Do you have fish in that pond?
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Yes, we have Large Mouth Bass, Brook trout, rainbow trout, Sunfish and Golden Orfe (see link below) The Orfe is a distant cousin of the goldfish but is not a pest and does not eat plant matter so they donât muck up the pond. The live mainly on insects (and pellets in my pond)
Mike
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Wow! Great work!!! Itâs so beautiful. Man, you have a truly fantastic setup.
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That is a fantastic orchard! That kid will be eating well!
John S
PDX OR
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In the words of the Beatles, âYouâve got everything you needâ - Seeing family here.
âSatisfaction guaranteedâ. Seeing your successful orchard there.
Maybe thatâs a bit overstated, but no doubt some treasures all around you.
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Not overstated at all.
I consider myself fortunate that I lucked out and have both.
It only took eight stitches and two trips to Urgent Care over a period of six years. Not bad 
Mike
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Awesome orchard, very inspiring! I assume those are standard 2.5" chain link posts? How deep did you set those and were they just stuck in the ground or set in concrete? What spacing did you use for the posts and for the trees? Also, I noticed that by the 7th pic, you had added some sort of T-shaped attachment to the top of the poles. What is the purpose of those?
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@AtlantaFruitForest
Thanx for the kind words.
The fence posts are set 10 feet apart and are set in concrete.
The posts of the espalier trellis are 10 footers that were driven 2 feet into the ground by an excavatorâs bucket.
Each row is about 100 feet long and each has two end posts and two inside posts with each inside post being about 30 feet from the end. The inside posts are only 1 1/2 inch.
The T structures you see at the top was a failed experiment to provide support for netting. They are plain pvc and I ran some 12 gauge monofilament wire length and witdthwise to support the netting. BUT, alas, the area was just too large for me and three friends to try and stretch the netting over it as we did not have the right equipment to handle the large netting. If you zoom in you can make out the wire
The experiment failed but I kept the wires up. They seem to have some deterrent effect on their own or maybe my bird pressure is not as great as I had estimated it to be(once I got rid of the cherries, at least)
Mike
Looks great! How long does it take you to get to your orchard? I also donât live at my orchard and usually only get out there one day per week. Itâs about a 45 minute drive. I tend to rotate my focus each year. So one year the grapes will look good, the next year the garden will look tidy, and the next year a few rows of fruit trees will look good. Iâm always playing catch-up.
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Steven,
My orchard is about a 130-40 mile drive for me. In season, ( late March to Thanksgiving) I try to leave my office on Thursdays after 7:30 p.m. (rush hour) and then it takes me about 2 hours and 15 minutes because the trip includes 120 miles on the NYS Thruway and at that hour traffic usually mooooves!!!.
I then stay until Sunday p.m. On a Friday or during rush hour it could take 4+ hours.
This year I am thinking of planting some table grapes between the trees and using the trees themselves and the wires as supports.
Will be interesting. Wish me luck
Mike
.
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@MES111 Mike,
Have you ever had damage to your orchard including fruit being stolen done by humans?
I would like to find a piece of land to grow more fruit trees but am more concerned about humans than animals.
Your orchard is inspiring.
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No human predation. Although my orchard does have a lock on the chain link fence and it is on a dead end road so it does not have too much incidental passerbyâs .
Mike
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Wow. That is an awesome looking orchard 
Love how everything is done and how well it is all put together!
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I just updated the original post with some photo from the 2019 season.
2020 HERE I COME
MIKE
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Thanks for all the good info. Too bad the bird netting experiment failed. I used bird netting for the first time this year and while it served its purpose well, it is such a pain to deal with. Gets caught on everything, including itself.
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Spacing of the trees is 9 feet apart. I know that this is close but below is my calculus and factors that I considered in the design of the orchard. Keep in mind that I can only get to the Orchard from Friday p.m. to Sunday p.m. so maintenance time is at a premium
- With four arms to the espalier I have a potential of 72 feet ( 9 feet x 4 scaffolds x 2 sides =72) of branches growing horizontally, fully open to the sun for maximum light utilization
- With the growing branches being completely exposed to the wind, the tree dries out more quickly after a rain with potential decrease in fungal & bacterial issues. Easier to spot problems earlier too.
- I can let scaffolds of adjoining trees overlap so the same 9 foot spread is supporting two different varieties in the same space.
- There is an added benefit in regards thinning so as not to allow a tree to overbear. We try to thin, apples for example, to no less than 8 inches apart. Well sometimes the spacing of the clusters donât co-operate. With the overlap, I can thin each variety to 8 inches but still have fruit every 4-5 inches. So the same 9 foot area is being used to support more individual fruits. Just adds a little flexibility as it does not always work out so neatly
- If one variety is too fruitful or is too aggressively ( I know, we love to complain about everything) impacting its neighbor, I can prune it back.
- With the open espalier we have to be more mindful of sun scalding. The overlap adds more of a leaf canopy to help a little. Also keeping the top scaffold bushier with leaves works to offer more protection from the hottest mid-day sun directly overhead. The morning and later afternoon sun are not as much of a scalding issue.
- I am 5â11" so I can add a 5th scaffold which would top off at 84 inches and still be within hand reach for me or easily for others with a 3 foot step-ladder
- With the espalier it makes a quick job of any needed spraying. I am linking to a You tube video where I show my home made sprayer using a power washer
I am also attaching a diagram that might make what I just said make more sense
Just my 2 cents
MIKE
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@MES111, you probably mentioned already but what rootstocks are your trees on? If i remember they are on b9?
Most are M111
Despite amendments over the years, I have a heavier clayish soil.
I have 2-3 on B-9 but mostly M111
Mike
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