Fruit tree pruning workshop
The rain Gods gave us a break Sunday afternoon the 18th of June in order for horticulturist Stephen Lenghaus to give a 3-hour hands on workshop on fruit-tree pruning. One definitely learns by doing and Stephen encouraged everyone to have a go.
The first step is to have sharpened and sterilised equipment to ensure little opportunity for infection to spread between trees. One of the cheapest disinfectants for sterilising all tools is methylated spirits, this can be applied to the blades using a cloth or spray bottle. Fruit tree pruning can happen year around but most deciduous pruning should occur during dormancy (late winter into early spring). This also makes it easier to view the branches as all the leaves have dropped by then. Having an open framework or vase shape seems to be the preferred option in order to allow light and air circulation in through the centre of the tree. After a vase shape is established when the tree is young, ensure the trees are kept to a manageable size so the fruit can be easily picked and netted in order to prevent pest damage.
The next step is the 3D’s remove branches that are:
- Diseased
- Dead
- Damaged
- Plus, suckers below the graft
After that in order to allow air circulation once the fruit have set, ensure branches are not:
- Crossing
- Pointing downward
- Too close together
The above are easy first steps for most novice fruit tree growers. The next step is learning which branches produce next year’s fruit to ensure the more nuanced pruning facilitates greater fruit production in future years. While one can’t be expected to learn everything in 3 hours, it was a highly informative session that will hopefully help our fruit trees to be more productive in the years to come. On behalf of every one who attended, we thank Stephen for his time and sharing his invaluable pruning knowledge with us. We will be getting him back for a supervising session before Spring.