It is possible to grass down in between cordon trees and much of the mowing can, of course, be done mechanically. The grass underneath the cordons themselves has to be cut from time to time by hand, but can be allowed to lie there as a mulch. I often uses the excess from in between the cordon rows as a mulch in the rows themselves, and this does discourage the growth of grass underneath the cordons to reduce the amount of handwork, in consequence, to a minimum. For the very small garden there is a lot to be said for the Family tree.
By means of the arching, the trees are brought into fruiting early, and by means of the training we get the maximum branch coverage in the minimum of space.
Strong one-year-old trees are planted, grafted on to the M. IX or M. VII stock-they should not be less than 4 feet tall. The trees are arched so that the leader is attached to a wire stretched tightly at 18 inches above soil level.
Family trees can be bought bearing (a) three cooking apples, i.e. early, mid-seascn and late; (b) three eating apples for mid-season; and (c) one cooking and two eating apples; or (d) three late varieties of dessert apples. Choice varieties of apples are is Arthur Turner. It is a regular and abundant cropper, grows fairly upright and will pollinate Bramley's Seedling. A nice dark green round apple with slight orange-red flush on one side. Season Aug.-Oct. Resistant to scab.
The cordons as they develop are tied to the wires which should preferably be of the old `telephone type' so that they damage the bark of the trees as little as possible. To make certain that the tops of the trees are quite straight canes are tied to the wires with string and the young growths are then tied along the lanes, thus the trees are kept straight from base to tip.
For the first three years the end growth or leader is cut back by about half each winter and the laterals, as they develop, in the winter, are pruned back to within an inch of their base. After three years it is possible to adopt the summer pruning system. This means that the young laterals when they reach a length of 9 inches are pruned back to within of an inch of their base in the summer. The leader or end growth can go on being pruned in December until the tree is about 5 feet long. It is best to delay the pruning until May, each year, the leader being cut back by about half. - 15266
By means of the arching, the trees are brought into fruiting early, and by means of the training we get the maximum branch coverage in the minimum of space.
Strong one-year-old trees are planted, grafted on to the M. IX or M. VII stock-they should not be less than 4 feet tall. The trees are arched so that the leader is attached to a wire stretched tightly at 18 inches above soil level.
Family trees can be bought bearing (a) three cooking apples, i.e. early, mid-seascn and late; (b) three eating apples for mid-season; and (c) one cooking and two eating apples; or (d) three late varieties of dessert apples. Choice varieties of apples are is Arthur Turner. It is a regular and abundant cropper, grows fairly upright and will pollinate Bramley's Seedling. A nice dark green round apple with slight orange-red flush on one side. Season Aug.-Oct. Resistant to scab.
The cordons as they develop are tied to the wires which should preferably be of the old `telephone type' so that they damage the bark of the trees as little as possible. To make certain that the tops of the trees are quite straight canes are tied to the wires with string and the young growths are then tied along the lanes, thus the trees are kept straight from base to tip.
For the first three years the end growth or leader is cut back by about half each winter and the laterals, as they develop, in the winter, are pruned back to within an inch of their base. After three years it is possible to adopt the summer pruning system. This means that the young laterals when they reach a length of 9 inches are pruned back to within of an inch of their base in the summer. The leader or end growth can go on being pruned in December until the tree is about 5 feet long. It is best to delay the pruning until May, each year, the leader being cut back by about half. - 15266
About the Author:
Should your fruit tree garden be subject to frost, choose varieties which flower late.
