How to Plan an Orchard

There are few things finer in life than going out of your house on a summer’s morning – perhaps holding your child by their hand – to pick the fruit you will eat with your breakfast. Plucking a ripe pear or a crisp apple from the branch, savoring its aroma and looking forward to the fresh, deep taste that comes from cultivating crops in harmony with nature is a wondrous thing.

Most permaculture gardeners with sufficient space will include at least one fruit tree in their garden design. It can provide a focal point in a small suburban plot, or even, if a dwarf variety, add variety to a courtyard garden. Fruit trees are typically the centerpieces of the common permaculture planting technique of guilds, and they bring a lot of benefits to any site, from shade to protect plants and deep roots to improve the soil structure, to attracting birds to the garden and, of course, providing a crop for eating.

For those with more space, an orchard can be a very attractive option. Indeed, orchards are arguably the most likely legacy of your permaculture garden, as with a little care and attention, they will provide fruit for years to come. While the specific attributes of your site and local climate will ultimately influence your choice of fruit trees and the location of your orchard, there are some general guidelines to consider when planning an orchard on your permaculture plot.

Site
Orchards are typically a design feature for Zone 2 of your permaculture plot. Requiring less attention than the vegetables, herbs and fruits in Zone 1, they will still benefit from attention every few days – to check for any potential pest problems or to see if wildlife has been able to access the orchard, for example. You will visit more often when the crop is ready for harvest, and if you allow livestock such as pigs to forage in the orchard, you will want to check on them every day to ensure their needs are being met. However, once established, orchards need very little actual maintenance; with the correct planting when instituting your orchard, it should pretty much take care of itself.

Orchards need a lot of direct sunlight for the trees to grow robustly and to provide abundant, healthy crops – ideally six to eight hours a day. Be aware of any larger trees – or trees that will potentially grow large in the future – that are adjacent to your orchard, either on your plot or your neighbor’s land. These trees may shade out your fruit trees, and compete with them for soil nutrients. However, fruit trees are also susceptible to damage from string winds, so you might want to consider planting trees to act as a windbreak, as long as they won’t shade out the fruit trees.

They also need well-drained soil. A slight slope can be particularly apt as it allows water to drain slowly and avoids the risk of soil erosion. If planting on flat land, make sure the soil is humus-rich by adding lots of organic material, and not too high in clay.

Choose Trees
The two primary things to consider when choosing fruit trees for your orchard are which are suited to your location, and what fruit you like to eat. However, most fruit trees will flourish in most situations given enough sunlight and a well-drained soil. It is worth bearing in mind that some fruit trees – such as Golden Delicious apples, Bartlett pears and most varieties of peach – self-pollinate, meaning you can have just a single specimen in the orchard and it will still set fruit. Others require at least two individual trees in order to cross-pollinate and set fruit. If neighbors have trees of the fruit you want to grow on their property, you may well get pollination that way, but having at least two on your plot is the best guarantee. For these species, plant the specimens next to each other to assist with pollination (and to make harvesting easier).

Soil
Preparing the soil before you plant your orchard is a very good investment to make. It is much harder to adjust the soil once the trees are in the ground. Add lost of organic material to the soil and water it in well. Not only will this help with drainage and nutrient supply, it should get the soil pH to around the desired level. Most fruit species prefer a soil pH of between 6.5 and 7. If your soil is still too alkaline, add some composted animal manure or compost with coffee ground in it, while if the soil is too acidic, consider adding some organic agricultural lime.

Spacing
Consider the space that your fruit trees will need when fully grown. You want them to be close to each other but not so close that their canopies intermingle, as this can affect growth and crop productivity. Individual species will requires distinct spacing, but as a general rule you want to allow a 10-foot circle around a dwarf fruit tree, and a 25-foot circle around a standard-sized tree. If possible orientate your trees north to south so they get maximum exposure to the sun.

Companions
Allowing sufficient space for your fruit trees also gives you room to plant companion plants around each tree in a guild that will benefit both the fruit tree and the companion plants. For instance, the tree can give shade to lower-lying legumes that fix nitrogen in the soil that the tree accesses. Different fruit species favor different companions, but an apple tree guild, for example, could contain dill and fennel that attract pollinating insects, as well artichokes, whose roots help keep the soil in good condition, and nasturtiums to repel pest insects. It is worth considering that most fruit tree species do not do well if surrounded by grass, as the grass competes with the tree roots for soil nutrients and moisture. Plant companions that suppress grass growth, such as leeks, garlic or daffodils. You can also mulch around the tree – although always leave a space around the trunk.

Eight Fruits – A Harvesting Guide

There are few more satisfying activities on the permaculture plot than eating ripe fruit directly from the plant. Plucking a apple from the bough of a tree and crunching into it, standing there in the open air; or easing a pear from its stalk to take back to the kitchen and slice over your breakfast cereal; or getting your fingers stained with the juice of ripe strawberries or raspberries as you harvest the sweet bombs of flavour – these are some of the intensely pleasurable experiences that come with cultivating fruit on your site.

To fully appreciate them – and to ensure they are at their tastiest and most nutritious – it is important to know when fruit is ready to harvest. This avoids picking unripe fruit that is harder to use in the kitchen, or allowing fruit to go overripe and so end up in the compost pile. Here is a guide about the visual and textural clues to look for so you know when various fruits are ripe for the picking.

Cantaloupe
The first sign that a cantaloupe is becoming ready for harvest is that the ‘netting’ that covers the surface will become more pronounced and turn beige from its previous green colour. Also, the blossom end of the fruit should give a little under pressure, and should smell sweet. If you think a fruit is ready to go, give it a little pull; if it is ripe it will come easily away from the stem.

Watermelon
Watermelons have a curly tendril that protrudes from the stem of each fruit-bearing branch. This tendril drying up and turning brown is a signal the fruit is ready for harvest. The other signs that you should harvest the fruit are that the underside that is in contact with the ground will turn yellow or cream in colour, the skin loses its shine and becomes difficult to penetrate with your fingernail, and if you give the melon a tap it will have a resonant sound. Store for a couple of days at room temperature to ripen to optimum taste.

Pear
Pears are actually one of the fruits that it is preferable to harvest a few days before optimum ripeness, allowing them to reach perfection in a bowl indoors and giving you a longer timeframe in which to eat them (if the pear ripens fully on the tree, it will start to spoil within just a day or two of picking). Pears are ready for harvest when the green colour starts to lighten and go yellow. The flesh should still be hard, but if you twist the fruit it should come easily away from the stem. Keep in a bowl in a location between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit and test for ripeness each day. When you press the neck of the pear with your thumb and it gives a little, they are ready to eat. If you want to keep the pears for longer before eating, store in the refrigerator.

Apple
With so many different varieties of apple, it can be tricky to know when your particular variety is ready to harvest. Juvenile apples tend to be green, so if you are cultivating a yellow or red variety, you will see the green change to these mature colours. But, of course, some apples remain green even when mature. So for all apples, the best test is to text how easily the fruit comes off the tree. A ripe fruit will come away easily, with the stem still attached. If a few mature fruits have fallen from the tree, chances are the others are about ready to go. Another check is to open up an apple at the base and check the colour of the flesh – a mature fruit will have paler green colour to its flesh; juveniles are brighter green.

Blueberries
A blueberry is ripe when the fruit is uniformly blue-purple in colour; if you can still see a ring of red around the point where the stem meets the fruit, leave on the plant. If the berry is ripe it should come away in you hand with almost no pressure. A ripe blueberry does not need any pulling to be harvested. In fact, the best way to gather the fruit is to gently roll each one away from the cluster into the palm of your hand.

Peach
Peaches should be left on the tree until they are fully ripe. This will ensure the best flavour and texture, as once picked the fruit starts to deteriorate rather than continuing to ripen in a bowl. When growing peaches have green skin; when these change colour completely, the fruit is mature. The skin will turn a different colour depending on the variety you are cultivating. Yellow-fleshed species will go orange, while those with white flesh will see the skin go yellow-white. Eat soon after picking for the best taste, although peaches can be stored for a day or two in places with high humidity.

Cherries
Cherries keep growing until they are fully mature, so they are ready to be picked when they are plump and almost straining at the skin. You want to ensure that the cherries are at peak ripeness before harvesting, as they do not continue ripening once picked. Sweet cherries will be quite firm to the touch, while sour varieties have a bit more give. Both however should come away from the tree easily when ripe, with the sour varieties detaching from their stems when gently tugged. However, with all varieties, if you wish to keep the fruit for longer than a day, pick with the stems intact. This will extend their prime for two or three more days, especially if stored in the refrigerator.

Strawberries
Pick strawberries that have turned at least three-quarters red. The rest of the fruit will develop this colour after picking if kept in a cool place over the next day or two. Do not harvest fruit that is half, or less, red, as these will not be able to ripen after picking. Harvest early in the morning as the fruit is firmer then and less likely to be damaged during the harvesting process. Keep the stems and ‘caps’ in when you pick.

How to Graft Fruit Trees

Grafting is a technique that allows you to combine a cutting from one tree with the rootstock of another. This can be useful to continue to get a reliable crop of a particular cultivar – for instance, the seed from certain types of apple trees will not go on to be copies of the parent tree so grafting allow you to reproduce from the original cultivar – but also allows you to continue to utilize a vigorous rootstock even when the tree may have lost its production value, and to combine species to produce hybrid fruit. Grafting is also useful as a way of repairing trees that may have been damaged by climatic events such as strong winds or disease, allowing you to replace dead branches that have had to be removed with young, living stems. There are several different methods for grafting fruit trees.

Whip
The whip method of grafting needs the branch to which the graft will be attached and the appendage – called the scion – to be roughly the same size and diameter to work effectively. The branches also need to be quite slender, no more than half an inch across as there is less support for the graft than in other methods. This is why the technique is often used on young apple and pear trees to produce hybrids, rather than on older rootstock. The end of both the branch and the scion are cut at an angle, quite shallow to expose as much surface area as possible, and then the two cut sides are placed face to face. The join is then bound with electrical tape to protect the graft and prevent water and disease entering the wound.

Cleft
The cleft technique of grafting is used to bring vitality back to older, less productive trees whose rootstock remains strong. It is used primarily on apple and pear trees, and can be utilized on the trunks of small trees or the main branches of larger trees. Ideally, you want to use this technique on branches or trunks between two and three inches in diameter, and should not be more than a few feet from the ground or the new tree may grow too large and prove difficult to harvest. Cut off the trunk or the branch with a saw, and then use a hatchet or sharp knife to cut a cleft in the exposed end of the tree limb. Cut the end of the scion into a wedge shape and insert into the cleft. You should not need to cover the graft if the union is tight and secure.

Side
Side grafting sits somewhere between whip and cleft grafts. It is used on trees that are too old for whip grafting but too young and viable to be cut back for bark grafting. Rather than grafting into the cut end of a removed branch, you graft the scion into a cut made into the side of the branch. The cut should be made on a branch at least a foot away from the trunk and should extend no more than halfway across the diameter of the branch. Use a sharp knife rather than a hatchet to retain control over the cut. As above, fashion the end of the scion into a wedge and insert into the cut. If required secure with twine until the graft has taken.

Bark
Bark grafting is typically – like the cleft method – used when an old tree has lost its fruiting vigor. The rootstock is still likely to be robust, however, and grafting young plants onto it can revitalize the tree. It involves sawing off the majority of the tree that is above the ground. You want to take it back to around knee height. Then you use a sharp implement inserted between the bark and the tree on the remaining stump to gently ease the bark away from the underlying wood, creating a gap. The scion – prepared as with the other methods, to have a wedge shape at the end to be inserted – is inserted into this gap, and then the bark is bound tightly to the scion by wrapping either twine or electrical tape around the tree. You may wish to insert two or three scions into the bark and cut back to one when you have determined which has established itself the best on the rootstock. Once a graft has taken, remove the tape or twine so that the tree can grow naturally. Try not to cut the tree back until you are ready to graft – late winter or early spring are the best times for bark grafting – as water can easily get into the tree and potentially spread disease.

Budding
In all the instances above, make sure that the scion you use for the graft has buds on it, as these are essential for fruit forming. Three buds are generally considered a good number for a grafted scion, so that the graft will not depend upon the success of just one. In most cases the best time to graft is in the spring, usually around April or May, when the buds of the scions have set but they have not yet blossomed. There is ne form of grafting that is slightly different.

As the name suggests, this form of grafting focuses on the bud. In fact, it uses just a single bud as the scion, rather than a length of stem or branch. It is often used for fruit trees such as cherry, apricot and plum, which are less amenable to whip and cleft grafting methods. And because you want to use a well-grown bud, it is done in the summer, when the buds have fully developed, rather than the spring. This is also when the bark of the tree to which you are grafting the bud will be at its most pliable. Cut off the bud, leaving about half an inch of stem to hold it by. Cut off any leaves around the bud. Use a knife to cut a ‘T’ shape cut into the bark of the branch you want to graft to, making sure it is at least fifteen inches from the trunk. Slide the ‘handle’ of the bud into the cut and then secure with electrical tape, making sure you leave the bud exposed.