Growing almonds and apricots in the UK

Think almonds and apricots can't grow in the UK?

This organic agroforestry case study will have you thinking again.

One morning in late February, we found ourselves staring at a list of tree varieties that one could be forgiven for assuming belonged solely in the sunny orchards of Greece or France.

• Apricot,
• almond,
• grape, and
• cherry

were among some of the thirteen varieties of fruit and nut trees we would be planting that day.

Yet we were not in Greece, nor or France, but rather, in the chalky downs of Swindon, standing in a fallow field under a mist of winter drizzle.

“Can you even grow almonds in the UK?” we asked our resident expert, Head of Horticulture Ben Raskin, perhaps a little too incredulously.

Ben’s good-natured response was that there was only one way to find out.

Our task

To spend the day at our Chief Executive Helen Browning’s Eastbrook farm learning about agroforestry and putting our new-found skills to the test by helping to plant an ambitious project as part of a brand new Innovative Farmers field lab.

What is Agroforestry?

Agroforestry is a technique that has been practised for many years in Europe. It’s also been utilised in the US, China and many other countries.

It involves planting and managing trees on farmland in return for a bounty of environmental and economic benefits.

The process must involve a deliberate intermingling of trees and another form of agriculture, whether plant- or animal-based.

The trees don't need to be particularly exotic. Although in the case of Eastbrook, fruit and nut trees were chosen as most of the produce will be used in Helen’s two local restaurants.

Soil Control

In addition to producing a fantastic bounty of local fruit and nuts, the goal of the field lab is to see how trees perform with different types of additions to soil.

At Ben’s request, we spent most of the morning either dipping tree roots in a gelatinous concoction of mycorrhiza, or adding biochar to their root systems.

For the controls, we plopped them into their newfound home and covered the roots up with soil.

Mycorrhiza and biochar are both great for encouraging good soil bacteria, so time will tell which the trees prefer.

Experimentation

Along with understanding what makes for the best type of soil for these trees, Helen is keen to trial different varieties of trees that will be well suited to the warmer and wetter climate that we can begin to expect as the climate changes.

Some of these varieties may be more or less successful than others - but the key is experimenting to find out what is possible.

Relationship

At the same time, trees will also offer some great benefits for Eastbrook’s livestock, which will eventually find a home in this orchard or the neighbouring ones.

It's a symbiotic relationship of sorts: while the trees are still small, hens will be introduced as they pose a negligible threat to the saplings. Hens will help keep the trees healthy by providing nutrients for the soil, and by eating pests that would otherwise find a home in soil over winter.

Hens will also provide some element of weed control by scratching around under the trees, which is a great way for the birds to exhibit their natural behaviours. The small branches will provide a good environment for hens, as branches and overhead cover can make them feel more secure and safe from predators.

As more trees are planted in the nearby fields, the team is hoping to introduce sheep. Once the trees are fully mature, cows will have a new home in one of the new orchards. The tree canopy will offer shade for animals in summer and shelter from wind and rain in the winter.

The Challenge for Farmers

So why isn’t every farmer doing this? 

Unlike most typical crops, trees of any variety can take years to mature, which means it can take a similarly long time to see a return on investment.

So growing almonds or other nuts is not always feasible for farmers, especially for tenant farmers with shorter leases.

An almond tree can take 5 – 12 years to grow

Tree management can also be challenging.

While productive hedges and cereal crops might be a relatively straightforward, agroforestry combining livestock and trees poses an altogether different sort of problem. If sheep decide that they fancy the taste of the damsons growing in their field, farmers will literally see their profits gobbled up.

At Eastbrook, one of the goals is to learn which fruit trees are most - or least - compatible with which types of animals.

If sheep are indeed damson-loving, or if cobnut trees, say, offer a hardy and protective canopy for cows, other farmers can use these learnings when planning their own agroforestry projects.

Undervalued

Perhaps the most surprising hurdle that has stopped farmers from adopting agroforestry, is the view that planting trees devalues farmland.

Over the past few years a growing body of research is demonstrating that the value of trees is actually hugely underestimated both in urban and rural settings.

In North America - a continent so full of trees that it’s no wonder their benefits are being taken for granted - research has found that trees on residential properties increase house values by around 7%, and that the urban forests in the Canadian city of Toronto represented the equivalent of a CAD $7 billion (£5.73bn) investment into the environment and human health and wellbeing.

Benefits for the soil, environment and climate

Agroforestry can help combat some of the biggest agricultural challenges Britain currently faces.

A shift towards agroforestry can do a great deal to improve soil quality.

Trees have extensive root systems which tunnel into the ground below, helping to:

• stabilise soil,
• improve water levels,
• reduce the potential for localised flooding and drought.

This translates into:

• better soil quality,
• reduced soil erosion and,
• reduced nitrogen leaching.

Fallen autumn leaves provide an additional source of nutrients for soil, helping enhance soil biodiversity, encouraging soil formation and helping to mitigate agricultural carbon emissions by sequestering them in soil.

Wildlife also benefits from agroforestry, as trees expand the habitat available to pollinators, birds and other animals that take refuge in the branches of trees or feast on the nectar of spring and summer blossoms.

Profitability

While farmers may be hesitant to make the switch to planting trees on their land, there is one bonus that comes with agroforestry: productivity.

As it turns out, when two crops are grown on the same land - for example, cereal crops and fruit trees - they can yield more than if they were grown separately, boosting farm productivity and profitability.

Productivity is measured by Land Equivalent Ratio (LER). Studies of agroforestry systems in countries that are similar to the UK’s climate found that LERs range from 1.00 - 2.01. This means that land under agroforestry can be up to twice as productive as land under one crop only.

It will be some time yet before Eastbrook’s trees begin fruiting, and longer still before the dairy herd grazes between rows of trees, under the shade of a mature fruit canopy.

While our day working on the forest garden certainly doesn’t qualify me as an expert on agroforestry, it certainly turned us into fans of this type of farming - even if it will be a while before we get to taste a British apricot!

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