The Home Orchard in Winter

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 100, Issue 5, 16 May 1960, Page 493

The Home Orchard in Winter

By

S. FREW,

Instructor in Horticulture, Department of Agriculture, Christchurch

IN winter, when enthusiastic home gardeners plan the further development of their sections, frequently the establishment of a home orchard is considered. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of a home orchard and suggests methods for growing fruit in town sections which are usually considered too small for fruit trees. For existing home orchards advice is given on routine winter work. THE home gardener should not attempt to grow fruit trees until he fully appreciates the work and expense needed for their establishment and maintenance. The advantages of owning a few fruit trees and of having freshly grown fruit available are obvious and need no elaboration. In addition a well planned home orchard can provide a supply of the better-keeping types of fruit such as apples and pears for a considerable period after harvesting. Work Required For success in an orchard regular and thoroughly competent maintenance work is necessary at the correct time. This care of fruit trees can be most rewarding, and the home orchardist, without giving the detailed cultural attention of the commercial fruitgrower, can produce some very satisfactory crops provided he attends to the two major jobs of spraying and pruning. Any person unwilling to devote this minimum attention to his fruit trees would be well advised to restrict his gardening to less exacting crops. Pruning and spraying demand considerable time and energy, how much depending on the number and size of trees. As a rough guide, it could be said that though the pruning of small trees takes little time, detailed pruning of larger, mature trees may take up to J hour for each tree, and this has to be done in winter, when the weather is not always congenial.

Spraying takes less time per tree, but the preparation of sprays and cleaning of equipment afterward all take time, and the spraying of a few fruit trees during a weekend could easily mean two or three hours lost for other gardening work. Furthermore, spraying is a recurring job. As spray should be applied every three weeks to a month from winter or early spring until close on harvesting time, the total time spent in this work during a season is considerable. Expenditure r . ' - , , , . The other very important factor is expense. The cost of buying trees is only the first item, though it is a most important and fairly costly one, as only the best type of tree on a known suitable rootstock should be bought from a reputable nurseryman. It is the subsequent expense, however, which is so often overlooked by the potential home orchardist. The essential work of spraying requires further initial expense for equipment, plus an annual expenditure on spraying materials.

Spraying Equipment or f trees the spray apparatus mu st be adequate. This means that something more substantial than a syringe type of sprayer should be provided. Recommended home orchard equipment is either a bucket pump or, preferably, a knapsack sprayer. A bucket pump requires one person to work the pump and another to do the spraying, an arrangement not always possible for the small household. A knapsack sprayer, on the other hand, requires only one person. Knapsacks usually hold 3 gallons, enough for spraying fruit trees of all sizes, but if the weight is considered rather excesve, they need not be filled to ca city. The initial outlay for a knapsac sprayer is perhaps fairly high, but should be remembered that its use need not be restricted to fruit tree spraying, and that it will be of great value in the flower and vegetable garden. The other expenditure, for spray materials, is not a major one and can, perhaps, be ignored when the pros and cons of establishing a home orchard are assessed.

Advantages and Disadvantages To sum up, it might be reasonable to assume that for a small household, establishment and maintenance costs could quite easily account for a fair proportion of the alternative cost of buying fruit for the homefruit sized and graded, of good quality, and delivered to the door in reasonably fresh condition. For the larger household the balance could be more in favour of the homegrown fruit, as the larger the quantity grown the less it costs. Anyone with a large family would be well advised to consider the probable. savings effected. The enthusiast, of course, will need no such encouragement.

Limiting Factors in Establishment For those willing to accept the cost and time and effort required in orchard establishment the next point to consider is what to grow, and whether locality and site impose any limitations to individual preferences. Three factors determining these limitations are summarised here: Climate 1. Cold winters are a pre-requisite for apricots, cherries, and European plums. Consequently these fruits do not do so well in the northern parts of New Zealand. 2. Mild winters are necessary for lemons and other subtropical fruits. The South Island, except for a few favoured localities, is too cold for citrus.

3. Late spring frosts damage fruit blossoms and small green fruits. Early blossoming fruits such as stone fruit, particularly apricots, should not be grown in areas susceptible to these frosts. 4. Dry autumns are desirable. Wet weather near harvesting can cause serious losses through fungous diseases. Soil Type 1. All fruit trees require reasonably good drainage. 2. Light, sandy soils overlying shingle are very suitable for peaches and nectarines. 3. Medium to heavy land is suitable for apricots, apples, cherries, and Japanese plums.

4. Heavy clay soils with poorer drainage are tolerated by European plums, pears, and quinces. In the small home section it is not always possible to plant each kind in its best environment, but in some instances, particularly on a sloping section, conditions approaching the requirements for different classes of fruit trees can be selected. Area Available 1. On large sections the factor of area available does not apply, and 16 to 18 ft spacings for standard trees may be possible. 2. On smaller sections the growing of dwarf apple and pear trees provides

the answer to the space problem Raised on special dwarfing stocks, these trees produce good crops of normal sized fruits, but they always remain compact, relatively small trees. 3. For the minimum sized section with no garden space available for fruit trees the cordon and espalier systems of training trees provide alternative methods of fruit production. These methods are described here. Cordons and Espaliers Cordons and espaliers can conveniently be grown along the edge of the vegetable garden without encroaching on the garden area, and they are excellent for dividing the lawn area from the garden, or to mask an unsightly fence or corner. Both cordons and espaliers require support from a wire fence, with posts 5 to 6 ft high and 10 ft apart. Three wires at 2 ft spacings are usually enough for cordons, and five wires at 1 ft spacings for espaliers. In open ground fences should run north and south to ensure adequate sunshine on both sides' of the row. When the espaliers or cordons are grown near walls or hedges likely to shade one side the wires should run as near east and west as possible. The essential difference between cordons and espaliers is that cordons are grown on dwarf stocks at close planting, and espaliers are grown on normal stocks at wider spacing. Cordons are suitable only for apples at present, but where it is desired to have a number of varieties of apples in preference to just one or two, cordons have an advantage over espaliers. On the other hand, practically all classes of pip and stone fruit can be trained as espaliers. The true cordon is a single straight rod grown either erect or preferably oblique. Varieties of the simple cordon are the double U, the triple and multiple cordons, and the lattice type or Belgian fence (see diagrams). The standard espalier comprises a central stem with horizontal arms. There are numerous variations from this standard espalier, and some designs are shown in the accompanying diagrams. Training of Cordons It is desirable to start cordons with one-year-old unbranched whips. For upright cordons the rods should be planted erect, and for oblique cordons they should be planted on an angle toward the way they are to be trained. Planting should be at 2 ft 6 in. spacings. The training of single-stem cordons is simple. The annual growth of the leader is not shortened until it reaches the top wire, unless the cordon is not producing enough side shoots. Pruning will encourage development of these lateral growths and also growth of the leader itself, if it has stopped growing.

The aim should be to develop these short laterals as fruiting wood. At winter pruning they should be treated as follows, according to the amount of growth made: (a) Short laterals up to 4 in. long—leave uncut. (b) Laterals 4 in. to 9 in. long—leave uncut the first year and

shorten back to a bud on the two-year-old wood the next winter. (c) Laterals longer than 9 in. can either be cut back to three or four buds, or preferably tied in a loop or tied down so that the tips are below horizontal.

Laterals so treated will develop fruit buds and may be shortened to about 6 in. the following winter. (d) Old, spent lateral wood should be removed and replaced by young shoots every few years. The training of a cordon as a Belgian fence necessitates heading the rods in the first year to about 20 in. from ground level. The cut should be made so that the two top buds are opposite each other and facing in the direction of the wires. The subsequent growths from these two buds are trained along bamboo canes or dowelling attached to the wires at an angle of about 45 degrees. These growths receive the same treatment thereafter as simple cordons. Double U, triple and multiple cordons are headed back in the same way in the first year, and thereafter are trained on the same principle as espaliers, conforming to the designs as illustrated. Training of Espaliers Espaliers require constant care and attention to the following points: 1. Training should be done gradually throughout spring and summer to establish the desired shoots in the direction they are required to grow. 2. Training includes tying the current season’s growth to the wire supports, as only young growth can be successfully trained. The growing terminal of the shoot, however, must be allowed temporary freedom to grow upright; otherwise vigour will be lost. Tying should be done from time to time, throughout the growing season as growth extends and before the wood becomes too rigid to bend easily into place. 3. Ties should be at fairly close spacings and will need loosening each year as the girth of the limb increases. The Standard Espalier After planting for a standard espalier the whip, or single leader, should be shortened to about 2 in. above the lowest wire, this cut being made at a bud which has two good buds fairly close below, opposite each other, and facing in the direction of the wires. When growth starts all but the growths from the top bud and the two selected side buds should be suppressed. The shoot arising from the top bud should be tied to an upright cane fastened to the wires for the purpose. The shoots from the two lower buds should be trained in opposite directions along the bottom wire; if one is growing more strongly than the other,

the tying down of the weaker one should be delayed. In the second winter the upright shoot should be shortened to about 2 in. above the second wire, and during the following summer the three shoots are retained as previously, the top growth being tied to the vertical support and the two side shoots trained along the second wire. Any shoots arising from the lateral arms already established should be pinched back to 4 or 5 in. during summer and shortened back further during the following winter to three or four buds. Treatment in the following seasons should be similar to that described until the vertical rod has reached the top wire. At that stage only two growths are allowed to develop from the vertical leader and are trained in opposite directions along the top wire. Spurs and light fruiting laterals should comprise the fruiting wood formed along the horizontal arms. After the third year laterals up to 9 to 12 in. long need not be shortened provided they are bent over in a loop and the tops tied down. This, as already mentioned for cordons, promotes fruit bud development. Pears make strong lateral growth and this tying down of the tips of laterals is very necessary to bring them into fruit. As this fruiting wood becomes old and exhausted, a gradual renewal system should be followed. Other espalier designs are trained on the principles described. The home gardener should be able to devise the training for the cordon or espalier required for his particular conditions. Peaches and nectarines are more difficult to develop with horizontal arms, and the fan-shaped espalier is recommended for these fruits. Training as fans should not be difficult for the home gardener. The main principle to remember is that peaches and nectarines fruit only on one-year-old wood; therefore there must be a continual renewal of sufficient shoots each year to carry a crop. The general practice is to fruit the lateral one year and then shorten it back in winter to a side shoot near the base. Unless sufficient shoots are cut back each year, fruiting will be concentrated near the top of the espalier only. Winter Work in Established Orchards A winter oil spray should be applied to all deciduous fruit trees when the trees are completely dormant to control scale insects, woolly aphids, and red mites. Red spraying oil at a

strength of 2 pints of oil to 4 gallons of water is the standard mixture. The main work in the home orchard during winter is pruning. Many theories and systems are advocated for pruning various types of fruit trees, but the aim in pruning is to maintain a balance between wood growth and fruit production. If trees are growing too vigorously, they will not set crops, and light pruning should be practised. If trees are weak growing, the tendency is for them to set heavy crops of small fruit and produce little new wood growth, and pruning should be more drastic. Light pruning may mean retaining surplus wood or excessively long shoots temporarily for one season, but the result generally is to steady up growth and assist the development of fruit buds. Heavy pruning requires old and spent branches to be removed entirely, and remaining growths to be either shortened or thinned out. This will encourage growth and restore the balance between wood growth and fruiting wood. Any large cuts which have been made during pruning should have a sealing compound applied to prevent the entry of disease spores, and all prunings should be collected and destroyed by burning as soon as pruning is completed.

Grassland Association Officers Elected

GTHE annual meeting of the New Zealand Grassland Association, adjourned from Gisborne on 3 December because of the death of an executive member, Mr C. J. Hamblyn, was resumed in Wellington on 1 March, when the following officers were elected: President, Dr P. D. Sears, Director, Grasslands Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Palmerston North; vice-president, Mr J. W. Woodcock, Director, Farm Advisory Division, Department of Agriculture, Wellington; executive members, Mr I. L. Elliott, Superintendent, Rukuhia Soil Research Station, Hamilton, Mr J. O. H. Tripp, Outram; secretary, Mrs H. Foster, Department of Agriculture, Wellington. These, with the immediate past-president, Mr C. E. Iversen, Reader in Agronomy, Canterbury Agricultural College, Lincoln, will comprise the executive committee.