They chase each other, and their own tails and generally work themselves into near collapse. This is the signal then that they can go back to the house and we will have a nice evening with the dogs asleep at our feet while we read or watch TV.
When they do not get enough exercise, waaaay too many toys get "kilt"!!
While they are burning off extra energy, there is time to look over the fruit tree sans leaves. Now it is easy to see where pruning should be done to open up the tree thru the middle and to see the fruit spurs for next year. You can also get a sense of the general health of the tree by looking at the bark, dead wood, and insect damage.
This time of year, I also like to figure out what kind of training the tree is going to need. I make braces to force large limbs away from each other. Fairly easy to do. I use old scrap 2' x 4' pieces, measuring the approximate spread I need which determines the length of the brace. Then notch each end of the brace, and smooth it out with a wood rasp and file so the bark is not damaged when the wind blows rocking the limbs back and forth across the brace. Bracing helps the tree develop form and shape, and by training and pruning your tree will be stronger over all.
Inspecting each tree gives a work plan for the dormant period. Dormant spraying will start in January and insect control devices will be places as soon as it warms up. Using pesticides goes against our philosophy so we try to use things compatible with organic gardening. The dormant sprays we use are acceptable as is the copper spray we use later in the year. Recently, a farmers magazine listed an old time insect trapping system used to control insect including coddling moth. So that will be part of our plan for this year. The recipe is 2 cups of cider vinegar plus 2 cups of sugar plus two cups of water in a gallon jug placed under the tree. I plan two traps per tree so have been buying sugar on sale all fall.
At the end of the season, bugs vinegar and all will be added to the compost pile, jugs rinsed and stored for the next year, assuming they worked out well.
Once the severe freezing of the high desert winters of Central Oregon warm toward spring, it is time to prune before budding out starts. Many people prune in the fall after dormency occurs. Here we can have a cold fall, that warms and then drops again. So pruning is left until we are sure things are truly dormant. Some say you can prune apple anytime. Generally the state extension services have guidelines for pruning methods and time frames.
Our trees are four years old and this year we had apples for fresh use, storage and applesauce. A few pears for fresh eating cropped up as well.
We decided to add asian pear this last summer. We had ordered two which arrived late April. They were planted as directed and by June first had not leafed out. Since we use Miller Nurseries out of New York, they guarantee their trees. So I notified them and shortly two more arrived and were planted in another site. About two weeks later another Asian pear arrived, this one with 3 varieties on it. And the two that failed to leaf out, leafed out. So now we have 5 Asian pears totalling 6 varieties. If they all survive and fruit, I guess we will be making booze!!
The winds here in the winter can be variable. Winds have exceeded 85 mph and took off our roof a couple years ago. So trees have to be well staked to keep from being blown over. The root systems are fairly shallow as they do not work into the hard pan. However we do plant our trees in heavily mulched berms so the roots can spread out, gaining as good a foot hold as possible. We mulch them heavily in order to protect the roots from severe freezes which can reach twenty below, and to retain moisture throughout the hot summers.
After perusing all 9 trees, it is time to bring the dogs back to the house for the evening. They are pooped out and I have a to do list laid out for myself.
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