Paint the Trunks!
Fall Clean-up
Here are some important tips for autumn clean-up in your orchard to ensure healthy trees and better fruit production for next year.
See more...HOW TO: Fall Fertilizing
A - Keeping it Simple!
Right after Harvest, You can give the trees another application of Fertilizer similar to our Spring/Summer suggestions. Or, spread about 2 to 5 pounds of compost per tree in a 6" band around the drip line, under the mulch. (Keep away from the Trunk!)
If it's later in the fall: sit back....enjoy the view of the School Orchard, do nothing, think about the pleasures of Dormancy...... Lucky trees!
B - Hey, wait a minute what's going on here!
All that food and stuff from the leaves (starches, carbohydrates, sugars, pigments, water etc. etc.) has been retrieved (sucked back actually) by the trees..... before they actually dropped the leaves. All that food is stored in the trunk and roots. In the Spring, before there can be any energy production from leaves, the "sap" will come rushing up from storage to fuel the whole works. Vermonters will tap off some as "Maple Syrup" for Pancakes, and Southeast Alaskans will tap off "Birch Syrup" for their biscuits. It's sweet 'cause it's loaded with sugars and Energy.
See more...VIDEO: Fruit Tree Care with Chuck Ingels (PART 1)
Chuck Ingels is a master teacher on schoolyard-scale orchards and a dear friend of Common Vision. In this 2-hour segment he goes through the basics of fruit tree care. Below the videos we have outlines that break down the subjects so you can skip to the sections you need. Some of this is more complex then you need to know. Please contact us with any questions.
See more...HOW TO: Harvesting
A - "Keeping it Simple"
B - "More in Depth"
VIDEO: Fruit Tree Care with Chuck Ingels (PART 2)
Chuck Ingles, UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor, continues his presentation to a class of UC Master Gardeners about home orchards. Topics include pruning practices, fruit thinning, budding and grafting, growing citrus trees and pest management for fruit trees. This 60-minute presentation was recorded in the Sacramento Valley of California.
See more...
