“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” –Martin Luther

I’ve been thinking of our latest show as I’ve worked in my orchard this weekend. After I’ve picked and filled the bushel baskets, I’ve stored them in the cellar then covered them so they can “sweat” before I press them into cider in a few weeks. They don’t actually sweat, but as they soften they will provide more juice than hard apples right off the tree. CONTINUED…

Several callers and emailers asked about planting trees or bringing back old trees on their property. As Ben Watson, our guest, pointed out, rejuvenating old, neglected or wild trees, can be a lot of work and money, since any beginner will need sound advice and professional skill to do the job. It involves taking off all the dead and diseased limbs as well as cutting back on lateral growth too, a process the should be done over several years. You’ll also need to analyze the soil and leaves to see what’s missing and what you’ll need to do. And that’s just for starters. You decide. I acquired part of my orchard when I bought my house. The rest of it I planted myself.

First let’s consider starting out with new trees. You’ll want to plant in the spring, which gives you time to research some varieties. Planting fruit trees is relatively easy. Getting them to bear decent fruit is harder. And if you expect your home grown fruit to look like the beauty queens you find in the supermarket, then you’ll need to spend a lot of time and a lot of money on spraying. Remembering that’s it’s not the look, but the taste you’re after, you will be much happier in your role as apple grower by aiming to produce healthy quality apples.

Here’s the work you can expect to do. Apple trees require pruning, but the first year that will be easy, and you can learn as you go along. Because they are prone to a number of diseases and insect predators, you will also have to do a couple of sprays each year. I keep it to a minimum and accept the fact my fruit will win no beauty contests (though I’m hoping they’ll win blue ribbons for taste). In the spring and before the buds flower and the tree leafs out, I spray what’s called dormant oil on the bare wood and buds; it smothers any overwintering insects on the tree. Later, five days after the flower petals fall, and then about ten days after the petals fall, I spray again with an insecticide called Imidan to control a pest called plum curculio. And then in mid-summer I drape the trees with red plastic fake apples covered with lots of sticky Tanglefood to catch apple maggot flies before they land on real apples and lay eggs that will become larvae that will become brown tunnels.

This is why when you’re looking at what type of apple variety to plant, I suggest you consider trees that that are especially resistant or at least tolerant to the most troublesome plant diseases. Some varieties to consider are: Liberty,Freedom, Prim, Nova Easy-go, , Priscilla, Sir Prize, Redfree, and Macfree. We are lucky to have a very active program at the Cooperative Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture at the University of Massachusetts, which can provide lots of bulletins and advice.

Planting an orchard can produce a crop of fruit for a generation. You’ll need patience, but the good news is that the best fruit will come from those new and young trees, which are also the easiest to prune and spray. As much work as it’s been, the rewards have been great.