To Spray or Not to Spray

 To Spray or Not to Spray

 

After all of the research, reading, asking questions of many a professional, what I learned is very simple.  If you do not spray you do not get fruit.  For as controversial as that might sound it is true.  It is not that your fruit might be scarred, that is not the issue.  Beauty is in the eye of the grower.  What is the issue is saving your tree from very nasty insects, bacteria and fungi that will kill your trees.

Owning a small private orchard is deluxe and very special.  That said, the work that goes along with the understanding of growing, spraying, training, planting, mulching, bagging, weeding. . . the list is endless goes with an orchard. The work is not deluxe.   Once you see fruit growing, however,  all of the work turns into magic.  

I decided to start my own orchard in 2009.  I took the entire winter of 2008 to plan it.  I started with six trees, then added three to four  trees each year.  Being an orchardist is a very addictive hobby.  There is always an excuse to buy 'just one more tree'.

The plan was to grow my own fruit to cook, bake, make jams, tarts, pies and everything fresh from my orchard.  It is a glorious feeling to go out on a summer morning in August and pick your first peaches and apples. 

 I spray 'Dormant Oil' first.  Dormant Oil is a petroleum based product, that is diluted with water then sprayed on your 'dormant' trees.  Dormancy takes place during winter and late winter.  It is the time when your trees take their long winter's nap.  The spray creates a light coating over all of the branches and trunk.   The oil smothers mites, assorted insect eggs, and wounds, that have 'over-wintered'.  Dormant Oil is preventative medicine for your trees.  All of the sprays that will be discussed are used for disease and insect prevention.

Spraying all twenty-two trees only takes a little over an hour.  It is a great way to end a two day session of late winter pruning.  

Now that we are back on day-light saving time, work can really get started.  It is sunnier, and warmer, making for few excuses to get my orchard in order.  

  

My Orchard

 

It is almost time for another spring to begin in Newport, RI, it is March 2013.  My orchard has just been pruned.  It is a private orchard with stone fruit and pome fruit.  My berry collection is an add on.  The fruit trees I am growing were selected and planted with purpose.  Needless to say, I wanted fruit, but I wanted interesting fruit.

 

I have American hybrids and a number of European varieties that have not yet caught on in the US. What is most exciting is my new white 'Honey Water' peach from China, that will be arriving this at the end of this month.  It is a 'Shui Mi Tao'.  A very juicy, but fragile, large white peach.   

 

My Apples:  Jonagold, Enterprise, Pristine, Motts Pink, and Crimson surprise.  Crimson surprise is a 'red-fleshed'apple and Motts Pink is really pink!

Apricots:  Harglow and Tomcot

Plums:  Italian Prune Plum, Reine Claude de Bavay, Mirabelle de Metz, and Mirabelle de Nancy (2).

Peaches:  Early Crawford, Belle of Georgia, Shui Mi Tao, and Elberta.

Cherry:  A fabulous 'Montmorency' classic sour cherry.

Pears:  This is a grafted pear on Quince rootstock.  The five grafted pears are all European varieties.  Flemish Beauty, Comice, Anjou, Seckel, and, Bartlett.

 

They have all just had their early spring spray of dormant oil.  This will protect them from early mites, and smother nasty insect eggs that might have 'over-wintered'.

 

My last walk about this morning only proved there is much weeding to do in the orchard, but the sun is really warm when it is out, so this chore will be easier.  I cannot wait until the orchard is in bloom this May.  The fragrance is over-whelming and a pure delight.

 

Hmmm. . . time to sharpen my tools.

 

Mrs. G