Before you can begin to plant your fruit, nut or berry orchard, much planning has already occurred. Site selection, water management, enterprise budgets, research on pest and disease management practices, marketing plans, soil testing and site preparation are all on the list of must-dos before even considering which varieties to grow. After you’ve worked through … Read more
Cleaning up at the end of the growing season is often a chore that the producer would gladly ignore. The experts remind us that it is an important aspect of orchard management and maintenance particularly for apple scab control and for reducing rodent damage. In Europe, sheep and apple production were often integrated and sheep … Read more
It’s a goal orchardists work toward all season: getting the crop to maturity for a bountiful, high-quality harvest of fruit. Depending on marketing outlets, the timing of harvesting related to fruit maturity can differ. Orchards, Getting to Harvest Growers offering pick-your-own typically want as much ripe fruit available on the trees when the majority of their … Read more