Tree planting sweetspot... and recommendations requested

[ruffdog]

^^^^good points about erosion...very important. There are lots of orchards around Gays Mills WI and they are far from flat ground and none are "terraced".

Apple Festival - Village of Gays Mills

 

[Streetcar]

If you can easily drive it, do not terrace it. Neighbor had orchard on slope and the trees were fine

 

[Dadnatron]

If you can easily drive it, do not terrace it. Neighbor had orchard on slope and the trees were fine

Well, That might be the thing then. I know it isn't too steep, but there was evidence it had previously been terraced to some degree. Not well, and not alot, but there are/were a few 'benches' historically. This is what got me to thinking it needed to be terraced. I smoothed everything out with a disc the other day, after allowing it to sit plowed all winter. Tractor can go in all directions without issue.

If I don't terrace it... or if I do for that matter... what type of grass would you recommend replanting into it?

 

[GLyford]

Traditional groundcover under the trees is grass, whatever will grow. And it is always an issue, because mowing under the fruit trees is always a pain (especially young fruit trees which are easily damaged by any sort of rotary or sickle bar mower).

If you are serious about fruit production, vs. just having fruit trees, look into the "espalier" (trellis) systems that many growers are now switching to. The systems were largely developed to simplify manual picking, either with walking or riding crews, but I just saw an article showing the system, by putting all the fruit on a 2d plane will eventually allow robotic (camera recognition based) pickers to work, something unthinkable with the traditional "bowl" pruned trees. (Though it is still very early days for the technology)

 

[MossRoad]

Well, That might be the thing then. I know it isn't too steep, but there was evidence it had previously been terraced to some degree. Not well, and not alot, but there are/were a few 'benches' historically. This is what got me to thinking it needed to be terraced. I smoothed everything out with a disc the other day, after allowing it to sit plowed all winter. Tractor can go in all directions without issue.

If I don't terrace it... or if I do for that matter... what type of grass would you recommend replanting into it?

I'd contact your county extension agent and ask for their free help... that's what you pay taxes for. They should. be able to tell you best practices for orchard management, including which types of grass to plant, and, more importantly, which types NOT to plant. Or, spraying under the trees to kill all grass without harming the trees is another option.

 

[Deerherd]

If I don't terrace it... or if I do for that matter... what type of grass would you recommend replanting into it?

Here’s a link to a very good article about prepping for an orchard:Keeping Under Cover: The Ideal Look of an Orchard Floor - Fruit Growers News

If you can drive it I wouldn’t terrace it either.

 

[woodlandfarms]

We live in the orchard capital of the world it feels like. Not sure what you are putting in your orchard but know that it isn't an easy task. Each year an orchard must be pruned, usually in the winter which could really suck. We have 30 plus trees in our small orchard, too little to make money off of and way way way way too much to ever eat. Each winter, I put the wife in a basket on the pickle forks and up she goes. It takes us a good week or so to do the orchard, we are not pro's and there is always way too much thinking, but a big tree takes 3 hours at least.

 

[Streetcar]

Neighbors orchard had fescue, the typical grass for our area

 

[goeduck]

We live in the orchard capital of the world it feels like. Not sure what you are putting in your orchard but know that it isn't an easy task. Each year an orchard must be pruned, usually in the winter which could really suck. We have 30 plus trees in our small orchard, too little to make money off of and way way way way too much to ever eat. Each winter, I put the wife in a basket on the pickle forks and up she goes. It takes us a good week or so to do the orchard, we are not pro's and there is always way too much thinking, but a big tree takes 3 hours at least.

If we don稚 get the apples picked on one of my properties the local black bear will make his rounds, climb the trees and break off branches to get the apples. Really hard on the trees. Too bad because I planted the trees for deer

 

[redman135]

Don't forget to plant the trees at the adult spacing. Planting closer will reduce production.

 

[Dadnatron]

I’m not look8ng for production, certainly not for sale. I am simply wanting a family Orchard for enjoyment. Family and friends only, maybe a few apples for horses. Some nuts etc.

I will only put in dwarf trees I suspect to keep them more manageable. I need to insure I put in enough of the right cultivars for pollination and variety. I’m thinking about fruit variety and enjoyment. Not, and I recognize there will be some, a lot of work. I might find it’s more than I bargained for, but also that it’s worth trying. I’m just hoping to design it as well as I can in order to have the best opportunity for enjoyment in the future.

“Minimize” heartache and difficult work and “maximize” enjoyable work and success. Whatever that ultimately looks like.

 

[ruffdog]

A local apple orchard put in dwarf Honey Crisp trees and it is unreal how many apples are harvested from them.

 

[CADplans]

I am harvesting over thirty acres of trees right now,,

I have been talking to the state foresters since 2013, they were very helpful with educating me on how to sell.
The MAIN thing I learned from them is that the underlying soil determines what trees do best on that particular land.

I have a LOT of limestone near the surface, the pH of my soil is perfect for poplar trees.
The result was that my land had 73% poplar trees,, luckily, right now, poplar trees are in demand.
Around here, you can almost not give away trees that are predominately pine.

So, my recommendation is that you find out what type of tree grows best on your soil type.
Look at nearby wooded areas, that will give you an indication of what grows best.

I would never consider trying to force grass to grow in a forest planting.
Some natural order of tree growth occurs,, normally starting with bramble like raspberries, then,,,

Eventually trees become established, I will try to encourage poplars on my land by putting grow tubes on trees I want to flourish.

I guess it is time for me to find out how to start poplars from seed,,,,,, :cool2:

 

[MossRoad]

I知 not look8ng for production, certainly not for sale. I am simply wanting a family Orchard for enjoyment. Family and friends only, maybe a few apples for horses. Some nuts etc.

I will only put in dwarf trees I suspect to keep them more manageable. I need to insure I put in enough of the right cultivars for pollination and variety. I知 thinking about fruit variety and enjoyment. Not, and I recognize there will be some, a lot of work. I might find it痴 more than I bargained for, but also that it痴 worth trying. I知 just hoping to design it as well as I can in order to have the best opportunity for enjoyment in the future.

溺inimize heartache and difficult work and 杜aximize enjoyable work and success. Whatever that ultimately looks like.

You still should plant them at the correct spacing for when they are mature trees or they'll constantly be hitting each other, causing rubs and lesions on the branches, which opens them up to infections, diseases, insects, etc... plus it makes it harder to harvest if you have to squeeze between the trees, and harder to apply sprays and prune as well.