Maintaining the Orchard
Maintaining a productive orchard is a lot of work.
The large orchard surrounding my pool includes more than 200-fruit trees. There are apple trees, plum trees, cherry trees, peach, pear, medlar, and quince trees. Since it was first planted in 2017, these trees have provided so many wonderful fruits. To keep them healthy and looking their best, we prune and feed them regularly. And yesterday, my outdoor grounds crew started the task of manicuring the pits under every tree, adding nutrient-rich mulch made right here at my farm.
Enjoy these photos.
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- This is my orchard in summer when all the trees are filled with sweet, juicy fruits.
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- I grow lots of peaches. Peach trees thrive in an area where they can soak up the sunshine throughout the day. Growing peach trees are self-fruiting, which means the pollen from the same flower or variety can pollinate the tree and produce fruit.
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- In another row are the Asian pears – we had so many pears last year. I planted many types of Asian pear, Pyrus pyrifolia, which is native to East Asia. These trees include Hosui, Niitaka, Shinko, and Shinseiko.
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- Some of the other pears in the orchard are Bartlett, Columbia, D’Amalis, Ginnybrook, McLaughlin, Nova, Patten, Seckel, Stacyville, and Washington State.
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- These are the fruits of the medlar, Mespilus germanica – a small deciduous tree and member of the rose family.
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- And of course, I have a section of delicious apples. I already grow hundreds of apple trees here at the farm – some that were here when I acquired the property and others I planted soon after moving here. These orchard apple trees include Baldwin, Black Oxford, Cortland, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Esopus Spitzenburg, Fuji, Golden Russet, Grimes Golden, Honeycrisp, Liberty, Redfield, Roxbury Russet, Windham Russet, and more.
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- We almost always have a good amount of apples during apple season which is late-August to November. My granddaughter, Jude, loves to come up to the farm to make apple cider in the fall.
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- But in order for an orchard to be productive, it must get regular and good care. Orchards need proper fertilizing, irrigating, pruning, and mulching. This was my orchard yesterday after the pits were cleaned and the edges redefined.
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- My compost and mulch is made right here at the farm. Do you know the difference between the two? Mulch is mostly cut down wood chips. It serves as a good insulator to keep in moisture. Compost is the biologically active material that results from decomposition of organic matter – it feeds the soil. This mulch is a combination of chips, horse manure, and leaf mold double processed through the tub grinder.
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- Wheelbarrows full of mulch are transported to each tree pit, or area directly beneath each tree.
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- This is done in a production line process. Mulch is dropped at a number of tree pits first, so there is no waiting later.
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- Compost heat is produced as a by-product of the microbial breakdown of organic material. Here, one can see a little bit of the steam as it cools.
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- Phurba makes sure each pit is evenly covered. The edge helps to keep the mulch inside the pit when it rains. And notice, there is also a bare circle around the tree trunk to make sure the mulch does not keep the tree from aerating properly.
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- He uses a hard rake to make it tidy and creates a slight mound for good drainage away from the tree. Keep in mind, these tree pits do not need a lot of mulch – just about two or three inches deep. Too much mulch will suffocate and kill the tree. And always remember, “bare to the flare”, which means nothing should ever be above the tree’s flare – the point where the tree stops widening at the bottom.
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- It’s a good idea to mulch around trees in spring as soon as the ground is workable. Mulch reduces weeds, conserves moisture, and improves the soil, which helps the trees stay healthy.
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- Tree pits can be any shape. I decided to make each of these four-feet square. In a few years, after the trees have matured, we may enlarge the pits, but this size is perfect for now.
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- I love the geometric design of all the square pits.
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- Many of the trees are already flowering. Depending on variety, peach tree blooms range in color from pale pink to bold pink, with deep magenta or pink blushing near the center.
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- Apple blossoms range from white to dark pink. And In late spring, after the blossoms are pollinated, the petals drop off and small apples begin to form.
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- And here are the flowers of a pear tree. Pear blossoms first appear as small, tightly closed green buds that open to broad, slightly wavy white petals. I am looking forward to a bountiful fruiting season.
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