More Spring Cleaning and Pruning (Making Progress)
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- Опубликовано: 27 авг 2024
- Spring has sprung, and there's more to get done. With my limited time right now, I grabbed a few hours to do some pruning and cleaning chores around the meadow. I share some of my thoughts as I go and dream of growing more food, too.
Five Reasons to Prune Fruit Trees in your Home Orchard (from Gemini)
More and Better Fruit: Pruning encourages trees to focus energy on producing large, high-quality fruit instead of lots of leaves.
Healthier Trees: Removing dead, diseased, or crossing branches improves airflow, reducing the chance of fungal infections and other problems.
Sunlight = Deliciousness: Pruning opens up the tree's canopy, letting sunlight reach all the branches. This means sweeter, better-colored fruit.
Manageable Size: Pruning helps control the tree's height and shape, making it easier to reach for harvesting and general care.
Stronger Structure: Proper pruning early on develops a strong framework that can support a heavy crop of fruit without branches breaking.
The Basics Cuts:
The 3 D's: Start by removing any Dead, Diseased, or Damaged branches.
Crossing Branches: Remove branches that rub or cross, as these create wounds.
Competing Leaders: If your young tree has two central trunks, choose the strongest one and remove the other.
Water Sprouts and Suckers: Prune away vigorous vertical shoots (water sprouts) and growth from the base of the tree (suckers).
Branch Angles: Aim for wide branch angles (around 45 degrees) to promote a strong structure for future fruit.
Why it might seem scary:
Pruning can feel nerve-wracking, especially for beginners. We might hesitate to cut too much, fearing we'll harm the tree.
Why over-pruning is recoverable (usually):
Trees are tough: Fruit trees have evolved to withstand some damage. They can typically bounce back from a slightly overzealous pruning session. New growth will come in the following season.
Under-pruning can be detrimental. If you leave too many branches, the tree will focus energy on leaves and shade instead of fruit production. This can also lead to poor air circulation and disease problems.
Key points to remember:
Always prune during the dormant season to minimize stress on the tree.
Start small: If you're unsure, take off a little less than you think you need and observe the tree's growth. You can always prune more next year if needed.
Focus on the big picture: Remove dead, diseased, and unwanted branches to promote good air circulation, strong structure, and fruit production.
Consult resources: Many online tutorials and guides can help you visualize pruning cuts for your specific fruit tree type.
Think of it like this:
It's better to be a little too cautious the first time and then adjust in the following year than to risk leaving the tree in a state where it struggles to produce healthy fruit or becomes susceptible to disease.
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About Michelle In The Meadow
I'm growing on a quarter-acre suburban lot. I started gardening here five years ago and am glad you're here.
On this property, we have more than 80 individual fruit trees and shrubs and more than a dozen different kinds of annuals. The slopes make for some interesting ways to garden, but we're trying to make the best of it.
On the first Sunday evening of each month (7PM Eastern), I go live on RUclips sharing updates and answering your questions.
If you enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs up and consider subscribing to follow along on all the happenings in my Northeast Florida Zone 9A Garden. Until next time, my friends, remember to drink plenty of water, wear high-quality sunscreen and have a fantastic day.
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Thank you for watching.
I was so proud of the range of motion in your shoulder while you maneuvered that cattle panel into place! You have come so far since your surgery, great job! The trees look so amazing and I'm sure they will be much more managable. Beautiful! I'm so excited to be back in the garden!
Thank you for noticing. Yes, it's moving well. So glad to get back in the garden.
I asked my town for a couple or four cattle panels for the library/children's section of the community garden we're building. I thought the kidlets would get a kick out of an arched entrance to their garden. Well the town dropped four panels at the garden so we're now thinking we will build a tunnel!
Rather than set the panels between Vego beds we'll probably tie them to T-posts and line the tunnel with growbags and buckets planted with flowering vines, small melons, cherry tomatoes and various pole beans- Red Noodle Yard Long beans would be cool.
That is awesome! And will be great for the kids. Feel free to send pics. I really appreciate the updates on your community gardening efforts. Thank you.
Ive been missing your videos. I was thinking of you earlier because my neighbor has a mulberry tree and the limbs are coming over to my side of the fence, so... I've been picking mulberries for several weeks and just made my first ever mulberry jam. I used Monk fruit because we're trying to eat keto.... boy that jam is good.😊 i was proud that at my old age, i was able to learn a new trick. It's the 1st time ive ever canned anything 😅
Thank you. Life has been a bit unpredictable lately. I hope to make more videos soon. Oooh that sounds good. That neighbor is building a fruit guild in his yard now. So yeah. Thank you for the well wishes.
I had 2 thoughts. One. look at all those fig cuttings 😮 second. You need a mini chainsaw. I found on for 30$ on Amazon. My back hurts watching you. 😥. Also how are the lights on the vego bed holding up?
Hello my friend. Lots of fig cuttings. Hmmm. One more tree to do soooooo. 😉
My arm is good. It was a little achy, but that Bigboy does a nice job.
The Vego lights are doing well. Thank you for the question. I have a video in mind 😉
Good video. I have one Tractor Supply cattle panel arch and it is working well so far. I just installed it a month ago; I will see how this growing season goes, but I suspect I'll add several more next winter. They are very sturdy and just look cool.
Something that has always puzzled me - lots of videos on trees say to prune or move them in winter when the trees are dormant, but I, like you, live in a climate where they often don't bother to do that. I still try to do such activities in early to mid December, when it's cool but we aren't expecting any massive cold snaps for a few weeks; have you worked out a better strategy?
Thank you for sharing. I find all kinds of ways to use them around the meadow. Happy gardening my friend.
Hey Michelle - I am a terrible pruner - I have trouble cutting flowers. On the struggling persimmon - there were so few leaves and bare branches - does it weaken the tree to reduce its leaves? I love seeing the meadow, we still have about 1-2 feet of snow on the ground and it is snowing as I speak. Yet I am starting dahlia tubers now that will go outside in June, and the sun is out till 10 pm. Nan
I'm still learning about pruning. The first few years I've been pruning shy. After watching a few videos and reading up, I'm a bit braver. Brrrr. The dahlias need that cold, right?
Wild idea, sun at 10 PM. 😁
Michelle how do you like the grid drip system?
I do like it. I do not have it in full production yet, but when I do I'll be making another video.
I can't hear any audio
Hmmm. I am not sure what may be wrong, as we can hear it here. Could you maybe have the volume low or accidentally muted?
@@michelleinthemeadow-No i just listened to someone else's video and heard it fine.
Thank you. I'm sorry.
Volume's fine as I'm watching it.
I heard you fine, maybe you’ve fixed the issue!