Homestead mailing list

[Lisa Perry <lkvp AT floydva.net>]

Gene GeRue wrote:

> I just checked Gene Logsdon's ORGANIC ORCHARDING. Boy, do I love 
> having my books back on shelves! After he gives the varying 
> orchardist's opinions, he ends with, "Or you can, without too much 
> fear, follow the old orchardists' wry advice: Prune when your pruning 
> knife is sharp."

I need to get that book.  Love the comment. 

> My personal experience is that modern trees are so vigorous in growth, 
> and likely I feed and water them too much, that pruning needs to be 
> done on a year-round basis or they become unmanageable. 

We usually prune some at the end of summer and then again in winter, but 
this past summer/fall we were too involved with our house addition & 
partial remodel to get anything else done.  So the trees haven't been 
pruned for one full year.  Maybe at the very least we could get the 
watersprouts pruned.  Some of those watersprouts off the old Stayman 
Winesap tree will make excellent material for a waddle fence or twig 
furniture project---when I have more time for such things.

Lisa