Orchard location

[Mattyq2402]

This question has been asked before but seeing if anyone has changed their thought process.

Where are you placing your orchards? One single orchard or multiple? Are you placing them in a destination food source? Are you placing a couple in transition plots? Any in interior kill plots?

Just curious as I enter another year of putting in 15 more trees?currently on the new farm all of mine 25 or so are in the destination plot. I do have space in my interior woods half acre which has a great pinch leading to destination, thoughts on adding a couple pears there, I’d like to eventually get a box blind up. Or would you keep the treats in the destination?

 

[RGrizzzz]

I'm trying to have a few, spread out. Roughly a dozen or so trees per area. You didn't mention how large your property is. I'll have about 5 on 225 acres. That doesn't count locations with hard mast.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

We have some in a "main" orchard at camp (same acreage as RGrizz above), and we have a number of them scattered around at likely stand locations. We have about 82 fruit trees total.

2 pieces of advice - make sure they get plenty of sun to get a decent fruit crop, and don't plant them on low ground (frost pockets - cold air sinks). Spring frosts will kill your blossoms = no fruit.
Good luck with your trees.

 

[Mortenson]

I have 3 sons, so I planted 3 orchards. 1 spot is an interior kill location, while the other 2 are just outside the woods edge. Each spot will have 30-35 trees. Oldest trees were planted in '16, so they're not any kind of a hunting draw yet. Would take several more years before a decent sized fruit load is dropping during season. I do have a 9 yr old daughter too, so I should probably get a 4th orchard started, lol.

 

[SwampCat]

Two small orchards 75 yards apart - one in a food plot and the other in the edge of a field. My orchard location is dictated by where I can run water. I have one inch black pipe run a quarter mile to this location. I will lose every tree without a water supply - even ten year old trees.

 

[Mattyq2402]

I'm trying to have a few, spread out. Roughly a dozen or so trees per area. You didn't mention how large your property is. I'll have about 5 on 225 acres. That doesn't count locations with hard mast.

Property is 110 acres

 

[westonwhitetail]

This year I am adding a second orchard in a new location with some trees I grafted last year. These are in different areas on my property so they provide attraction near different travel patterns.

 

[KY wild]

Well I use to say why would I plant fruit trees in several places because why would I want to draw deer away from where I was hunting. So my logic was to draw into one hotspot and then show up and kill the monster but this logic has many flaws. Mostly because you need as many fresh spots as possible since the monster usually does not read the book. So I would recommend to plant several good orchards and use your camera to help you decide when to hunt the spot. More spots you have with extended drop time and enough to pollinate each other the better and different ways in and out to help in that aspect.


I also have a question about wildlife orchards. I have several food plots that are about an acre to two acres but the outer 30 feet on perimeter is very unproductive because of the leaf litter covering my new crops in the fall. around the edges. So I have been thinking about planting fruit trees on two edges the would get full sun. The logic is the leaf litter would help the fruit trees by holding moisture instead of hurting the fall planted crop. Of course problem is it makes plot considerably smaller and the fact the 10 to 12 inch oaks in the forest around the plot would suck all the moisture away from the fruit trees. I don't mind watering fruit trees for 2 or 3 years but I don't want to do it forever. I live I western Kentucky and we usually get decent rain for established trees and after year three I can walk away. So I guess my question is do you think the 40 year oaks around plot would keep the soil so dry that fruit trees would not be able to prosper, I would only plant on the sunny sides. If any of you have tried to plant fruit around the edge of forest I would be interested in how the trees produce because I have only planted in open fields. Thanks

 

[buckdeer1]

I found that hunting around them it was hard to see very far so the 30 tree orchard I planted last year was done in rows to allow for future.Keep in mind they will be close to 20 ft across.I also water the first couple years but after that I am surprised they aren't ok unless you're very dry or bad soil.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Well I use to say why would I plant fruit trees in several places because why would I want to draw deer away from where I was hunting. So my logic was to draw into one hotspot and then show up and kill the monster but this logic has many flaws. Mostly because you need as many fresh spots as possible since the monster usually does not read the book. So I would recommend to plant several good orchards and use your camera to help you decide when to hunt the spot. More spots you have with extended drop time and enough to pollinate each other the better and different ways in and out to help in that aspect.


I also have a question about wildlife orchards. I have several food plots that are about an acre to two acres but the outer 30 feet on perimeter is very unproductive because of the leaf litter covering my new crops in the fall. around the edges. So I have been thinking about planting fruit trees on two edges the would get full sun. The logic is the leaf litter would help the fruit trees by holding moisture instead of hurting the fall planted crop. Of course problem is it makes plot considerably smaller and the fact the 10 to 12 inch oaks in the forest around the plot would suck all the moisture away from the fruit trees. I don't mind watering fruit trees for 2 or 3 years but I don't want to do it forever. I live I western Kentucky and we usually get decent rain for established trees and after year three I can walk away. So I guess my question is do you think the 40 year oaks around plot would keep the soil so dry that fruit trees would not be able to prosper, I would only plant on the sunny sides. If any of you have tried to plant fruit around the edge of forest I would be interested in how the trees produce because I have only planted in open fields. Thanks

Before you plant any fruit trees at the edges of plots, keep the mature tree and its root system in mind. Small feeder roots on fruit trees can go out 15 feet or more from the trunk, so any future tillage should stay that far away from those fruit trees. Our camp found this out the hard way. Above, you mentioned planting fruit trees at the edges would make your plot smaller - so considering the expanse of the mature roots systems, the plot may even smaller than you've estimated. You don't want to put money, time & sweat into planting your fruit trees, and then kill them by tilling the plot too close to them in order to keep a bigger plot. Not allowing for a safe tillage distance from our fruit trees at plot edges cost us a number of fruit trees some years ago. Now our plots take a safe distance from roots into account when we till the soil. Just a FWIW.

 

[bigboreblr]

Small plots, I would cut a few trees on the north side and plant them there. ORchards don't mind stumps like food plots do.

Food plots are less effort for the results once a spot is established. If only adding a few trees in one spot, keep bloom groups and varieties in mind. Like said before trees block view, so it could hinder as well as help. Try to get bloom group 3 and 4 trees and disease issues in mind when your orchards are not central.

Make sure the work equates to the mission. You doing this to attract deer to a hunting spot, or help out late season feeding. Purposes can be somewhat conflicting in that regard. Good late season trees may not drop until well into the hunting season, if nt the end in some places.

Don't forget yourself in the picture too. Put some where you don't mind going before hunting season and picking a few, put a few early season trees in there too. Kerr, redfree, chestnut, williams pride, and pristine are ones that can be good to harvest before october.

 

[silver_yummies]

This year I am adding a second orchard in a new location with some trees I grafted last year. These are in different areas on my property so they provide attraction near different travel patterns.

I am doing the same exact thing this year at my property. I will have 2 'Main' orchards in 2 different parts of the property with ~70 or so apple trees in each.

 

[bigboreblr]

Im putting n 3 trees between 2 major AG fields this year. All of them towards the end of bow range, and bow season apples. liberty, crossbow, and empire.

Few guesses here. Thinking if you're not going to prune much or at all, the wild varieties might be a better choice. tleast it's known the trees productivity when it is not pruned. IN areas of shade, maybe getting a tree towards the high end of hardiness might be better. IF your zone 7, a tree thats 4-7 or 3-7. The extra warmth, but little less light might match better. A tree prone to fungal diseases might not be a good choice in shaded areas. Adequate sunlight helps alot with fungus. powder mildew would be one of the bigger ones to keep an eye on.