards.co.uk. We will use your details to respond and help connect you with a suitable pruner.