Growing an Orchard

Wick1

Hi, I have 1/3 of an acre which I want to grow an orchard in.
I`m thinking apples / plums / strawberries etc., approx. 8 lines at 1.5m apart or so.
Can someone please advise on what varieties / plant spacing / any do`s / donts etc.
Thank you.

magicbastarder

i reckon you'll need greater spacing between the trees than 5ft.
best give irish seed savers a shout for advice; they can advise on stock choice and planting.

Oldtree

agreed, I have 5 of theirs:

http://store.irishseedsavers.ie/Organic_Fruit_Trees_s/42.htm

but when starting off with an orchard it may be a good idea to taste the apples first before planting.

lottpaul

A bit will depend first of all on where you are - is it a sheltered site/frost pocket/coastal etc?
Then you want to consider what you will use from the orchard, how organic you want it to be - will you be spraying etc?
If you want to use it intensively you could have cordon trees etc - if you have a wall you can train trees along it etc. Depends on how much time you want to dedicate to looking after it.

The most important thing you will need to do is to research what types you will need to pollinate each other, what types will tolerate colder/wetter areas, a mix of early and late croppers, cookers and eaters etc -- to suit your own place and needs. No point in planting 10 pear trees if only one person in the family eats pears

Our orchard is approx the same size and we have a mix of apples, pears, plums and cherries. We use no chemicals at all, just keep grass away from the base, cut away canker etc, and are fairly sheltered - but in a wet and windy area generally. We normally have plenty of apples, the pears and plums are variable and the birds love the cherries :mad:

We definitely planted some unsuitable varieties over the years and have replaced them with better ones.

Best of luck.