Pruning 101

 

         The pruning class for apple and peach trees had a great turnout. A few farmers and customers cracked some jokes about us using the class as a way to get our pruning done...but as simple as the concept is, I'm sure the people who showed up for the event soon realized, it takes practice and know-how to prune accurately. To help Gary a few veteran pruners come out, Brett, Buffy, and Maher, so the group of 20 or so students that day split up into manageable groups to get the basics, but also hands-on experience necessary to understand what each tree needs, based on age, variety, and type of fruit tree. The day was bitter, right before that 6 inch random snow we had last week, so around 11, the troupe came in for a coffee break by the fire, then continued until after lunch.

For those of you who missed it, the basics:

Have sharp equipment, depending on how tall your tree is, may need a pole saw to reach those top cuts. Large shears.

-First step, renewing cut. This is where you take out the overly large branches that are at the top or near the top of the tree, while leaving a leader branch at the utmost top. The purpose of this step is to keep the tree clear of old thick wood that isn't fruitful. Peach trees should look like a bowl to allow sunlight to filter into the middle of the tree. Apple trees should look like a triangle with larger supporting branches on bottom and thinner fruitful branches leading upward. 

-Second step, clearing out the muck, remember, two-year old wood fruits so don't prune too many branches that have buds, and leave some for fruiting next year. The purpose of this step is to make room for you to access and pick the fruit, but mostly, so that sunlight can reach all the fruit on the tree after bloom. This will give you riper fruit with a better blush (color).  

Resources:

TREES:

ADAMS COUNTY NURSERY

https://www.acnursery.com/

WAFLER NURSERY

http://www.waflernursery.com/

BOYER NURSERIES

www.boyernurseries.com/ 

BERRIES:

INDIANA BERRY & PLANT CO.

www.indianaberry.com

NOURSE

http://www.noursefarms.com

PRUNING TOOLS:

OESCO

www.oescoinc.com

BOOKS/GUIDES:

PENN STATE TREE FRUIT PRODUCTION GUIDE 

https://extension.psu.edu/tree-fruit-production-guide

TREE FRUIT FIELD GUIDE

TO INSECT, MITE, AND DISEASE PESTS AND NATURAL ENIMIES OD EASTERN NORTH AMERICA

Search for it on Amazon for used copies or 

http://palspublishing.cals.cornell.edu

THE APPLE GROWER 

By Michael Phillips