IN THE ORCHARD
Beginner’ s guide to fruit tree pruning
Pruning time, of fruit trees, roses and shrubs, is the one time in your garden where you get a chance to correct the mistakes you made in previous years. And now, August, is pruning time.
From page 35
main predators are a wide range of birds and mammals that prey upon them at the soil surface. And, as we have seen, hammerhead worms. Because earthworms do not like soil that is too acid, alkaline, dry, wet, hot or cold, their presence is a good indicator of soil conditions suitable for plant growth. So how can we create soil conditions that encourage earthworms? If your soil is acid, add lime which will raise the pH, and also adds calcium, which they need. We know that earthworms feed on dead or decaying plant remains, including
And the biggest mistake most beginner pruners make is to prune too lightly. The principles of pruning are much the same for fruit trees and roses, and start with the need to ensure the plant ' s health and longevity. In the case of fruit trees, one
straw, leaf litter and dead roots, so spreading this kind of material on the soil as mulch will be useful. Green manure crops that are turned into the soil will have a similar effect, as will allowing crop stubble to decompose in the field. Rotating pasture with crops helps build up organic matter levels and earthworm numbers. Avoid the use of highly acidifying fertilisers such as ammonium sulfate and some fungicides, as they reduce worm numbers. Keep the soil moist, because worms can lose 20 % of their body weight each day in mucus and castings.
of the major aims of pruning should be to ensure that the tree ' s limbs do not become overburdened, which will result in them breaking under the weight of leaves and fruit. Another aim should be to limit the number of fruits that the tree produces, because a
IN THE GARDEN
It is difficult for earthworms to move through heavily compacted soil, so keep vehicle and animal traffic in your pastures to a minimum, especially in wet conditions. Using no-till methods of agriculture will result in an increase of worms in your soil. Youmightfindthatsome parts of your smallholding are richer in earthworms than others. What you can do is cut pasture sods from areas with high worm populations tree pruned too lightly will produce many, many small fruits, regardless of how much water and fertiliser you give it. Also, pruning should entail shaping the tree in such a way that sunlight reaches into the heart of its branches,
Continued on page 39
and transfer them to wormfree areas. New colonies will establish within a couple of years as long as there is plenty of organic matter, and soil and climatic conditions are favourable. It is important that you transplant pasture, not just worms. Do not try and transplant compost worms into agricultural soils. Species that thrive in compost will not survive the harsher conditions of paddock soils, which dry near the surface.
37 www. sasmallholder. co. za