Planting and Caring for your New Fruit Tree

"Fruit Tree Care And Production Primer"




When you have decided on which kind of fruit tree you would like, and

where you would like it, you can finally start to plant it. If you buy

your tree from a nursery, be especially careful when you are taking it

from the nursery to your house. I once had a friend who put the tree in

the back of his truck, but clipped a sign on the way home. The entire tree

snapped in half, and my friend was left a very sad man.



When you have gotten your tree safely back to your yard, look at the

bottom of it and see how big the clump of roots is. It may seem like a lot

of work now, but you want to dig a hole that is twice as wide as the

clump, and just a little less deep. Making the hole slightly bigger than

the clump of roots allows there to be room for the soil that you dug out

to be put back in. Otherwise you would be stuck with a giant heap of

unwanted dirt, and nowhere to put it. After you have dug the hole, line

the hole with some compost or fertilizer so that the tree will grow

better. After you have done this you should set your fruit tree into the

hole, and spread the roots out evenly so that the tree will be strong and

stable.



When all of this business is done, take the soil that you dug up and fill

in the hole completely. Unless you want big piles of dirt everywhere, you

should be sure you use all of the dirt even is it is a couple inches

higher than the rest of your yard. This is because it will compress when

watered. Before you firm up the soil, make sure that the tree is

completely vertical and will not fall over. After you have checked that

the tree is perfectly vertical you can gently firm up the soil.



If the tree's trunk is not yet completely sturdy and can be bent, you need

to tie the tree to a stake with a bit of rope. Be sure not to tie the rope

tightly to the tree, as you need to allow room for the trunk to grow. Once

the tree is sturdy enough to withstand all types of weather, you can take

the stakes off of it. When all of this is done you should mulch around the

base of the tree. If you live in an area where wildlife can access your

yard, then you should put a fence around your tree, because some animals

will eat the bark off of young trees.



Once you have successfully planted your fruit tree it will start to bear

fruit after it is three to five years old. Once your tree starts to carry

a lot of fruit you should periodically pick some of the fruit so that the

branches aren't weighed down too much. If the fruit gets too thick, the

branches can break off. On some years your tree might not bear as much

fruit as others, but this should not worry you. Healthy trees often take

years on “vacation” where they produce little or no fruit.



After you've planted your tree you might start to have some problems with

pests. To help keep these pests away, always rake away old leaves, brush,

or any other decaying matter that could be holding bugs that could be

harmful to your tree.



To make sure that your tree always stays healthy in the long run, you

should prune it during winter or spring. Water your tree every two weeks

during dry times, and be sure not to hit your tree with a lawn mower or a

weed eater because it could severely damage the growth process. Also just

make sure that your tree gets plenty of water and plenty of sun, and your

growing experience should be just great.

Planting Fruit Trees: The Amateur's Handbook on the Planting and Care of Fruit Trees (Gardening & Farming Series)
 
Growing fruit trees;: How to choose, plant and care for fruit trees in the Pacific Northwest (Garden notebook series)

DWARF FRUIT TREES: THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT

Starting a fruit tree Orchard for your homestead garden

Starting an Orchard




If you have a large amount of land that you have not put to use, you may consider planting an orchard. If you’ve had previous experiences with planting and maintaining trees, that is an added reason why you would be perfect for maintaining an orchard. It might seem like an overwhelming thing to undertake, but it is actually fairly simple. All it takes is some commitment.



If you’ve never grown a tree on your property, you might not want to make the time and money investment of buying lots of trees. If you are inexperienced, you will want to start with just one or two trees so that you can get a feel for the growing process. Once you have seen one tree along all the way to adulthood successfully, you are probably experienced enough to handle multiple trees. You should never plant so many trees that you are going to be overwhelmed, though. Only plant what you can handle.



Generally if you are getting started on a large amount of trees, you will want them to all be the same type. If they all require the same amount of water and nutrients, you won’t have to spend as much time catering individually to the different types of tree. As an added benefit, you will become very familiar with the process of growing that specific tree. You won’t be overwhelmed by having many different types, but instead you will become a master of that specific type.



If you already have a tree growing on your property that you have maintained from its childhood, then you know that the soil is acceptable for that type of tree and ones similar to it. Since you’ve already been through the process of growing that type of tree before, you shouldn’t have any problem testing all of the soil to make sure it is similar to the segment you already planted on. Then it is just a matter of growing more trees and causing the process to be the same as it was before. Since you’ve already dealt with the same problems in the past, you probably have a good idea of how to deal with any pests that might come about during growth.



Generally in an orchard, the trees are planted in a row, then pruned to be in a two dimensional shape. This is known as either a fan or an espalier shape. There is one main branch in the center that is completely vertical, then multiple branches that go off to the side. If the side branches are horizontal it is known as an espalier. If they are sloped, it is known as a fan. Generally these 2 shapes are used in orchards because of how compact they are. By using them, you allow for many more trees to be in the certain amount of space. However, if land conservation is not an issue or you’re not looking to be efficient, you should probably stick with the traditional tree shape.



To aid in the watering of your trees, you should install either a sprinkler system or an irrigation system. The sprinklers require more maintenance, but if you dig an irrigation ditch then it is really easy to just run the faucet for a few minutes every day and reach all the trees. It’s just a matter of what you would prefer.



Once your tree collection starts to bear large amounts of fruit, you can consider starting a fruit stand or participating at the farmers market. Instead of letting the fruits go to waste or trying to eat them all (which can lead to some bad stomach aches), you can let the rest of the world enjoy the product of your intense labor. If you become a popular vendor, you might even make back a decent return on your investment. However, you can’t count on making very much money. Starting an orchard shouldn’t be a capitalistic investment. You should only start one if you have a passion for fruit trees.

Welcome to fruit tree orchards for sustainable homesteaders

Welcome to the Fruit Tree Orchards for Sustainable Homesteads Blog.  As a home gardener and orchardist myself I am going to gather all the best information on growing fruit trees for sustainable homesteads and small farms.  Home fruit tree orchards are a key to sustainable local agriculture and a keystone to permaculture.  On this Fruit Tree Orchards for sustainable homesteaders blog will have the best information and articles on home fruit orchards.