A community orchard is opening its gates for the first time this weekend as experts predict an “outstanding” English apple season.

The fruit farm in Lower Bloors Lane, Rainham, is being run entirely by volunteers, with all profits being donated to the Kent Wildlife Trust.

People can go along tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday between 10am and 5pm to pick their own cox’s and russet apples. Small boxes of picked apples will also be available.

And it is more important than ever to support British growers, according to Environment Secretary Liz Truss.

Although Britain has a climate suited to growing apples, Ms Truss reported this week that two thirds of the nation’s requirements are imported.

Native varieties have been replaced by sweeter, heavily marketed foreign brands such as Pink Lady and golden delicious. Britain now ranks 39th in the world for production, behind Greece and Portugal.

But experts say an “outstanding” English apple season is in the offing thanks to the early spring and excellent summer weather. A larger crop of 166,000 tonnes of the crunchy fruit is already on sale, three to four weeks ahead of last year.

English Worcester, Delbarestivale, early Windsor and the new zari are varieties that are already in shops, while braeburn has a record crop, with there being nearly 20% more than last year.

Adrian Barlow, chief executive of English Apples & Pears Ltd, said: “2014’s apple crop is outstanding due to the good levels of juice, great ‘crunch’ and wonderful taste.

“The weather has been a critical factor with the early spring, warm temperatures, an outstanding amount of sunshine and adequate rainfall giving us excellent conditions for the apples to grow and ripen.”

The sunny spells and cool air are also ideal conditions for cherries. This year’s British cherry production is set to be the largest in more than a decade as sales have surged by 98% compared with last year.

A spokesman for the British Cherries industry body said: “This season has been the greatest cherry harvest ever – our growers have been working tirelessly to pick the bumper crop.”

The community orchard is the idea of businessman and Kent Wildlife Trust ambassador Hamish Mackay Miller.

The fruit has not been cultivated for several years and the five-acre orchard had become almost unmanageable. But volunteers have spent weeks clearing head-height thistles and nettles by hand and with the help of a bush cutter donated by Alpine Tools in Gillingham.

Rainham councillor and former mayor Vaughan Hewett was asked to help co-ordinate the project.

He said: "The orchard has been abandoned for around two years. It is like the lost orchard of Rainham. The fruit is very good quality though, much better than you would get in the supermarket.”