Hi there fellas. I have a one acre lot with fruit trees scattered here and there and everywhere. I have around 25 fruiting trees on the property consisting of Apples, Pears, Cherries, Plums, Peaches, and Nectarines.
I live in Northeastern Ohio about 20 miles from Lake Erie. We generally have pretty mild winters here, wet springs followed by a fairly hot and somewhat dry summer. I am familiar with my own climate and no other. Haha, so I guess that description is rather subjective. Anyway I am wondering if anybody has good success growing their fruit trees without a real irrigation system? I do not want to or even have the capability of running drip to all my trees. It’s just not practical the way I’m set up. I water my garden (veg, and ornamental) with a hose or a sprinkler whenever things get dry in July or August. Does anybody else have a similar gardening style to what I am describing? I have good success with my roses and other flowering shrubs with this approach and my trees have done well for the two years they have been in ground, but I have yet to harvest any substantial fruit since I am establishing the trees. I think this year (3rd growing season for many of my trees) I will allow certain trees to produce SOME fruit, but am just wondering how to go about watering. What is a good strategy? Thanks everyone!
I am in zone 6a with similar weather. We are on 5 acres and I have hundreds of trees and shurbs planted. I’d like to say that I always pay real close attention to watering when I first plant, but some times I don’t. I can’t remember anything ever dying due to me not watering. Of course, I should mention that we have a high water table where I live, that’s probably most of the reason that I am not having issues.
edited to say: @TNHunter and I were posting at the same time… I will second the mulch.
I live in an area with very drizzly winters and springs but hot and very dry summers. We get over 100 degrees and it will often not rain at all for a month or two. I went to a harvest festival last Sept. 30. They had a bunch of vegetables in their garden. I asked them how often they water them. They said, “Not one drop”. It was unbelievable. They are following the Back to Eden method from a guy Paul Gautschi, who made a film called I think Back to Eden. They mulch heavily like TN hunter. They said it wasn’t fool proof the first year, but they have been heavily mulching for years. We don’t get summer rain like a lot of you back East so it is considered gardenicide to do that here, especially with vegetables. You better believe that I have been doing heavy deep mulching since then.
It isn’t just mulch. It’s deep soil that holds lots of water from winter rains, and spacing out the plants. If the plants only cover 20% of the surface area with leaves, then each plant has 5 times as much water.
Well, mulch today turns into deep soil tomorrow(or in a couple of years). That’s why they said that it might need to be more than the first year. Steve Solomon also wrote about spacing plants wider if not using irrigation.
I also use biochar for that reason. It retains 6 times its volume in water underground.
Trailer and 3 totes filled with about 200 gallons in each one. About once a week during the summer. About 200 trees. I use a trash pump from HF to fill them from the pond. Sometimes 2-3 trips. Can’t afford irrigation……yet.
i get similar rain as you folks. but dont get the heat as much. i try to water occasionally the 1st month planted if not enough rain but most times, just mulching them is good enough. my clay soil holds lots of moisture also.
Well…they’ve done well compared to the rest of my garden. Healthy green growth, good vigor, no wilt, little disease of any kind. They’ve done well/as good compared to my non fruiting trees and shrubs.
The only problem I’ve had with my trees is the deer taking a fancy to then, and either bacterial spot, or peach leaf curl on a Mericrest Nectarine tree I’ve got. It’s apparently on a dwarf rootstock, but I’ve no idea what. I suspect this may be part of its problem. Though I did harvest a single fruit from it last summer and it was by far the best daggun nectarine I ever ate. Hah!
Fruitnut, I’m not quite understanding what you’re saying here about leaves. Can you elaborate? And what do you mean deep soil? Just a deeper topsoil layer before you reach clay/caliche/etc?
Gotcha. Thanks for clarifying. I agree that we likely get enough rain here in Ohio to avoid the need for a real organized irrigation setup, but it’s been nice to hear everyone else’s opinions and experience!
Beautiful garden! if your fruit trees are growing enough to make sufficient wood and satisfiable yields then you’re set. E.g. 18"-24" of growth is expected from a peach/nectarine that is under 5 years.
This is my experience growing in Portland, OR. I grow my veggies in a raised beds (12"-17" deep) filled with all organic matter (sawdust, peat moss, compost etc.) I mulch with 2 to 3 inches of wheat straw but none of my veggies will yield or even survive if I don’t water in the month of July and August. Last year I added a dedicated drip irrigation zone and had the best harvest compared to the years before where we had to hand water it with a hose. A friend who grows for CSA and farmers market irrigates his 3 acres for those two months as well.
