With a bit of attention throughout the year, you can have healthy, productive fruit trees to supply your homestead with delicious homegrown fruits like cherries, plums, pears and apples. Here at the Snohomish and Monroe Co-Op we have tools and products to help keep your homestead orchard at its healthiest and most productive. Most fruit tree pruning should happen in the late winter and early spring. However, summer care is still important to keep your trees strong and resilient against insects, disease, and stress.
Inspect your trees throughout the season for signs of insect or disease. Notice how your established trees are growing. If there are any broken branches or dead branches, remove them using a sharp pair of pruners. We have pruning shears at both the Snohomish and Monroe Co-Op in different sizes suitable for different jobs. At our Monroe Location we even have pruners on extended poles that can reach up to 12’ high. If a large branch on your fruit tree has fallen, or needs removed, seal up the wound with a pruning sealant from Bonide. For pruned, grafted, or damaged wood on trees, Bonide’s pruning sealer won’t burn or run. Its antiseptic sealant will protect your tree against insects and disease. While you’re inspecting your tree for dead branches, or wounds, take note of which limbs are creating too much shade. This will help you plan which branches to prune come late winter, early spring.
Fruit trees need water to produce plump, juicy fruit. Water your homestead orchard deeply, and less often to promote strong roots. If your soil is sandy, water every 1-2 weeks. If your soil has more clay in it, water every 2-3 weeks. Consider setting up soaker hoses around your trees. Available at the Snohomish and Monroe Co-Op, soaker hoses deliver water straight to the soil line without getting water on the trunk, fruit, and leaves, which can cause damage to your tree and splitting of your fruit. You can even get a Manual Watering Timer to automatically shut off water at the desired time. Make sure to water your fruit trees all the way out to the drip line of the tree branches to support optimal hydration.
After a deep watering, a layer of much will help keep moisture from evaporating. Use an airy layer of straw or alfalfa hay, 3-4 inches deep, spread around the base of your tree. Soft layers of mulch at the base of the tree will help control weeds, keep moisture close to the roots, and act as a cushion for any fruit that drops during harvest. Wood chips as mulch are not ideal for fruit trees because decomposers of wood chips use nitrogen from the soil that the fruit tree needs. Stick to lighter material for mulching like straw, alfalfa, or grass hays, all available at both the Snohomish and Monroe Co-Op.
Keep an eye on your homestead orchard for invasive pests that might damage and destroy your crop. The Snohomish and Monroe Co-Op have organic solutions to control insects in your orchard. Check out Captain Jack’s Deadbug Brew by Bonide. This spray is approved for organic gardening to control a wide range of insects like bagworms, leaf borers, beetles, caterpillars, coddling moths, thrips, spider mites, and more. Also available from Bonide is their 3-in-1 Neem Oil. Approved for organic gardening, Neem Oil is an insecticide, fungicide, and miticide. Control plant disease, mites, and all stages of insect life cycles safely on your fruit trees and fruits. Visit the Snohomish and Monroe Co-Op to find a wide selection of Bonide products to support fruit trees and prevent pests, fungus and disease from invading your orchard.
When your fruit trees are ready to harvest, make sure you handle the fruit gently. For hard to reach fruit, use a True Temper fruit harvester with a telescoping pole, available at the Snohomish and Monroe Co-Op. Store harvested fruits in cardboard or wood boxes, spread out so fruits don’t touch, in dark a cool place. Bruised fruit does not store well, and can cause over-ripening in unblemished fruit. Use less-than-perfect fruits to make jams, preserves and sauces. You can find all the canning supplies you need at the Snohomish and Monroe Co-Op to preserve the taste of summer all year long.
