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Apple pruning season has come to an end, climbing the semi dwarf trees had almost made me lose an eye, scratched my hands, and ripped my semi-tight pants, but these little bumps are nothing to complain nor be concerned about. Tree climbing and care is fulfilling for me and it has solidified my love for perennial agriculture. I enjoyed the pace, the cold face and warm wool layered sweaters acting as my shield against the unpredictable winds and drifts. I have never pruned apple trees before but have worked on an orchard for the growing season, so I am happy to have completed this aspect of orchards.
Lessons learned: less small cuts-more big cuts. this saves time and makes it efficient, especially when you go around pruning every water shoot to find out you were going to cut the whole branch off anyway.
When I plant an orchard: make sure you are planting the correct spacing! Larry & sue were new farmers when starting out and made the mistake of plant 12 feet apart, but they actually needed 24 feet per tree. this has caused poor air flow, and some disease problems.
planting: When planting it seems to make sense that when planting in rows of different varieties, fruit trees should be planted in rows that have a similar range of time for harvesting, so you can organize the orchard in a way to know exactly where the fruit that need to be harvested are instead of having to move through the entire orchard. I think this may help more for pick your own as well.
Tools: make sure the loppers are sharp. Poor cuts can be a vector for pathogens.
Guard dogs: Having Dogs that scare away the deer and other animals is an effective way in maintaining 'pest control'.
cleanup: Having a clean orchard is important, all the branches and leaves that fall onto the ground can be host for fire blight, and other pathogens/pest.