A Great Blog

Maintaining the height ~ Simple Guide to Pruning

2011-10-10T16:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a simple slide show with a simplified breakdown of when to make what cuts to produce a short productive fruit bush. Thank you Chuck Ingels. For apples, pears, asian pears, and cherries this strategy is especially effective. For peach, nectarine, pluot, plum, and apricot a little more finesse can make a big increase in fruit yield. More on that later. Either way, this general method is the outline for maintaining all school orchard trees.

Sesonal Tree Care Outlines

2010-12-09T19:32:00.000-08:00

If you are wondering what care your tree or orchard needs in each season, give these a look:

The Best Tree Care Videos on the web

2010-12-09T11:33:00.000-08:00

Chuck Ingels is a master teacher on schoolyard-scale orchards and a dear friend of Common Vision. In this 2-hour segment he goes through the basics of fruit tree care. Below the videos we have outlines that break down the subjects so you can skip to the sections you need. Some of this is more complex then you need to know. Please email or call us with any questions.

Basics of how trees grow:

0:40 Roots - how they grow
4:30 Chilling Requirement
6:40 Sunlight Requirement
7:00 Pollenization
10:15 Soil Requirements
12:20 Parts of the Tree -
17:50 Planting the Tree
26:00 Post-Planting Care
29:30 Water and Irrigation
34:05 Fertilization
36:00 Pruning

Note: on Pruning: Common Vision recommends an open center kept very short. This is a little different then the "fruit bush" described in that the cuts are made with a little more choice involved.

0:45 Pruning "fruit bushes" cont.
9:45 Espalier
13:30 Managing an overgrown mature tree
22:55 Fruit Thinning
27:55 Common Problems with fruiting
29:18 Budding and Grafting
37:10 Citrus Trees
42:00 Pest Management - Codding Moth
45:27 Boreres
48:00 FireBlight
52:50 ShotHole Disease
53:30 Peach Leaf Curl
56:45 Brown Rot

Overview of Schoolyard Orchardculture

2008-12-11T22:55:00.000-08:00

Our friends and sponsors at Dave Wilson Nurseries have been such inspirations and guides in helping schools maintain their orchards. Just keep it small! They have a concise webpage that will give you the basics of this empowering approach to fruit trees.

>Check it out!

Harvesting

2008-08-13T18:59:00.000-07:00

A - "Keeping it Simple"
When fruit is dropping and birds are feeding in the tree, chances are you're approaching harvest time for that crop. Then apply the taste test. These are perhaps the easiest ways to determine harvest time in the School Orchard, with its multiple varieties of trees.

B - "More in Depth"
For the Apples, you should be able to indent the skin and flesh with your finger nail, and when you cut it open the seeds should be dark brown or black. If seeds are still light color, you're not quite ready for harvest. If there is good sunlight on the apple, and the nights are cold, some red color will still develop.

Be careful when harvesting the Apple! Lift it with a little twist. It should separate at the stems abscission zone (that's the little wider area near the tree end of the stem). If it doesn't come away easily... leave it on the tree. The risk is breaking the little gnarled "Fruiting Spur." In Apples, the Fruiting Spur should bear fruit for 10 or more years. Some instruction for the students and helpers will keep your Apple tree bearing for years, otherwise you'll have to wait for another Spur to develop! Apples ripened on the tree taste great. Let the students have a harvest party, and eat the apples right there.

"Asian Pears" (e.g. Chojuro, Shinseiki) can be harvested like the Apples, and eaten right off the tree. Use the same "ripeness" criteria. They will usually turn from green to a yellow buff color, even almost tan to russet. And for Pears.... treat the Spurs the same as Apples. They wont last quite as long, but they set fruit at the same spot year after year. The most frequent harvest problem in the School Orchard is that kids pick the fruit prematurely, and "pull" the apple or pear down, breaking the Spur.

"European" Pears (e.g. Bartlett) can be picked when they are full sized, but still green and firm. They should then be stored in a refrigerator for at least a week, then taken out and allowed to ripen. These are not eaten "tree ripe." When ripened on the tree, they tend to get "mealy."

Your Stone fruit (Peaches, Plums etc.) are probably all harvested by now, but if not, they should be allowed to ripen (soften) on the tree and eaten fresh. The Persimmons should be ready from October to November, in most regions. Both common varieties should be bright, shiny Orange in color. The flat, squat shaped ones, the "Fuyu," should be eaten when they are firm, like an apple. The acorn shaped "Hachiya" must be almost custard soft before you give them a bite! (but they can ripen off the tree) If you mix the two up you're in for a mouth puckering surprise!   Persimmons should be harvested by cutting the stem (there are harvest clippers that are shaped like your two fingers when you make a cutting sign.

Fall Fertilizing

2008-08-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

A - "Keeping it Simple!"

Right after Harvest, You can give the trees another application of Fertilizer similar to our Spring/Summer suggestions. Or, spread about 2 to 5 pounds of compost per tree in a 6" band around the drip line, under the mulch. (Keep away from the Trunk!)

If it's later in the fall: sit back....enjoy the view of the School Orchard, do nothing, think about the pleasures of Dormancy...... Lucky trees!

B - "Hey, wait a minute what's going on here!"

All that food and stuff from the leaves (starches, carbohydrates, sugars, pigments, water etc. etc.) has been retrieved (sucked back actually) by the trees..... before they actually dropped the leaves. All that food is stored in the trunk and roots. In the Spring, before there can be any energy production from leaves, the "sap" will come rushing up from storage to fuel the whole works. Vermonters will tap off some as "Maple Syrup" for Pancakes, and Southeast Alaskans will tap off "Birch Syrup" for their biscuits. It's sweet 'cause it's loaded with sugars and Energy.

Don't worry there will be plenty to do later, but in the School Orchard more Fertilizer is usually not needed! The exception is:

If you've noticed a deficiency (yellow leaves during mid-summer), post-harvest is a good time to correct the deficiency.

Short of doing a leaf analysis, the Compost application is your best shot at fertilizing and correcting the nutrient deficiency.

Hint: Supermarket Chains in Los Angeles County have their day old and wilted Produce professionally composted. Vons especially has been very happy to donate compost to our School Gardens and Orchards. The Compost is Superb!! It's arranged through the Manager of the neighborhood Market in the School's community. It's likely done by chain Markets throughout the State. Their objective is to sell the Compost to Organic Farmers. A neighborhood manager can donate a load to your School Orchard. Be grateful... and post a sign thanking them.... the school garden and orchard can be a real link between school and community.

Fall Pruning

2008-08-07T20:01:00.000-07:00

A - "Keeping it simple!"

August, (and perhaps the first few weeks of September) is the best time to prune the Apricot and Aprium trees.

With your Pruners and Loppers remove any "suckers," cut out Dead, Deformed, Damaged, and Crossing shoots and branches.

Remove the "Water Sprouts." These are the paradoxically very green and healthy looking shoots, that you might think are "good" to save..... they're not! They usually grow from interior branches, are this years growth, and grow straight up to the sky with no branches (they will rarely have any fruit!)

The lateral branches (reach out with your arms) will have the shoots with fruiting spurs. For the ones that grew this year (green bark) visually divide the shoot into four sections, starting from the origin,.... cut off the outermost one, of the four sections (that is: reduce the length by 20-25% of the shoot's length).

Try to cut the shoots or branches at a point about 1/4 inch out from a bud or node. It's best if the bud (node or shoot) is pointing in the general direction that you want the branch to grow (e.g. not pointing down.... or towards the central/interior area of the tree). If you have to remove a branch entirely, make the final cut just outside of the little "collar" where the Branch originates from the Trunk. Don't leave a "stump."

B - "More in Depth:"

Post harvest, or late "summer" pruning is particularly useful if trees have been growing too vigorously, and are getting out of control (too high).

Summer and post harvest pruning has a modulating effect on tree growth. On the other hand: Pruning after leaf drop is a great stimulant to spring growth!

APRICOTS should NOT be pruned any later than early September. So this is the last time you can prune them before mid-summer next year.

Apricot pruning wounds are subject to a disease (Eutypa Dieback) the organism is spread by rain. The pruning wounds need 6 to 8 weeks of dry

weather to properly heal.

The Water Sprouts can be thought of being like your Appendix.... it probably once did.... but no longer has any real function. Probably genetically left over from when the tree had to "get up there" to compete for light from its surrounding trees. These shoots rarely if ever bear any fruit.

You also want to remove shoots growing towards the center of the tree. This allows air to circulate and sunlight to penetrate to the interior.

If you shorten the shoots (the 25% number), you'll be keeping the fruit more towards the trunk and major branches and reduce the chance of breakage. The remaining spurs will now bear larger and healthier fruit.

For all the trees, it's a good time to remove branches that have broken under the weight of fruit

("really herb, where have you been!....... Some Orchard in Fresno!") ........Just wait your trees will get there.

C - "Some more Background:"

- A good time for pruning over-vigorous trees is after harvest, before dormancy. The other trees are best pruned later,

in the Dormant period. Broken or cracked limbs or branches (some say a Shoot becomes a branch when it's 1 yr old) are a place for disease entry (like any wound). It's best to remove those branches, back to a proper location. The area of a bud (those little swellings, or a leaf node) contains the hormones necessary for proper healing. The smooth sections (internodal area) will not heal, they'll just die back to the bud, and you've not accomplished much.
If the bud (or shoot) is pointing to the direction you want the limb to grow, your cut will also have "training" value. The Branch Bark Collar, at the origin of the branch, has the healing potential to close over the wound (take a look at some old pruned trees). A stump that protrudes will heal poorly, if at all. Pruning paints or sealers are not recommended. It's far better to place the cut in an area of good natural healing.

Dead shoot ends (black and really dry) may have been invaded by a borer, or bacteria. The dead, wilted and shrivelled leaves may still be hanging down and attached. Prune these shoots off (don't cut through the dead part, go back a ways to where the shoot is normal looking. Diseased branches may have a bacterial or fungal infection. These branches will often have an area of disrupted bark, and oozing a somewhat resinous, brown or black sticky fluid. Cut these branches back at least a foot from the wound, so that you are in healthy looking wood. (Nice intact bark and cambium layer, with uniform and light cream colored sap and heart wood (not stained brown or black).

When pruning out dead twigs or branches (particularly if they look diseased; oozing, crusting) leave a healthy margin of normal looking branch (up to about 12" if you can) to get well beyond the bad part.

Cut out crossing branches, the areas where they rub are subject to wounding and disease entry. Leave the bigger, or better oriented branch. (Or make an "executive decision" and leave the one that YOU like best. Hey..... you're doing the work! Michael understands.)

This is also a good time to prune the Citrus trees of any dead branches or twigs, and any branch ends that are dragging on the ground. When you have access to the trunk, renew the "Tanglefoot." If you can keep the ants out of the Tree you're probably 90% to good disease control. Often, nothing more is needed. (Ants kill the Beneficial's larvae that are feeding on the Pests...... that's not good)

Except for the Apricot (remember?), you will probably want to do some Winter Pruning on your trees......

but more about that in the next newsletter.

And remember! with any diseased branch... or going from Tree to Tree..... always sterilize your pruners between cuts, by dipping the blades in 70% or 90% Drugstore Alcohol (Isopropyl). When you're finished, wash off the pruners and spray or apply a protective oil. Afterwards I always resharpen my Pruners, and spray metal parts with an oil protectant like "WD-40."

Cleaning your Tools between "Cases", is just like washing your hands. BECAUSE..... You're Doing Surgery! And wear your goggles!!

Hint For Orchard Instruction, Pruning, Training, or Tree Care: Fill out the Commonvision request online, for a free Workshop at your School Orchard. These are put on by the Master Gardener Orchard Team (not yet available in all Counties).

Disease Prevention

2008-08-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

These are, for the most part, general measures designed for the overall health of the Orchard. Occasionally additional measures may be useful for a specific Pest that has gotten out of control. The objective is to have an overall strategy that maintains a healthy ecosystem for plants, critters, and people,and encourages beneficials. It's called IPM (Integrated Pest Management). The point of the Newsletter is to help you keep your trees healthy and vigorous by good cultural methods, so they can resist disease with a minimum of additional intervention.

A - "Keeping it Simple!"

Make sure the Team has done a good job on the "Clean-up," and check for any "mummies" left on the tree. Remove any residual leaves and hose off the tree using a pressure-spray nozzle. It's beneficial to see that all dead leaves are removed from the tree, and raked up. For the Apple Trees; cut a 3 inch wide strip from a corrugated cardboard box, and wrap it tightly around the trunk (so the little tubes are vertical), just below the first branch (or about a foot and a half above the ground). Remove the band on December 1st, put it in the garbage pail (not for garden composting).

* If there has been a severe infestation of soft bodied insects or scale a "Horticultural Oil" can be sprayed during the Christmas Vacation period, when children are away, and when the Tree is dormant.

B - "More in Depth"

OK - The Corrugated Cardboard band will catch Codling Moth Larvae as they travel down to the ground to pupate. Removal in early December should catch some of the larvae in the little corrugations. Best to burn, or dispose of these with trash. This will help reduce the Codling Moth population in the coming season, although, if you had a heavy infestation we'll have more suggestions for Winter and Spring.

Obviously-diseased shoots and branches can be Pruned out when the tree has gone dormant and you're removing residual leaves. (The tree begins going Dormant when at the ends of the twigs the tiny leaves have been replaced by a tight Leaf Bud. This is where growth will be initiated in the spring

* Spraying of pesticides (organic or chemical) should only be done if there is evidence of disease uncontrolled by the physical and mechanical techniques. There is always the risk of upsetting the natural balance by injuring the beneficial insects and microbials. When appropriate however, spray strategies can be used.

If you're concerned about the level of disease in some trees, call your County Master Gardener office and request a visit from one of the Master Gardeners. The School holiday weekends and holiday weeks during November, December, and January are the best times to use preventive sprays (like Horticultural Oil), and to deal with a School Orchard disease problem.

C - "Why is that ?"

Many insects and pests (soft bodied insects, scale, etc.) over-winter in the crotch of branches, in the bark, and even in the bud tips. Although dormant, they need to respire (breathe). The Oil will smother them if the coverage has been complete. Horticultural Oil may also be called "Narrow-range" or "Superior" Oil. This technique, is relatively safe and has minimal adverse environmental impact. AdditionallyIt's important to realize that most control measures are only effective at certain stages of a pests life cycle. Oil is most effective during dormancy, at other times the effect may be negligible.

For Deciduous Trees, spraying in the Dormant season has many benefits: The days are cooler and moister, when sprays are less phytotoxic (harmful to plants). The elements of the tree most likely to suffer damage (leaves, blossoms, new shoots etc.) are safely out of the way. Bees, and other pollinators are relatively safe.

For School Orchards that have Citrus trees, Columbus Day weekend would be a safe time to use Horticultural Oil spray. You don't want to do it any later in the year, and be sure that the trees are well watered before any spray operation. If they have been a problem; this treatment will help control Scale, Aphid, White Fly and other soft bodied insects that overwinter in the tree.

Fall Clean Up

2008-08-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

A - "Keeping it simple!"

When harvests have been completed, remove all fruit from the Deciduous Trees and rake up all; leaves, fallen fruit, and weeds.

Send all the orchard waste for composting.

B - "More in Depth:"

Many pests "over-winter" in the fallen fruit and fruit left on the trees. The fruit left on the trees are called "mummies." It's best to have these professionally composed, so that the usually higher temperatures obtained can kill all of the pest larvae, bacteria and fungi. If the tree has been very healthy, without a lot of disease on the leaves, then composting leaves in the garden is fine. If not, put the leaves in with the fruit for the community composting operation.

Accumulated leaves and weeds are a favored spot for pests to spend the winter, in their own state of dormancy. In the Spring they would be ready for another life cycle..... unless of course they've been composted !!

If you have composted leaves or other clean mulch, this would be a good time to spread a fresh layer under the tree.

C - "What else can we do?"

OK - While you're under the tree spreading the mulch (remember to keep it away from the trunk), it's a good time to remove any "suckers"

that appeared since your last tree care. These will be sprouts and shoots that arise from below the graft union, or coming up directly from the

roots. Don't be fooled by their healthy and vigorous appearance. These just steal nourishment from the tree, we're not interested in

growing more root stock. You can also renew the "Tanglefoot" (your anti-ant trap!).

On the young trees you can renew the trunk paint (white water based latex paint, mixed with an equal amount of water) right down to the

top-most roots. This will protect against sun burn and ground-level insect Borers.

Introducing the Tree Care Series

2008-07-28T13:06:00.000-07:00

Starting this summer and fall Common Vision will be developing this online video series to help teachers, parents, community members, administrators, and students to care for their schoolyard orchards. (Teachers, please excuse the subject-verb agreement error: goals...is. )

Fruit Trees 101 with Demetrious

2008-07-20T21:08:00.000-07:00

In this short video, Demetrious introduces the basics of fruit trees. We learn how to identify vegetative growth vs fruiting buds, how to distinguish each year's growth, and where the fruit grows.

How to Prune

2008-03-09T22:11:00.000-07:00

Footage from UCTV Gardening Series

Mulch those trees!

2008-03-08T18:49:00.000-08:00

Get some wood chips, spread them around the tree (2 inch to 6 inches deep) and keep away from the trunk 6 inches. Next year, do the same thing. Mulching is a technique for covering the root area of Trees with a protective material.

This helps retain water, reducing water loss by up to 30%. Mulch also supresses weeds, which compete with young trees for nutrients and water. Organic Mulches also slowly add organic material to the soil and encourage beneficial soil organisms.

Coarse wood chips make excellent mulch, when applied properly. Most cities offer free mulch, from their tree trimming and maintenance operations. Call, and get a load delivered. This Mulch tends to derive from many varieties of trees, rather than the single source you usually find in purchased bags. Variety is better. Although some Mulches are considered Allelopathic (like Black Walnut Eucalyptus etc. "can kill plants") all of the coarse wood chip mulches, applied properly, will be beneficial to your trees. You want coarse material (chips, not sawdust!) so that air can penetrate, and it can dry out and not support mold or fungi.

Watering your Fruit Trees

2008-03-07T18:55:00.000-08:00

Watering twice a week is best. Here are the guidelines for watering based on region and tree age.

First and second year trees:

Inland? Your trees will need about 8 gallons of water per week during the Summer months
Coastal? Your newly planted trees with good growth will need about 5 gallons of water per week during the Summer months.
All watering can happen within the berm around each tree (if hand watering)

For third year and later trees:
Remember that the entire area under the tree canopy should be watered equally (not just the area around the trunk). To calculate water needs, measure the area of the Tree's Canopy (where would the shadow be, if the sun was directly over head). Perhaps your geometry students can get out in the orchard to play with pi.

Heat of the summer:
Inland Counties: Requirement in Gallons/week is about equal to canopy area. Example: A canopy with a 4ft diameter has an area of about 12.5 ft^2. (If you need a review on how this works, please see the math teacher down the hall). Thus this tree wants about 12 gallons/week. Add 20% if you are watering in the day time for evaporation loss.

Coastal Counties: Follow the same formula as inland, but use only 80% of the water. Example: A tree with a 4ft canopy diameter will want 80% of 12.5 gallons or about 10 gallons. Add 20% if you are watering in the day time for evaporation loss.

Spring and Fall:
50%-80% of the summer water amount.
If a fall fruit has already harvested, reduce down to 25-50%.

Check the soil under the mulch several times before leaving for Summer. Adjust water quantity up or down so that between waterings the soil is not wet enough to stain your palm, or dry as dust.

Don't let water stand against the trunk.... not good!

Fine tuning your watering amounts:
You can check the moisture level with a metal probe into the soil (e.g. straightened hanger). It should go down about a foot for your new trees. That means there is enough water at the root level. If it's too dry or too wet just prior to your irrigation, adjust the amount up or down by a gallon.
If the soil is Sandy or Sandy Loam, divide the total amount of water in two, and water twice per week. If the soil is heavy clay, once per week for the entire amount should be fine.

High Density Planting for the Schoolyard

2008-01-30T08:49:00.000-08:00

Thinning the Fruit (May - June)

2008-01-13T22:25:00.000-08:00

Our Dave Wilson friends show us how to thin the fruit of a schoolyard orchard

Summer Pruning (Late Spring)

2008-01-13T22:19:00.000-08:00

Here our Dave Wilson nurseries teach a little about early summer pruning and fruit thinning.

Paint the Trunks! (Spring)

2008-01-13T22:10:00.000-08:00

Before the Summer heat, all young fruit trees can benefit from painting the trunk. This protects against sunburn that can cause damage or even death of the tree. Here our friends at Dave Wilson's show us how.

LA Area Master Gardener Support

2007-12-01T21:42:00.000-08:00

Download the application for support from Los Angeles Master Gardeners at your school site.

> Get Master Gardener Support

Winter Pruning Overview

2007-03-09T13:21:00.000-08:00

Winter pruning and training to achieve optimum tree structure is part science and part art. It's a very important part of having an orchard, a skill that's fun to learn and very satisfying to practice. Courses are given in many public gardens or arboretums. The County Master Gardener Programs will also have introductory and advanced courses. The L.A. County Urban Orchard Team can put on a workshop at any school or community orchard. Common Vision has online resources as well to make it even easier. We want to help you feel empowered and informed through this great activity. Feel free to contact Common Vision with any questions.

Winter is a good time to do very important "Maintenance" pruning, and you've probably already had some practice with the post-harvest pruning and trimming. When the trees are bare of leaves, the woody structure is more clearly visible, making pruning much easier. A primary objective of training and pruning is to develop a strong tree framework that will support fruit production. Improperly trained fruit trees generally have very upright branch angles, which result in serious limb breakage under a heavy fruit load. This significantly reduces the productivity of the tree and may greatly reduce tree life. Another goal of annual training and pruning is to remove dead, diseased, or broken limbs. Pruning is also really important to optimize fruit production, open the canopy for more light for flower bud development and optimal fruit set, flavor, and quality, as well as airflow for drying out and disease prevention.

Are you move of a video-based learner? Most of this is also covered in This Pruning Video

Have a Newsletter or Worksheet with you if it helps!

So first things first, a diagram of a tree and terminology:

a)leaf buds
b)flowerbuds
c)spur
d)short shoot
e)long shoot
t)terminal bud

Suggested Pruning Cuts

A. Suckers.
B. Stubs or broken branches.
C. Downward-growng branches
D. Rubbing or criss-crossing branches
E. Shaded interior branches
F. Competing leaders
G. Narrow crotches
H. Whorls

It's important that you take a moment, and be sure that you can identify this year's growth from the previous year's growth.

So, we'll stop for a little exercise: Look at the end of this past Summer's growth. The shoot tip has a little bud on the end (that will be the start of growth this coming Summer). Run your finger back towards the trunk. The bark of the shoot is very smooth, quite green, or at least greenish brown. Soon you come to a little scar, a circumferential ridge. This is where last year's bud was. The bark now becomes somewhat rougher and browner; the shoot is a little thicker. You've now identified the transition to the previous year's growth. Actually, you can keep running your finger down and identify each year's successive growth. For fun, you can go right back to the trunk, and there you have the year your tree was planted!

Why is this important?
An apple tree will set its fruit on a little "Spur." Year after year the tree will produce fruit on the same little spur, maybe more than 10 years.
We don't want to cut this Spur, or its branch. A peach tree will set its fruit on the shoot that grew last Summer. Once it has produced a peach on that spot, it will never again produce a peach there ever! So, that's why the little exercise has practical value. We want to keep the older wood in the apple, but we continually need new wood on the peach tree...if we want peaches.
And remember the important rule: We don't prune the apricot in the Winter! Perhaps it's best to put a little sign on the apricot: "No Prune Zone", or perhaps Pruners in a circle with a line through them (the international No Prune sign ?).

PRUNING: Let's review the simple approach.

The following applies to all of the trees:
1) Prune out the Suckers. These are the very vigorously growing shoots, that come from the "Root-Stock" below the "Graft Union." Recall that's the slightly swollen area 2" to 6" above the soil level.

2) look for any Watersprouts that may have been overlooked in your Summer pruning. These are vigorous growing shoots, not usually bigger than the width of your little finger. The bark is smooth and green and they grow straight up, without any branches. They rarely bear any fruit, and they tend to shade more important fruit bearing branches. So...cut them off, right outside of the little branch bark-collar. Remember that's the little swollen ring of bark at the beginning of each branch...where it originates from the trunk. Or where a shoot originates from a branch. Protect the "Collar," because that's where the tree will heal the pruning wound.

3) Now that you have a good view of things, remove any branches that have broken, or are rubbing against other branches. Branches or shoots that are pointing down or towards the center of the tree (rather than growing up and outward) are very apt to cause trouble. They should also be removed...at the little "branch bark-collar" of course and make sure there are no stumps sticking out...nice cut!

4) Try to recognize any diseased shoots or branches. Fire Blight, for example, unfortunately affects pears and to a lesser extent apples. The end of the branch may look burned or blackened, bent over, and often with the dry crumpled leaves still attached. Obviously diseased areas like this should be pruned out, removing at least 12" of healthy looking branch together with the diseased section.

Whenever you're pruning branches that don't look perfectly normal be sure to disinfect your pruners between each cut with 70% to 91% Isopropyl alcohol (drug store alcohol). Dip your pruners for a few minutes after each cut. An old tooth brush or spray bottle is also helpful for this. Also make sure your pruners are sharp!

If your trees are 1 to 3 years old, or if they're growing slowly you can limit your pruning at this point.

This next part is for those trees that are more than four years old, and have grown substantial structure:
5) Last, but equally important, is to remove some of the previous year's growth. This will protect the tree from limb breakage and from fruit setting too far out on a fragile branch. This type of pruning will also lead to larger, better quality fruit.

Pruning a mature tree:
The peach and nectarine, (and the apricot, once the rainy season is over) need "heavy" pruning. 50% of the one-year old shoots should be removed, that would be every other 1-year-old. shoot...pruned! with the remaining one-year old shoots: get a good look at the whole shoot, and mentally divide it into thirds. Then remove the outermost third. So we've left a little more than 60% of 50% of the shoots. Who said there would be no math?

There's going to be a lot of wood on the ground!
Years ago my instructor said, "When pruning, or thinning fruit it's best not to look down!"

Now what about those 2-year old shoots, they're not going to bear any more fruit! Assuming that they are not needed as major branches, they should be cut back to a one-year old shoot, or near a nice bud where they can start some "new wood."

The apple and pear trees need a lot less pruning. If they have not yet reached your target size, remove only about 10% off the ends of this past Summer's growth (remember how to identify it). This will encourage branching and more fruit spur formation.

The pomegranate will have a lot of suckers coming from around the main trunk. Unless you want to grow the pomegranate as a "bush" (which is OK), prune these extra little trunks down to the single large one. These suckers are really accessory trunks, part of the main fruit producing tree.

The persimmon sets its fruit on the ends of last year's grows, so don't cut off too many of this "fruiting wood."

With all the trees; keep the tops pruned down so the trees do not exceed 8 feet in height. As we've mentioned before, this type of height pruning is best done during the Summer, when you're less likely to stimulate more rapid regrowth.

Feeding Trees: Compost, Mulch, and Fertilizer

2007-03-07T11:53:00.000-08:00

A- "Keeping it Simple!"
Generally speaking compost and mulch will provide the tree with everything it needs.

Apply compost in March June, September.

A March/April application of addition organic fertilizer in the first 2 years OR if the trees are deficient in nutrients is a good idea

Look for good quality compost and/or a balanced fertilizer with micro-nutrients (see below for more). Because fertilizers vary in strength, you need to read the Label to find out how much to feed each tree.

Trees need to be well watered before fertilizing, so water them the day before or early on the day you're going to fertilize. The dripline is where the majority of the feeder roots are sucking up nutrients (not directly around the trunk).

First, push aside any mulch that is around the dripline of the tree. You want the compost / fertilizer on the soil. Second, spread the fertilizer in a circular band just within the radius where the branches and leaves end, not near or touching the trunk. Third, cultivate the fertilizer into the top few inches of soil (scratch it in with a toothed tool). Finally, water the entire area, to soak fertilizer into the soil and down to the roots. Replace the Mulch.

You've done it !

B- "More in Depth"
Just as we do best with a balanced diet of; Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrate, the Trees do best with a balanced diet of N (Nitrogen), P (Phosphorous), and K (Potassium). That's the N-P-K, and the numbers give the percent in the bag (or box) by weight. Just as we need Vitamins and Minerals the Trees need Macro and Micro Nutrients, such as; Iron, Zinc, Sulfur, Calcium etc. Many California soils are deficient in available Iron and Zinc

If you've got some yellow leaves, or leaves with yellow areas (chlorosis) you would do well to add some Micro-Nutrients. Particularly if using a general fertilizer of just N-P-K. If you're in a store where sales people are always, "busy" look for an Organic mixture with balanced NPK like 5-5-5.

C- "But I'm 'Certified' Organic!"
Compost does the trick here. Or if your trees need a boost make sure your fertilizer is OMRI approved.

Bud to Blossom to Fruit

2006-03-11T17:47:00.000-08:00