I have just got hold of an orchard, it is a bit overgrown though. Unfortunately, I am having problems uploading pictures, at the moment, so there are no accompanying images. I will try to understand why and try upload some images later.
How does one "get hold of an orchard?" Was it a gift, are you leasing it? What fruits are hiding in the underbrush? Whichever, you'll have it whipped into shape soon, and it will be productive and lovely. More photos of your progress, please!
I know someone who has just bought a house, and with it came a few parcels of land. She hasn´t got the strength to look after them, so she offered us the orchard to look after and have the apples as well as a plot of land to grow more vegetables. The trees were covered with hops and brambles and other nefarious vines. After a while with the brushcutter, the progress is evident. There are 2 rows of 6 trees which are supported by wires. They have been neglected a few years and some of them have really outgrown their trellises, so I´m probably going to remove the wires. Today, my wife came to help me and we spent a few more hours cleaning up a bit more.
Oh mate---what a nice thing to do. Congrats to you for taking it on. You won't be disappointed, I think.
We went back again for a third time today and made more progress. This looks down onto the apple trees. In the foreground will be another garden patch after the brambles are removed.
We went back today, I nearly cleared the field above the apple terrace, but then I ran out of petrol. I may finish it off today, or I will be under the car doing mechanics. The apples from above. Some of the trees have lovely shapes. The people that live nearby told me they are lovely apples.
I am curious to know what sorts of apples you have there in the orchard. I hope that you will be able to conclude your winterizing before the winter comes.
Well the first one is a red apple I am informed, beyond that, no idea. Some of the apples have suckers so I will transplant them and graft too. I don´t think I need to prune them back too-heavilly, except for a couple that need to be stopped from growing to high, otherwise it is dead wood and lots of smaller branches. I am going to get some well composted pheasant manure and spread it around. There are 12 apples and one plum tree. Yesterday, I went back and did some more work on my orchard, but I lost a bolt from my machine, so was unable to continue. I will wait until the trees are fully dormant until I try some major pruning.
Good heavens Odif, you found an orchard in that mess! Now you are finding a vegetable garden under the brambles. Seek and ye shall find, but only after a lot of hard work.
There is an apple tree in here somewhere. This is part of the same property with the orchard. No, in fact there are two apples here. It is starting to get dark, so I will finish this another day. This cherry tree will need a bit of attention too.
