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🌱Seed Starting and Fruit Tree Pruning🌳

🌱Seed Starting and Fruit Tree Pruning at Weaver Creek Park🌳<!–



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Phew! All that snow this winter has been great for the orchard.

  • We’re excited for the spring season and off to an early start this year. At Jovial Concepts, we are starting seeds and pruning fruit trees these next two weeks. We invite you out to the orchard to join us at the Weaver Creek Community Gardens starting at 10am each Saturday.
     
  • Now, while our trees are still dormant, is the best time to prune and we could use your help this Saturday at Weaver Creek Park at 10am to help us Prune the orchard trees. Meet us at the raised beds at 10:00 sharp.
     
  • Jovial is hosting a Community Listening Session and Kickoff party with snacks and seeds and more on March 15 beginning at 10am!
     
  • If you did not sign up for a community garden plot either last fall or earlier this year and would like one this year, fill out our sign-up form ASAP. We have a few plots left. More info here: https://forms.gle/aoi7nsXHaYXtfQjR7
     
  • Stay tuned for more updates as we get into the growing season!

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Potato Corn Chowder

A hearty vegetarian dish that’s great for cold winter days.

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Pruning Fruit Trees

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Remember the 4 D’s.
The first thing to do when pruning a fruit tree is to remove Dead, Disease, Damaged, and Deranged branches.

Deranged meaning branches which are sticking into other branches at strange angles or that could possibly rub the bark off of another branch. You can take those out.

Pruning and training trees is a complex topic where extra photos can go a long way.
Check out this resource from Oregon State University for a really good write-up about this whole process: 

Know your tree type
Dwarf fruit trees for example benefit from slightly different pruning techniques than nondwarfs which can grow up to 40 feet tall.

Keep structural branches intact and prune for the right ‘shape’.
Different types of fruit trees benefit from different overall shapes. For example, a vase shape is often used for stone fruits like Peaches; while a central-leader shape is often used for Apples and Pears. Check out the link above for photos.

Did you know?
Most fruit trees we plant have grafted unions between two different trees. The top is a fruit bearing variety, bred for tasty or productive fruit, and is often joined together with a different variety used as a “rootstock”. The rootstock is often a variety bred for disease resistance or to confer some other benefit.


Why Prune?
Pruning can increase fruit production and fruit quality, prevent large branches from breaking later on in a tree’s life, and help prevent disease and fruit rots from taking hold.

Techniques

  • Open the canopy for airflow. Encouraging airflow in the canopy can reduce disease and improve fruit quality.
     
  • Aim to keep branches that have 45-60 degree angles; these are stronger and can bear more fruit than branches with tighter angles. 
     
  • Prune out Watersprouts and suckers. Watersprouts are thin branches that stick straight up and grow vertically; they can grow very quickly over a year. Suckers are similar but grow from the rootstock of a grafted fruit tree.

Additional Information from trusted education based resources.

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