5 Top Tips for Planting Apple Trees

We are coming into the main planting season now.  Here are some things to be thinking about.

1 Soil condition is vital. If your soil is not friable and you are smearing the sides of the hole the tiny root hairs cannot break through the solid barrier.  Leave it to another day.

2 Soak the tree overnight and keep the roots covered before you plant. Do not let it dry out in the wind.

3 Put in the stake; dig the hole; plant the tree as you go.

4 Planting depth is critical, make sure you are not planting too deeply.

5 Guard the tree immediately.  Rabbits can be very quick off the mark.

Pruning workshops

Our pruning workshop season has got off to a great start.

Saturday 21 January found us in Marlborough with an audience of 70. Everyone was very knowledgeable and extremely enthusiastic and the questions came thick and fast.

We were privileged to be invited into the orchards at Marlborough College to demonstrate pruning techniques on old trees and also into the grounds of Waitrose where we were able to show how to prune an espaliered apple tree.

Many thanks go to Philippa Davenport and her team for organising a very successful and enjoyable day. 

Wiltshire seems to be having great success with both its local food projects and its community orchards, which is good to know.  

Our workshops here in Somerset at West Bradley are filling up fast but we can still squeeze a few more in, so do get in touch if you are interested.  Dates are 9 & 23 Feb and 3 March.