Homestead Mini-Orchard

Last year I posted a few pictures of a orchard we put in up at our place. Several people PMed and others posted showing an interest in growing fruit trees at their cabins. This sparked this homestead mini-orchard experiment. Comments ran from if things get tough and we have to move to the cabin a few fruit trees would sure be nice to have. (I can not agree more.) Some people really wanted to homestead but certainly did not want to invest as we have and I can certainly understand that. Yet it takes time to grow a tree. If you wait until times are bad they really are not going to help you a heck of a lot.

The orchard below has required a huge outlay of time, money, and materials. And a heck of a lot of learning. An orchard such as this needs an eight foot fence to keep the deer and elk out. No guarantee on bears and humans while you are gone. It takes some research as to root stocks that will work where you are located and verities.

Besides the cost of the fruit trees and shipping. Our orchard has corner posts, brace posts and gate posts that are pressure treated 8X8's 11'. Wooden line posts are pressure treated 6X6's 11' The posts go down a minimum of two and a half feet to three foot. Tee posts are 10 foot that they make for orchards. The wire we used was 4' field fence, some we had, some was given to us, and some of course we had to buy. Being so we had to go two runs high to make the 8' it was double or triple the work. Stretching field fence or netting wire is easy if you have done it a lot and know how it is going to act and react. But adding another dimension of an additional four feet and ladder time wow it turned into another world. When we were done and the trees were planted and are now getting established, I must say it is one of the most rewarding things we have done.

I'm looking at doing something similar and have planted 7 Red Oaks along the North West side of where I want to put the Fruit Trees. I hope to have the site prepped before Fall so I can do a fall planting.

My plan is to fence in a dozen trees or so, and provide them water. I plan to use 6 foot fences to start (for deer) with horse fence and barbed wire. I'll have to put in some heavy posts to stop the cows probably -- and then some electric fencing outside of that.

With luck, in a few years we will have a small crop

We have around 30 fruit trees, 6 trees close by the house (peach, 2 apricot, pluot, fig & walnut) and then Glenn made 2 long terraces below the house w/all kinds of fruit & 2 walnuts. Our 3 pomegranate trees started producing the 1st year they were planted. Glenn puts up white plastic twine (actually thicker than twine) at around 7 ft high & criss-crosses it & lets it hang down to form "gates" which fools the deer. We also have lots of barbed wire fencing now to keep the cows in so I think that deters the deer even though they were eating my strawberry plants that are on the roof of part of the shop http://countryplans.com/smf/Smileys/default/angry2.gif

Nice job on your orchard! Looking forward to seeing how your individual trees for the smaller planting does. You've done a lot of work. Bet you are anxious to get to building your cabin & being able to stay up there.

If you are planing a orchard planting where deer can jump the fence, figure eight foot. You can do six but run an additional two foot higher some how. As Sassy says Glenn has had luck with heavy twine. This seem to work. We put in a blue berry plot of 100 blue berry bushes and a 6 foot fence and as I have stated somewhere I never knew they had tape measures because they leap the six foot fence. I am going to have to try Glenns approach there. I am going to have to on my wood posts nail on some raisers and staple on some heavy twine to fool them.

Fall plantings work well in some cases and we have wanted to do some of that. But the nurseries we have bought from will not ship then. As of late we get all our trees bare root from Adams County Nursery http://www.acnursery.com/

As far as apples just passing this on - EMLA 7 and EMLA 111 rootstocks work well up there. We pretty much will not plant anything not anchored to them. And I would think they would as well up there in the Okanogan Country as well. That would be a start, however I do not know anything about your soil. Root stock was a key in finding apples that would grow well. For your area find a couple verities that bloom mid-season to late because of frosts. A crab apple in some cases works well for a pollinator so I have read.

Sweet cherries - let someone else do those and save your money. We have tried and tried and none are hearty enough to find two to cross pollinate. Montmorency pie cherries are very hearty and pollinate themselves.

There are a few real hearty peaches, and the pears we have tried. The orchard and nursery people up there in the Okanogan Country would most likely steer you well. We did not have that luxury here, everyone we talked to was tuned into the Boise Valley. Not short growing seasons and 5000' and lots of snow. Lots of snow helps protect the roots by the way, or so I understand.

I like your triangular corrals. I don't think deer will jump into something that small- there's no where to land. I've also heard that either a double fence, or one that slopes outward will stop them because they're afraid of the distance rather than the height. Of course, if you neglect to explain these 'rules' to the deer, they may go ahead and jump in anyway! I was planning to grow my blueberries between two 6' fences to discourage deer, and then it will support netting to keep the birds out when the berries ripen