Home Forums Miscellaneous Topics Rural Living Small 10-12 tree orchards

I am looking to add a small orchard of maybe 10-12 fruit trees at the new place.

Be eating some fresh and make some jams, jellies and maybe even put some fruit up via water bath cooking.

Any of you all have a smallish orchard?

If so flavor of fruits are you growing and what are you doing with most of what you grow?

Thinking apple, peach, pears, plum and maybe cherries and a fig tree or 2.

I've got some apple trees, a cherry tree, a pear tree, along with blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and some raspberries. I've also got a peach tree that I'm going to cut down because it will not bear fruit, even though it is always full of blooms. Fruit trees require certain things in order to bear good fruit. The apple trees have to be sprayed in early spring at the right stages, and need pruning, which I am very negligent in doing. Mine are very prone to get cedar rust disease, as I have some cedar trees growing in a nearby woods, The cherry tree bears very good with just a little spraying to keep the insects at bay. The berry bushes need pruning and the correct fertilization.

My advice would be to contact your county extension office and get some of the publications they usually have for growing fruit in your area. The internet is also your friend, along with the advice from locals who grow fruit. We make apple jelly, cherry jelly, blackberry and strawberry jam, and make pies out of the apples, cherries, strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries.

You have another peach tree to pollinate the existing peach tree?

It is supposed to be, at least according to the tag that was on it when I bought it, be self pollinating.

I am not so sure those self pollinating trees work as well as if they had another to help pollinate.

I have a persimmon tree in the back yard, blooms but that's it.

A lot of what I am seeing g says even self pollinating trees will do better with another of same or different strain of same to help with production. I figure to have 2 or 3 of each type.

How close are these cedars to your apple trees?

I do have quite a few cedars. Will be cutting those as time allows and making brush piles for rabbits. Once the larger cedars are cut I am trying to keep smaller ones cut down.

I have a big cedar tree that is standing by itself in a pasture, maybe 50 yards from the nearest apple tree, other cedars about a 100 yards away. I'm not going to cut the cedars down, but I do spray my trees and the Red Delicious apples are not as susceptible to cedar rust as other varieties are. I do have one red apple tree, variety unknown, that gets the rust no matter how many times it's spayed.

Don't forget a few nut trees.... walnuts, almonds, pecans, etc.

I have the walnuts.

Pecans high on my list. They make for excellent eating plus they really draw the squirrels and make for good crow killing.