[Bowtech]

Here is a pic of a small orchard we planted this spring. We planted 5 trees of 5 varieties to cover the the the growing season from August through November.
I think I'll need to fence it this fall though as the deer have hammered it already and nipped a number of the leaders. It will come again in the spring but we may have to replace a couple and do leader selection an extra year or two

 

[SIMPLELIFE]

Nice,got any Honey Crisp there

 

[Limit]

Bowtech, is it possible/recommended you pruin mature trees in the fall? Or strictly in the spring? Thanks

 

[Bowtech]

I don't have any honeycrisp in this lot but I have some down by the house in the nursery bed.

These ones are Jerseymac, Northern Spy, Summerland MacIntosh, Spartan and Ginger Gold.

The pond is not natural, it was done by DU although the spot in the field was always wet which is why we did the pond there.

The long poles are there because the Rootstock is M26 which is a semidwarf and they need to be staked until they develop a good root system. Some producers like the 14ft stake as it can support the tree and keep the leader upright when it starts bearing instead of lossing the leader. We'll be ordering another bunch in the spring to expand our small orchard. We'll be adding in some Honeycrisp, Red Cortland, Paula Red and Ambrosia.

Pruning for structure is usually done in the early spring while the trees are dormant. Summer pruning is usually done for leader selection. It stresses the tree more if you pruned in the summer. They say that you can prevent more water sprouts by summer pruning but it's usually not done here.

 

[good old boy]

I planted some apple trees as well this spring. 2 honey crisp and 2 empire. fenced them in already since the deer showed some interest. Bowtech, mine were 2 year old trees I picked up at sun nursarys in sussex. I staked them but only about three feet high. I never seen them with 14' stakes before. They seem to be doing O.K. I have been watering them every other day since planting in late June.

 

[Bowtech]

Cool I didn't know Sun Nursery carried apple trees. I did pick up a few pear trees from Cornhill.

We have 50 more in a nursery bed by the house and will be our "Deer orchard" trees which we will plant next spring. They are on Antonovaka rootstock which are about 90% seedling size so we can get them above the deer browsing.

These were ordered from Ontario. I figure to order another 100 for next spring. Hopefully will hav time to get them all in the ground

 

[good old boy]

Bowtech

So you order them from ontario, seedling size, and then plant them when there large enough? Who are you ordering them from in Ontario. Probably be a lot cheaper than getting two year old trees from the nursery. It's a bit of work to fence them in as well. I still have 6 oaks to fence in that I transplanted from my folks place in Evandale. At first I had a hard time getting the transplanted oaks to survive. Now I ribbon a few off in the fall and go dig them up for transplant as soon as the ground thaws and I can get a shovel in the ground.

 

[Bowtech]

No, I ordered 1-3 year old trees from Ontario and had them shipped. The stuff in the nurserybed was stuff I grafted the other year. I knew an apple producer who was putting in an order and went through him as they are a wholesale nursery.
I have done some transplanting on the oaks as well but this fall I'm thinking of just planting the nuts where I want them. I threw a bunch of "Floaters" in the garden and was surprised on how many germinated. So I thought of just getting some and planting them with the pottipuki as I walk through the cut. Let nature stratify them and see how they come in the spring.
I have a bunch in trays and pots right now which I think I'll plant after we get the rain this weekend.

 

[gone hunting]

Bowtech

So you order them from ontario, seedling size, and then plant them when there large enough? Who are you ordering them from in Ontario. Probably be a lot cheaper than getting two year old trees from the nursery. It's a bit of work to fence them in as well. I still have 6 oaks to fence in that I transplanted from my folks place in Evandale. At first I had a hard time getting the transplanted oaks to survive. Now I ribbon a few off in the fall and go dig them up for transplant as soon as the ground thaws and I can get a shovel in the ground.

Hey if you have trouble transplanting oaks I have an old trick that I heard of and tried it seemed to work great but have nothing to compare it to...lol, but it is easy and no extra trouble, so its worth a try.An old farmer told me that before you cut the main root of the oak, take a bearing with a compass and determine the direction of the main root and when you transplant it make sure the root is pointing in the same direction.I did this one year with a small oak about 2 feet high.The first 2 years I thought the twig had died, but the third year there was one leaf , and after that it grew like crazy and I gave it no special treatment after the transplant.Like I said it was about 2 feet when I planted it, and is now over 20 feet and a really large diameter base.I did this 10 years ago, who knows maybe thats normal growth but it sure did take off.Maybe this is just an old wives tail but for no extra work or money I think its worth it...lol.

 

[chadman]

The pond is not natural, it was done by DU although the spot in the field was always wet which is why we did the pond there.

Hey BT, wondering if you can share some details on how you got the pond done by DU? Do they require it to be public access or anything like that? any cost to the land owner?

 

[Wardo]

I don't want to hijack Chad's question, but I'd like to see the 2 year progress of your orchard. Did you end up planting 100 more?

 

[chadman]

Hey BT, the trees listed below, are they the ones you'd suggest for NB that would cover August til end of Nov?

I don't have any honeycrisp in this lot but I have some down by the house in the nursery bed.

These ones are Jerseymac, Northern Spy, Summerland MacIntosh, Spartan and Ginger Gold.