Backyard orchard culture update

Last edited Sat Jul 30, 2022, 11:42 AM - Edit history (1)

One of my goals is to convert my backyard into a vegetable garden and orchard and I want to maximize production out of the space I have. Uding backyard orchard techniques for the fruit trees is one way to help achieve that. The trees will be pruned to keep them to a height of 7 feet and a spread of 8 feet.

Falling down the basement stairs a couple of months ago and having my left shoulder replaced a month ago had put working on the garden and orchard on the back burner. I was able to put in a strawberry bed in a 16 foot by 4 foot bed earlier. Keeping that weeded along with the rows of blueberries, raspberries, honeyberries, and asparagus that I had planted last year weeded and watered too isn't easy. The vegetable garden wasn't planted and I hired a kid to spread hay to mulch it.

The eastern most side of the yard is where I intend to plant the fruit trees but that is a wet area until well into June so I had gotten a load of top soil last year and built up 6 4x4 foot mounds , 8 inches high, each 8 feet apart in a row tunning south to north. My intent was to plant 3 trees of the same type in each of the first 5 mounds, going from south to north and a lone Quince tree in the last, most northern mound.


Upon doing more research, I've found out that I could plant trees that have pitted fruits, such as plums, apricots, and peaches together in close proximity. I also thought that I should reduce the number of trees and give them more space. For them and to make it easier for me to get around them.

To that end, my plan is to remove the 3nd and 4th mounds, transferring the dirt from them to the other mounds. In the 1st, southern most mound, I'll plant 3 different varieties of apple trees spaced 18 inches apart. In the 2nd mound, there will be 2 apricot trees along with a peach tree spaced 18 inches apart. In the 3rd mound there will be 2 plum trees of different varieties along with a peach tree spaced 18 inches apart. In the final mound will be 2 varieties of pear trees planted 18 inches apart.

The peach tree variety I'm considering , Contender, is self pollinating while the apple, plum, pear, and apricots will produce best with another variety to act as a pollinator. I want to plant Honey Crisp and Wolf River apple trees and Jung Seeds, where I'll get my fruit trees from, recommends the Sweet Sixteen apple tree to act as a pollinator for both. All varieties are suited for zone 4 and some can even handle zone 3.

So instead of 16 fruit trees as originally planned, my intent now is to plant 11. This will reduce costs and cut down the amount of labor and still provide an abundance of fruit..