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Our original orchard plans
We had the original plans drawn out by Shades of Green Permaculture Design in Atlanta.
Then we had a local landscaper do all the prep work and eventually plant the trees.
We omitted the blackberries and instead put a seasonal garden there.
We also did not have it in the budget for the 3 3000 gallon cisterns, so we just use our well for irrigation.
We ordered our trees and bushes from Legg Creek Farm in Texas. They must be shipped during dormancy, and since it was a warm fall last year, they were shipped later than expected - December 23 to be exact... So we put one of the boxes of trees in the garage refrigerator since we wanted them to remain in dormancy. The other box just sat in the garage until we got back from Christmas festivities.
The trees were put in the ground on December 27, with the exception of a few peach trees that were shipped in February.
We will be replanting a few trees and bushes this winter since some died. Our soil is hard clay, and we are working diligently to improve it by using compost, ramial wood chips, and inoculants. But we know it will take some time to get it right. And we have 5 years to get it right since that's how long it will take for the trees to give us decent amounts of fruit.
Then we had a local landscaper do all the prep work and eventually plant the trees.
We omitted the blackberries and instead put a seasonal garden there.
We also did not have it in the budget for the 3 3000 gallon cisterns, so we just use our well for irrigation.
We ordered our trees and bushes from Legg Creek Farm in Texas. They must be shipped during dormancy, and since it was a warm fall last year, they were shipped later than expected - December 23 to be exact... So we put one of the boxes of trees in the garage refrigerator since we wanted them to remain in dormancy. The other box just sat in the garage until we got back from Christmas festivities.
The trees were put in the ground on December 27, with the exception of a few peach trees that were shipped in February.
We will be replanting a few trees and bushes this winter since some died. Our soil is hard clay, and we are working diligently to improve it by using compost, ramial wood chips, and inoculants. But we know it will take some time to get it right. And we have 5 years to get it right since that's how long it will take for the trees to give us decent amounts of fruit.
Resources: Learning how to grow fruit the chemical-free way
I read through this book several times before planting our fruit trees, and I often refer back to it when I have questions.
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This is a great 2 hr DVD to watch, too! Olivier Asselin runs a large orchard in Canada and explains valuable pearls of info.
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Spraying the trees
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We sprayed our pre-winter spray on the orchard trees on 11/13/17.
In The Holistic Orchard, there is a recipe for a 4 gallon backpack waterer, which we happen to have purchased for spraying this spring. The recipe is:
We sprayed a total of 8 gallons (2 backpacksful) on the trees and on the ground over their roots. |
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