While this saves a lot of time digging, simply planting in a mound could cause problems, no? For example, the mound washes away in a storm/wind, exposing the roots, they dry out and die. Your Golden Delicious planted this way last year looks normal. Are you saying the roots sort of “suck down into the earth” after a year and the tree is normal from then on?
Well this is only 1 phase of my ‘wrong’ orchard. Since you mentioned it…upcoming i will show you 6 or so trees that i did dig holes but i amended them 100 percent. These are on the top of a creek bank in which I used an excavator to dig out the creek, so that soil is creek rock and silt mostly. I dug holes with my sharpshooter shovel and post hole digger and filled in the holes with my home made soil. (top soil from my barn project, mixed with horse, pig, rabbit, cow and chicken manures, along with biochar, woodchips, shredded leaves, worm castings and wood ashes). So these will be planted in very poor conditions in amended holes. These are trees that i had doubles of… and dont really care if they live or die. Some peaches, nectarines, apricots etc.
Also in later months i will no longer do any kind of drip lines or mulching around the base of the trees. I will instead focus on the health and nutrition of the walkways and aisles…
I just put in a long row of black raspberries that i also did no till and no digging. I piled leaves deeply in preparation last Fall and i pulled them back this spring to find the soil soft and moist and workable with my hands. The most worms i have seen yet all fat and thriving. They have been tilling for many months.
As i noted earlier i have a row of raspberries in this orchard. Reds and Yellows along with Boysen and Blackberries in that same row… the blacks will be planted about 10 feet away… which the old tales are not to do.
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Im not coming to any conclusions…just showing pics before and during and after.
Not saying that the roots suck down into the earth just saying that there is gravity going on. I know that the roots were above the ground a year ago and now they are below the ground.
I will expand on the ‘mounds’.
A wheelbarrow or two of my mix… i step it all in tight and compact. I then insert my sharpshooter and then make a pocket for the roots. I then step that in tight. I then top dress with woodchips and manure heavily. I also only do this right before it rains.
This soil that im using is so full of organics that it almost acts like clay, it holds moisure for a very long time.
This is more work than digging a hole…but less work with me not having to water or fertilize or wait for the roots to penetrate who knows what surrounding my hole… so far it seems to give the roots a boost and the trees seem to be happy. Perhaps im wrong.
Thank the universe for tractors with post hole diggers! We’ve used this method to open up our clay base for all but one of our fruit trees. It’s a back saver!
Our mound planted trees are stable - no wind lean or falling over, to date. But we enlarge the mounds, not only for lateral root growth, but to provide area for guild plantings to attract pollinators.
Now planting the wisteria was another story…pick axe and hard labor, digging out old surface asphalt, rock fill and the underlying clay, because the location was inaccessible for the tractor. Nope! not doing that again.
Adding more info to my wrong orchard. I ordered almost all of these trees in the Fall. Shipped to me starting around March.
I will probably keep my blueberries that i purchased this spring in pots and plant them in the Fall.
So even though i received all of my trees in the Spring and purchased some locally…
SPRING is NOT the BEST TIME to PLANT Trees and Shrubs!
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My community has their gardens plowed and tilled now in preparation for growing corn.
I am growing crimson clover instead. Planted this in november in preparation to grow corn. And early bee forage.
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Spring planting will allow the plants to grow over the season while fall planting the plant will focus on root growth first in my experience. It depends on what you want to prioritize. The spring growth will allow the tree to produce earlier while the fall may allow a heavier crop later. In the end they turn out the same in the long run.
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A field of crimson clover is a sight to behold. It’s so beautiful in addition to the other benefits.
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I have been watching aphids on my newest Clark’s crabapple. Its my only tree hit by aphids right now.
Instead of spraying and asking for help i just watched. Last week i saw some ladybugs and this week….
Ladybug larvae. These lil guys are voracious and this means i will have more ladybugs.
Probably wouldnt have gotten this enjoyment if I sprayed.
Thanks @clarkinks for helping me add more ladybugs to my orchard.
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Wow, what a great pic. It’s like you paid them to pose.
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My guess would be those are the green apple aphids.There are three types of aphids. There is the green apple aphids, rosy apple aphids, and woolly apple aphids. Aphids are attracted to sap which means that apple has more of what those aphids want.
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2 month update. Near drought conditions. Creeks are dry. Yet things are looking good. Floor and walkways are pure white clover. Bees are working even with no fruit trees in flower.
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There was a caterpillar on Red Cinnamon apple. Wasp said “mmm” and flew off with it…gone from my orchard.
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Looks similar to my orchard as well except on flatter land.
I even have an apple tree that has same slingshot crotch.
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Its just been a ‘front yard’ as far as i can tell for well over 100 years…maybe 150. It gets very good bird and bee and all kinds of other predator traffic. Both sides are mountains so i am in a valley. Lots of habitat for just about everything. Im hoping to see snakes make a comeback. I have seen several garter snakes this year nothing else. Lots of frogs hatched in my little pond and they are eating bugs.
I havent seen any bats yet… they usually are very thick here in the evenings.
Hummingbirds arent messing with my feeders… they are eating little bugs now probably feeding babies.
I saw a handful of baby praying mantis yesterday…several assassin bugs…lots of new wasps that i havent seen before.
My dogs are becoming of age and have been shredding my woodchips and manure and finding voles… yay.
I got a wheelbarrow of woodchips a few days ago and dug into it and the largest lizards i have ever seen came out of the pile like 5 of them…they were eating ant eggs.
I am a hobby entomologist… i get so fascinated with bugs and the things that eat them… and the bugs that those bugs and on and on.
I am getting a new respect for wasps. I saw some little mean ones all over some tiny bugs on my berry plants.
Spiders are tearing it up now too… ive been watching their webs inbetween the limbs and in the berry bushes. They eat alot of bugs for sure.
There is alot going on with insects and i lose all kinds of time watching them… its great.
Even though my trees are young…life has changed in the ‘yard’. It seems to invite life of all kinds… its becoming an orchard and a habitat.
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Ok this was a kind of bad idea. I finally got my corn planted in late May… the clover stayed in full bloom and got very thick and red and the bees absolutely loved it…
It hasnt rained at all… and i will likely have a poor corn crop… i have started hosing down what i can but i wish i would have gotten my corn planted much much earlier. Some of the corn wont germinate due to lack of water…and i cant keep what i have planted watered well enough.
Mistake on my part… Wrong.
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I really enjoy reading about your orchard. I could visualize the valley and clover. Good job at painting a picture. Even the struggling corn ha.
I accidentally posted to the wrong thread. I meant to comment here.
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The old timers were the smart ones.
In my orchard the sun arrives about 1.5 hrs after where they grew their food. Likely why it was a yard.
My valley is tight and obviously the trees werent as thick 100 years ago.
Its a blessing sometimes and a challenge other times.
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I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken…
I missed this thread earlier. Great pics Kris.
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Well played! That got an audible laugh out of me!
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