February 14 is Valentine's Day, but our Orthodox Christians celebrate Saint Tryphon.
He is the patron saint of winegrowers and orchards.
According to tradition, on that day you go out into the orchard and start pruning the fruit trees.
That rule applies to our smaller fruit growers. Those who have a few hectares literally do not rest over the winter.
That day was not suitable for pruning, a rainy day, more like a drizzle and dew in the air. So I postponed it to February 22. It is Sunday, I was resting from my regular job, although it was a changeable day, they did not announce rain, so I decided to prune the fruit. This Sunday they announce warm and sunny weather, so I was worried that the fruit trees would not open their buds.Here are some pictures that I have already posted here, so you can see what the fruit looked like before pruning.
Why prune fruit trees?
Fruit trees are pruned for several reasons.
The first and most important is to establish a balance between vigor, leaf mass and fruit.
The second is to remove old, diseased, broken branches.
And the third is if we need to force the fruit tree to start producing new branches.
When I started a few years ago, it's been two decades :) First I only removed broken branches and those that were clearly sick, then some branches if they were passing or just to expand.
Although pruning was better than no pruning anyway.
But over time I learned, I asked questions. My uncle also keeps an orchard, so I picked up a lot of knowledge from him.
A basic rule is to light the canopy, so that the sun can reach every fruit. And at the same time, it increases ventilation and reduces the occurrence of disease and fruit rot.
The real magic is to strike the right balance between leaf and fruit. And the magic comes when you learn that each type of fruit tree is specific and requires slightly different pruning.
I wanted to have as many types of fruit as possible, to have my own healthy, not sprayed. But it is also a nightmare for pruning. I had to learn about each three separately. You have to know on which branches it bears which fruit, whether they are one-year or two-year branches. Does the tree bear fruit on the so-called May buds?
Cherries, for example, grow on May bouquets and on one-year-old branches.
I neglected my cherries that are on the street a little, I let them push out too many branches and become thick, thicker than 2 cm in diameter.
When such a situation occurs, a saw is used. And be sure to coat that wound with grafting wax. To prevent the entry of parasites and diseases.
I decided on one type of crown, although it also depends on the type of tree, but I generally force an improved pyramid.
It consists in leaving one central branch as a guide and trying to create several floors of branches.
These floors are arranged in a spiral or a circle around that central branch. We make sure that the branches shade each other and that the upper floors are shorter in width.
I'll try to list all the species I have in my yard and orchard so you can see what a struggle I've been through :)
Now it's much easier when the craft is done: cherry, sour cherry, lingonberry, apricot, pear, fig, persimmon,sambucus nigra,grapevine, plum, mulberry, lingonberry, medlar, quince, vineyard peach, apple...
For example, a quince tree does not need to be pruned, but rather just removed excess branches to lighten and ventilate the crown.It bears fruit on one-year-old branches.
And as the icing on the cake it also depends on the variety of the fruit tree itself
The Šumadinka type sour cherry is a larger tree and the Oblačinska type sour cherry can also be grown as a shrub.
I hope I didn't confuse or scare you. Just be brave with the fruit trees. The advice is to learn one fruit tree at a time. Let the knowledge settle and then you can move on to the next one.
For pruning you need small and large scissors for two hands, a saw, grafting wax for wounds. I also use something called blue oil. Protection after pruning from diseases, parasites, fungal infections. I SPRAY ALL FRUIT WITH IT. And that is also the only spraying I do. Only in cases where the fruit tree is really badly attacked do I use some other means. Mostly there are combinations of cinnamon, baking soda, nettle... depending on the fruit's needs and purpose.
Do you prune your fruit?
And of course the job wouldn't have been so well done if my son hadn't found some fun in it all. Since he's still too young to pass on this craft to him, he played with the branches.
Thanks for reading.
Until next time.
Stay healthy.
Markone85
