Pruning Older Trees (5+ yrs)

 For Older Trees (5+ yrs) 

As the tree gets older however, and especially if you’ve been suffering from poor harvests, the aim is to maintain the shape and branches which can support fruit maximising your yields. 

After removing anything dead, dying or diseased you then want to pick out any unfavourable branches. These again include any vertical, acute or congested branches. This opens the tree up allowing for air and sunlight to reach it.

Additionally, if there are any branches growing from below the rootstock these are ‘suckers’ and should be pruned out entirely. 

On the plot
The weather is quite warm, so the ground is not frozen at the moment. There is still time to plant your winter garlic. I prefer to plant mine in winter as this gives it a longer growing season. 

Did you know that garlic cloves need cold to trigger clove division? Some cultivar varieties available today can be planted in spring, but I was not as successful in the past in growing those. 

As always, do get ahead with weeding when the weather allows – it’s an investment that will help you stay ahead when the busy start of the growing season arrives.

Pruning Young Trees:

 For Young Trees ,2-4 yrs

When pruning a Pome (apple/pear/quince) fruit tree it is recommended to carry this out during the winter while the tree is dormant.

Always remember to cut at a 45°
angle and to wash any pruning equipment in a sterilising solution especially if you are dealing with anything diseased. This will help prevent the spread of contamination.

The priority is to get rid of anything dead, dying or diseased. The goal is to manage the plant’s growth so that energy is directed into establishing the roots and healthy branches.

You then want to remove any vertical and acute growing branches. These branches won’t be able to support the weight of fruit and usually end up getting damaged.

You also want to prune away any branches that cluster or cross over. When these grow larger, they’ll damage one another and help the spread of disease and pests.

This may require you to cut as much as a 1/3 of all your branches if the tree is particularly unkempt.

You should be looking to train the tree as horizontally as possible. So, with the branches you have left you should cut back to an outward facing bud. This will stimulate growth from this bud training the branch outwards.

In the early years pruning is a form of training designed to stimulate growth in

branches capable of supplying fruit. Even though by this point the side shoots may be very small it is a good idea to cut them off if they’re growing inward to maintain the desired shape early on. 

Your Soil

 Making sure that your soil is rich in nutrients is essential for growing healthy plants. There are a number of commercial fertilisers on the market, however they can be costly and some contain harmful

chemicals that is why I buy Farm yard manure every year for my allotment. It cost me fifty pounds for a farm trailer full.

 

As you should not use fresh manure on vegetables, particularly root crops, because of the potential of transmitting human pathogens, such as E. coli, fresh manure should never be used on fruits and vegetables.

To over come this, I make a neat heap of the manure and cover it with waterproof sheet and leave it for a year.

 In the summer, I will water the heap five or six times,to keep it moist. This, I belive, keeps the bugs happy and active.

To feed my crops, I spread chicken pellets, rake them in and  plant.

I dig last years manure into my beds as they come empty in the Fall.