We have a location on our property that is already cleared where I wanted to put our Apple orchard.
I intend to put solar electric fencing around it, since it won’t be within view of where we setup homestead.
We cannot afford another 5000 gallon water tank so I got a 6000 gallon swimming pool that I will use to store water for the apple trees. We are also using PVC piping when planting to train the roots to go deep to help find their own water source as they mature. I also sprinkled Mykos on the roots and in the hole when planting in hopes to help the roots grow.
We have already put some of our trees in the ground (none are apple trees). We planted our Asian plums and pluots in one area, and then right next to them, we put the European plums. The two peaches and one nectarine are in a different location next to each other. It seems like common sense to me to put what pollinates what near each other.
I realized, after the fact that, I did not consider bloom time. We only have three European plums, but I do have two more on order, so placement may have mattered.
We planted our trees 12 feet apart from each other.
I’m pretty sure all of our apples are on M111, will 12ft be sufficient?
Also, now I am considering bloom-time, but I also will have a lot more apples (mostly on order) than any other fruit trees.
Should I break them up in pollination groups and then plant them in that order? I have seen charts where they tell you what pollination group an apple is in.
I will have 23 apple trees all together so I think I should try to plant them in order by pollination group.
Does that sound like a good plan?
15 feet on the M111 is more desirable, but I think you’ll be ok at your arrangement. A little extra pruning may be needed. I have some close as 13 but they are not 10 years old yet.
12 probably better M106 or G.890
I don’t think that you need to be concerned with grouping by bloom time unless you’re planting over a huge area. The pollinators will visit the blooming trees at any given time and don’t mind flying around a bit to hit them all.
Sounds like you have a very good plan. You should give some thought to a cover crop in your orchard that includes legumes such as vetch, and crimsom clover. These will help attract pollinators while enriching your soil. Also see if you have a tree service in your area that will deliver his waste wood chips, wood chips would be an ideal source of mulch. Mulching each tree out just slightly beyond their drip lines will not only save you water but will boost your rate of growth and the productivity by conserving moisture where your feeder roots migrate outwards and to the surface. Finally, you can order either Canadian or European crawlers that burrow deep into the soil aerating it and helping to fertilize it with their droppings. These are all natural ways to enhance the soil fertility. As your wood chips breakdown the natural mycelium that breaks the cellulose into soil particles will also help feed your plants, so plan on renewal of your chips annually.
Good luck
Dennis
Kent, wa
I ditto what BlueBerry says here. I have mostly M111 apple trees and you will need 15’ or do some pruning to keep them away from each other.