Bless the delicate dew drops on branches after a rain. Yesterday was muggy when I got home from One Green World so I shed my coat to plant 3 more new bare root fruit trees before the next rain storm hits.
Ken and I have recently added 7 disease resistant varieties to the existing 30 tree home orchard with the thought that once these new ones are producing we will remove some of the not-so disease resistant older ones! And besides - I fell off the ladder last summer from swatting a hornet while picking peaches. Who needs to climb ladders anymore! The life expectancy of a peach in a wet climate is typically 15 years (those that have survived in my yard are at least 25 years old.)
It seems funny that we have put so much work into reducing the work it takes to keep fruit trees healthy in the Willamette Valley. ~La Sigh
Tips for planting:
Our orchard is flat - so often what happens when we plant trees is that once the ground settles it leaves a hollow for water to pool around the young tree trunks. I don't want to even count the number of trees we have inadvertently weakened or lost due to wet feet! So this year we are trying something new (for us) - planting our fruit trees on a mound. Who knows - you might even benefit from our past mistakes.
Our process - this time:
1) Ken spaded the grass under in the areas intended for planting - while I haul 3 wheel barrow loads of topsoil and aged compost to put on top of that (aged is the key word here - not to hot to burn young roots). As a MG I was taught to use existing soil to plant trees in but I can't bear planting anything directly into this clay!
2) Plant trees directly on top of this soil mixture - being sure to mound the center of the hole too so the roots are supported - adding just enough soil on top of the roots to keep the tree upright.
3) Gently tamp the soil directly over the root system to press out air pockets and water the soil well which also helps settle the soil around the roots.
4) Continue adding dirt - up to just below the graft if bare root or at the height it was grown in a pot.
5) Now for my topper tip - to keep the grass you just spaded under from coming up around the tree roots try putting 6 layers of newspaper down and cover this with mulch - being sure not to cover the graft union of the rootstock.
And last but certainly not least remember - do not fertilize fruit trees the first year.
