Natura Classica

1. When to plant fruits?

Planting seedlings of fruit trees can be successfully performed during the winter dormancy, from the end of the growing season in the fall, until the start of vegetation in the spring. However, in the regions of temperate zones, winter is not suitable for planting seedlings of fruits (except for rare exceptions), because the land is frozen, and the planting itself cannot be performed neither easily nor properly. Thus, in practice, only two periods remain for planting in which it should be done: late fall and early spring. Winter for this purpose may be considered only in case there are extremely favorable weather conditions and the soil allows fruit trees to be planted properly and relatively easy. In our climatic conditions, if the land preparations are opportunely done, autumn planting is the best for seedlings of fruit trees. With this we achieved better reception of seedlings, because on the open sections of roots, callus begins to form early and so does the mass of smaller roots. Except for that, seedlings can deal with winter frosts better that way than when they are foisted in early March. Compared to the autumn planting, this plantation has only one advantage: already prepared soil becomes looser, softer and more appropriate because during winter it is exposed to the effects of frost. If we are late with the spring planting, reception is worse, seedlings develop poorly, and vegetation begins late.

2. Where to plant?

Lands with a slight slope are the best for growing crops. If possible one should avoid land located anywhere near the woods, because in that case it would be incomparably harder to protect the fruits as they would be attacked by the pests out of the woods. Also, land in the major valleys should be avoided because there is a greater risk of frost and salt. The bigger problem with those places could be if they retain water for a long time during winter, which may lead to rotting of plants and frozen water can cause damage to the fruit trees. New orchards should not be set on the place where the old one was just removed, and also the land on which potatoes were grown should be avoided. The best land for that, is a lend where grains were grown. If possible, it would be desirable that the direction of the rows is north-south. Isolation of orchards rows is at maximum if orchard is set this way, color of the fruits is better and they evenly mature, and wind flow is better.

3. How to plant?

Before planting the land has to be prepared. When planting, the soil has to be dry enough to be loose, it mustn’t be muddy. If you are planting in your garden, where the land hasn’t been plowed, you have to dig a hole first. The depth of the hole is determined by how deep the seedling was planted before that plus about ten centimeters, and it should be slightly wider than the root of the plant. This is done to leave enough loose soil for the plant to take root. When digging the hole, some of the soil from the lowest layer should be removed and grounded as much as possible. That’s usually less fertile soil, but it will be useful later on .After that, pour about ten liters of water in the hole, the amount varies on how much the ground can absorb. This will make the watering process easier in the beginning, since the ground will get the needed amount of moist. The hole then needs to be fertilized. After that, place the seedling in the middle of the hole and gently fill it in with the remaining soil so the roots are well covered. The seedling should be in the ground to the same height that it was in the nursery garden. The ground around it should than be pressed down and watered so that the fine soil would prevent the roots from whitening. For the top layer use the less fertile soil that has been removed while digging the holes. This is done because that soil does not, or it is less likely to contain any darnel seeds, so that we , for the first year, don’t have to weed weeds.

4. How to prune?

For a rich harvest winter pruning is especially important because the amount of fruit directly depends on proper pruning. Even when it comes to young trees of ages from 6 to 8 years, winter pruning is important because it stimulates growth and affects the subsequent form of wood. The best months for winter pruning are January and February. The fruit in the resting stage then. It is also easier to shape the tree because there are no leaves on it. First, remove the thicker branches that grow inward, downward or upward and then remove the dead leaves. All branches that grow upward should be cut at the place of branching in order to encourage their growth and bud formation. This will also strengthen the horizontal branches and those that grow outwards because they are also the ones that provide the most fruit. Shoots that have already formed buds should be shortened by one third. That way branches will not be too long and will not break under the weight of the fruit. In order for treetop to get a nice shape, all thin branches that grow right down or up should be cut off.