If you are a hobby orchardist and not a professional farm, what layout for planting trees do you prefer?
Same space checkerboard layout.
Rows of trees with paths between the rows.
Trees planted randomly.
Any other options?
5 Likes
I think that is going to depend on what you want the space to do. Is it geared toward production?, Do you prefer solid rows or would you prefer freedom to move throughout?. Then you will need to adjust your roots, planting distance, cultivars, and training style from there.
Nice topic!
My intention with the plot of land I reserved for my orchard is threefold:
- Growing fruit
- Have some shade underneath the trees so I have a better chance to grow vegetables (for personal use) and young trees and perennials (for sale) in our intense summer heat and drought
- Have a nice place to walk around and relax
For that I want my fruit trees to grow a bit taller than the average hobby grower will, so I will have good working space under the tree canopy.
My orchard is not a perfect rectangle, and there were already some mature trees in it, and thatās actually very nice. It creates the opportunity to make the paths not perfectly straight, so you canāt see the whole orchard at once, there are surprises waiting around every corner. To add to that, I planted many different trees all mixed up. Some grapefruits, some (blood) oranges, apples, pears, berries, and a lot of different stone fruits. A picknick table and a barbecue will be added.
All my fruit trees are very young, they have all been planted this winter and early spring. Last year it was still bramble jungle, and littered with plastic and other trash. So it will not be finished any time soon.
8 Likes
i have mine planted in strait rows 15ft apart with fruit bushes, medicinal plants and herbs planted around the trees. easy to mow this way and is fairly neat looking. because of the lay of my land i had to orient the rows from west to east. north to south would be more preferable.
2 Likes
Never really considered any other option than straight rows when I laid it out and planted it six years ago. At the time I was doing all my lawn maintenance and I donāt live in my Orchard. I had to make it simple four rows six trees per row except one row it only has four. About 30 to 40 feet of blueberries on it in the middle. Everything has a 6 inch black border with cardboard and no float mulch trees are spaced 20 feet apart. I have plenty of room.
My Lawn guys just love it. They zoom around throwing grass everywhere and sometimes tearing up a border Iām fine with it. Easy to replace. They tend to throw grass inside the circle, which is fine. It actually looks better Mid summer because the grass covers up the cardboard adds another layer weeding protection
4 Likes
those 0 turn mowers sure make quick work of it. someday ill invest in one. my 52in. cub cadet gets it done in the meantime.
3 Likes
In my new orchard my trees are planted in rows that follow the curve of the county road.
It is a long mild curve and as you drive along it.. my first row of trees are all the same distance from the road.
My second, third and fourth rows do the same.
TNHunter
5 Likes
Sounds like you did some careful planning I did very little planning six years ago. If I had to do over again, I would take a little bit different of approach. I had this area next to my pond, plenty of sunshine. Why not just start an orchard, I like fruit , how hard can it be?
3 Likes
Straight rows.. with 6-8 foot spacing between trees and 12 foot between rows. I want all smaller trees and plan on them being cramped until i decide which ones make the cut here. I figure alot will not.
Bird feeders and nests in each orchard. Habitat for predators in each orchard.. no mowing in the tree rows only in the walkways for awhile.
No spraying of any chemicals. I figure the prey will cause more predators in time. Plus i want all birds and bees to have offspring.. so they are welcome to fruit or prey..whichever they need to do what they do.
Mine are all āhobbyā orchards.. So i mixup all fruit trees so that there are rarely two together of the same. Pear, E.Plum, Apple, Peach,J.Plum, A.Pear, Persimmon, Mulberry..etc etc.. sometimes it happens but i try to keep them mixed up.
My orchards are more or less a cause of me being a Biophile of sorts- a need to connect with nature, which improves mental health, reduces stress, and boosts well-being.
Fruit trees have a dual purpose for me.. the challenge as well as the connection to nature that they bring with the plethora of living creatures that call my orchards home.
I do understand the need or desire for abundance of pristine fruit.. but i am totally fine with 1/100th of my crops.
I also have a tendency to collect and hoard things that i enjoy.. so i must have all of the things that interest me..which is cumbersome but the reward is worth the effort.
I dont suggest anyone to do things at my level at all.. but if you do decide to plant a āhobby orchardā for nature.. and somewhat for yourself.. it can be enjoyable to some to experience Nature vs. Nurture.
8 Likes
My āorchardā is my suburban backyard. O have planted trees to make the yard look attractive (to me, anyway) trying to give them some sun.
So thereās sort of a row of dwarf trees behind the house, just above the retaining ā¦ slope. Iām on a hill, and the back of the house is below grade. There is a row of berries just between the trees and the top of the slope. Thereās a garden patch with more berries in the back. It used to get sun, but the oaks have gotten larger, so it doesnāt any more. I have some pots lining the staircase that leads from the back door to the garage, and those hold tomatoes and chives and scallions and parsley and basil. Thereās also a newer garden patch on the side yard, where i removed a white pine. In theory it has clumping bamboo, raspberries, ramps, scallions, and a young apple tree, that could take over if it chose. In practice, it mostly has weeds, although the ramps and scallions are doing okay. The bamboo was eaten by deer over the winter, but i expect it will recover.
Anyway, think ālandscaping with fruitā
1 Like
Rows with paths between them for me. Makes pruning and harvesting so much easier when you can actually get to both sides of a tree without trampling anything. Random planting looks nice but I always end up regretting it when the trees fill out and access becomes a nightmare.
1 Like
hybrid, balancing aesthetic, efficiency, sun hours, and garden beds.
1 Like
I prefer rows with a lot of space between the rows. I think it allows the wind to dry the trees better after it rains. Perhaps making fungus not as bad. I also like the rows so the sun can get more of the apples on the trees.
2 Likes
In rows but sort of random. When I started I only wanted a few fruit bushes and a couple of trees, space wasnāt limited so everything was spread out. Then the addiction began and I started planting things closer. I began cramming things together even when I knew I should space them further apart. I began putting bushes between trees and flowers between bushes. Sticking vegetables anywhere they would fit. Asparagus and strawberries under grape vine trellises (poor choice, ask if interested). Comfrey, onions and garlic everywhere. Last winter I expanded the fenced area to have more space, itās full and I am trying to decide how to expand it more, after all I āneedā more of the disease resistant apples and pears I have been reading about on this forum. Oh yeah I need more peaches and plums, maybe an apricot or two. Jujubes, blackberries, raspberries, persimmonsā¦..got to have moreā¦.
4 Likes
If you are at all limited on land, rows seems to be the way to go.
Hereās a rough drawing I made of my plans.
Now, with more than half planted, things are slightly different, but pretty similar. One difference is that I decided to do a 5ā tall trellis (Kiwi and muscadine) along the E & W fence, about 5ā from the fence. The goal being to deter deer from jumping over the 6ā fence by crowding the landing area.
Most of the rows are North-South (North is (mostly) up in the drawing), but there are East-West rows at the bottom. That is because there are trees around the bottom of the yard, so that area has the least sun. Which means Iāve mostly planted berries there, which are smaller and thus have smaller row spacing.
The spacing in the NS rows ranges from 15āx15ā (peaches and plums get this), while apples, pears and jujubes get a range of spacing. A few are at very tight 5āx12ā spacing, which will need lots of pruning.
The EW rows at the bottom of the yard are all 10ā wide, with the berry bushes at tighter spacing, often 4-5ā. I could probably gone down to 8ā rows, but figured that with the area getting less sun, it was good to give things enough room.
There are also a few EW rows close to the house, of borderline hardy plants which are good to put near the house. Mostly figs and blackberries, though persimmons would also qualify.
Hereās a pic of it so far:
I havenāt done this, but have seen one which came out very nice. The problem is that you need either unlimited space or limited desires. It was an orchard that Alan maintained for a very wealthy family. They actually had a soccer field and wild-flower meadow on the property as well, so there was plenty of space, I believe about 60 acres, though less than 2 acres was orchard.
Hereās a satellite view and a close-in pic. There are ~35 trees in 3/4 of an acre here. At that density, random placement makes for a very nice park-like feel.
If you are sure you wonāt ever spay, then that can work well. If you change your mind and want to spray later, it becomes a bit tricky to treat just one type of tree if they are mixed in everywhere. When I first started, I didnāt want to spray. Then moved on to spraying surround only. Now I spray whatever needs it to grow good fruit.
5 Likes
My path as well. Landscaping with fruit is a nice way to say ut. I could fit a lot more if I was just going for density but mine is a suburban front yard. (Corner house, its all the front)
My experience also.
The previous owner of my house planted most of my trees and there are apples, peaches, pears, pawpaw and persimmons all mixed up.
I almost immediately found I had to spray. Some trees were losing all their leaves by July due to disease and insects. It wasnāt a trivial matter of just cutting them down either - many are very large and at the time, Iād never cut down anything larger than a skinny western pine - and also I wanted to try and grow the fruit.
Even after pruning, tree removal, and spraying Iām still having problems because some are still in bloom while others need to be sprayed and they have canopies which are touching
2 Likes
I have a fairly steep slope in my backyard. I planted mostly hybrid persimmons in a N-S row going down the hill. There are a couple persimmon rootstock on the woodline at the bottom I havenāt yet grafted. I decided this year to put an apple tree in to beginning of the row (later graft other varieties to it). In the middle of the yard are several large locust trees that give me a touch of privacy from distant neighbors the next hill over in the winter. Otherwise, theyād be gone. It would take 40 years for a tree to get as tall as I need it with the slope.
I had a volunteer pear seedling on the yard perimeter in near full sun that has a number of pear varieties. Just up from that is 3 pawpaw trees. On the other perimeter I planted blackcap raspberries. Iām still deciding on where to put Triple Crown blackberries. I have a couple fig trees and aronia bushes on the side of the house. At the bottom of the yard is a woodlot. I accidently took a chainsaw to all the callery pears and white mulberries and just happened to have scions of tasty varieties that I stuck on the stump to make it look better. The sticks just so happened to be growing from the stumps for the past few years.
3 Likes
What was the old orchard like?
Never thought of that. All my trees are generally mixed up. Although 5 years ago I tried to group the peaches.
1 Like