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Orchard Learning

& Caretaking

Welcome to our Educational Orchards Resource Page! Discover the benefits of fruit trees and explore resources to help students learn about orchard management, ecological impact, and nutritional value.

Care for your orchard in every season

Keep your orchard thriving through every season! Learn how to care for your fruit trees year-round with seasonal orchard maintenance tips below.

 

Subscribe to our "Orchard Caretaker" newsletter to get regular updates and detailed guides delivered straight to your inbox.

Spring

• Watering (2 hours per week) start watering in May. Water once a week (fully saturated x2).
o If your trees have been planted in the last couple of years, please be sure to set up a plan for
someone to water your trees throughout the summer. Fruit trees need the equivalent of 1 inch of
rain per week.
• Add mulch or woodchips with cardboard underneath (see instructions in this past issue of the Orchard Caretaker Newsletter). This is to reduce weeds and to show a clear buffer for lawnmowers and for the health of the soil/trees.
• Insect deterrent for trunks (optional 1x every few years/as needed). To prevent burrowers, you can apply a couple of coats of white interior latex paint on the tree trunks at this time of year (the paint can be diluted with up to 50% water). (4 hour project with one person or 1 hour with students)

Summer

• Weekly watering (2 hours per week) If your trees have been planted in the last couple of years, please be sure to set up a plan for
someone to water your trees throughout the summer. Fruit trees need the equivalent of 1 inch of rain per week. If it is a dry summer, young trees will need to be watered (fully saturated x2) on a
weekly basis.
• Thin Fruit (1x/month as needed) Thinning fruit from your trees helps them produce better fruit! Thinning your peach trees is an important maintenance step, if you have not done so already, now is the time! It can be sad to pull fruit off of the tree before it is ripe, but this will help the health of the tree and the size and
quality of the fruit that does remain. More information on thinning can be found in the Orchard
Steward Handbook (4 hour project with one person or 1 hour with students).

Fall

• Monitor your trees for damage/evidence of pests (periodically):
o Are there signs of caterpillar nests?
o Evidence of rodents?
o Have deer eaten any branches?
o Other signs of damage? Bumps? Breaks? See Orchard Steward Handbook
• Watering (regularly as needed through October)
o Depending on rainfall in a particular year, water every other week (fully saturated x2).
• Cover bases of trees with rodent protection!
• Harvest! (4 hour project with one person or 1 hour with students)
o This is a great time for students to enjoy the fruits of their labor! 

Winter

• Clearing snow around bases
o Stomp snow around the bases of trees to prevent buildup/rodents from burrowing and causing
damage.
• Late winter pruning (optional 1x/year) more information on pruning provided in Orchard
Steward Handbook
o Contact ReTreeUS if interested in setting up pruning workshop this time of year or for pruning
guidance
• Checking for caterpillar nests
o Winter is the best time to monitor for and remove Brown Tail Moth webs before the
caterpillars emerge.

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