It is a beautiful day here in N.E. Iowa and here I sit with almost nothing to do. Oh, dont get me wrong, I have plenty of personal things to do but lack the funds to do them. Due to ground frost and mud and such doing a paying job is kind of tough right now. Landscaping is kind of seasonal thing when you do it with a shovel, wheel barrow and sledge hammer in this neck of the country. But I was thinking today of how busy I used to be years ago around this time of year just trimming fruit trees for folks around here. I'm not trying to brag but I am one of only a handfull of guys in my area that will even bother to trim fruit trees for some one if not thee only one in my area. I was taught back in 1977 by my soon to be FIL who was a life long old school nurseryman. We used to sell over a 1000 fruit trees every year in the spring. Now a days we still sell maybe a tenth that amount but I do very little trimming any more. Folks just plant the trees and expect them to provide an abundance of fruit with no care what so ever. I guess the store is only a short trip from home in a $35,000 four wheel drive grocery getter any more. No real point to this post, just an observation. In case you want a crash coarse in trimming fruit trees, I will give you lesson #1 as taught to me so many years ago. There are only 2 days a year you cant trim a tree or shrub. Christmas and Easter. You should spend those days with family and friends. Also, never trim any type of tree or shrub unless you are really mad about something cuz you will not do a good enough job of it. Iffn you cant throw a basketball thru the limbs when you is done you aint mad enough.
I actually would love some pointers. Bought a house in the fall that came with several young apple trees and I have no idea how to care for them. Haven't even started researching yet. Any tips on where to start?
Ya, We planted some apple and a cherry tree a couple of years ago. I trimmed them last year, but I'm far from an expert. I have a couple hundred pine trees and I love to trim them every year. I have some looking really nice!
Ah ha. The pruning is on the calendar to hopefully do yet this week here. By the sounds of the weather, it is going to be a warm spring and I do like to get it done before other outdoor work comes begging to do. Also like to get it done before the bugs come out. Would a soccer ball count? I know some who use a ping pong ball or a tennis ball! How about a hula hoop?
Plenty of good vids on pruning. Kind of hard to explain other wise. I always have trimmed using the vase method. This lets more light and air into the tree.. Dont be afraid to thin them out really good. On older over grown trees you have to be careful what you do. Trimming branches 3" in diameter and larger runs the risk of starting rot. Trimming is only half the battle though. Be prepared to spay too. Depending on the weather, next month you should start checking for buds. Spray with a dormant oil as per directions.
So. What do you do on Easter or Christmas and family gets you really angry? Can you still go out and trim?
Those are the times that you give thanks to God that he gave us humans the wisdom to invent BOOZE. Then you eat yer gullet full and take a nap and hope that when you wake up the offending parties have gone home to woller in their own chit until next year. Or, you could just make the best of it wif yer cousin Bertha. Just keep tellin your self that aint a tick on her face, it's a beauty mark.
Well I wasnt mad at nuthin today but I took a minute and trimmed our old cherry tree back some. Got more tree on the ground than I left I do believe. Got some small apples to trim tomorrow.
Bonide cuz thats the brand we sell at the nursery. This is what we use. Insect & Disease Control As with any type of chemical application, use only as according to directions on the labels. The all season spray is a good one shoe fits all type of spray.
Around 10 years or so ago, my wife planted a couple cherry trees out back. Now she explicitly told me where the friggin' things were, but I forgot and ran right over them with the lawn tractor..... Now when she plants anything, she has to put cinder blocks around them, or plant them amongst the wild turnip in the back field.....
