The Grounded Orchardist

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. One of the best things about working with fruit trees is you get to see all four seasons. It’s one of the many things I love about my job. The landscape changes, the trees change and the wildlife changes and we are here for the whole thing!

With each transition from one season to the next, there comes a few differences in orchard tasks.

Winter pruning

The main task with the transition from winter to spring is winter pruning of course. It sadly is not as simple as just getting the pruning finished at this time of year. Weather as always is a huge factor. Too wet and you risk spreading fungal diseases (saws are rubbish in the wet too)! Too cold and you risk damaging the tree. In theory, you should not prune in these conditions. It does get to the point though when you just have to get the job done regardless.

Taking off any brown rot

Any brown rot you can see needs to come off. Best practice is to get them out of your orchard or garden. Burn or put in council garden waste collection. Do not compost.

Tying in trees

Tying in trees is another big job. It is easier done now whilst dormant than when the leaves come in because you can see. This prevents wind rock. It limits branches and centre leaders snapping from birds sitting on them. Of course, it also helps the tree stay up.

Stamping in trees

Stamping in trees means standing up any trees that are not too big. These trees have fallen over in the constant storms we seem to get nowadays. Stand them up, move the soil over the roots and stamp them back in. Chances are they will still be rooted in the ground and in my experience should be fine. Once stamped back in tie in to a post to keep upright. I find this quite an enjoyable job. Choose a day when the ground is not frozen. This way, you can easily move the soil around the roots. Do this as soon as possible after they have fallen to avoid branches setting in an awkward position.

Getting any structures in shape

Posts that have fallen because of rotting in the ground or being bit by tractors need to be replaced. Wires need to be tightened or replaced where they have been accidently cut (Yep, we all do it!) or knocked.

Harvesting rootstock material

Harvesting rooted suckers. Another task I do now because there are no leaves so it’s easier to get into the tree. I need to cut the suckers out for the good of the tree. I might as well harvest any that have roots at the same time. This avoids vigour going into the rootstock and not the tree. I will then pot on the rooted suckers for in two years time to graft on.

Maintenance of bug hotels

Maintaining bug hotels is now a big job as an organic Orchardist trying to work alongside nature. Really the materials inside should be replaced every two or so years to avoid mites and fungal problems etc. Also there are more to be made and hung, and others to be fixed. This takes a while and is a good rainy/frosty day job. Do make sure when replacing materials that you are not throwing any hibernating bugs away, relocate where possible.

In a nutshell

So really this time of year really is about getting your orchard, structures and trees ready for the coming year. If you have a lot of trees, you need to work around the weather for the health of the orchard. However, this is not always possible. There are bound to be other jobs I have missed or that are relevant to your growing system. It’s an exciting time of year!