The best crops to grow in a young apple orchard are those requiring
cultivation, or which permit the cultivation of the land early in the
season. Field beans, potatoes, and garden truck of all kinds, as small
vegetables, melons, etc., are among the very best crops to grow in the
young orchard. Corn will do if it does not shade the trees too much.
Small grain and grass should not be used, especially where they come
up close to the trees. These crops form too stiff a sod and use up too
much moisture. A mulch of straw, cut grass, or coarse manure will help
to correct this condition somewhat when these crops must be used.
After cultivation until midsummer buckwheat makes a satisfactory
orchard crop in some cases.
A regular rotation may be used in the young orchard to advantage when
a space is left next the trees to receive cultivation. This space
should be at least two feet on each side of the tree the first year
and should be widened each year as the tree grows older and larger, to
four, six, and eight feet. This method has been used by the author
very successfully for a number of years. Some good rotations to use
in a growing orchard are: (1) Wheat or rye one year, clover one year,
beans or potatoes one year; (2) oats one year, clover one year,
potatoes one year; (3) beans one year, rye plowed under in spring,
followed by any cultivated crop one or two years. The essentials of a
good rotation for an orchard are: A humus and fertility supplying
crop, preferably clover, in the north, and cow peas in the south, and
at least two crops in four requiring cultivation up to the middle of
the summer.
Most of the points regarding the management of young trees have
already been mentioned, but a few others should have attention
directed to them. Fall planted trees should not be cut back until
spring. In the spring all newly planted trees should have their tops
cut back rather severely to correspond with the injury to the roots in
transplanting, thus preserving the balance between root and top. This
will usually be about half to two-thirds the previous season's growth.
From three to five well distributed branches should be left with which
to form the top. During the first few years of their lives the young
apple trees will need little or no pruning, except to shape them and
remove crossing or interfering branches.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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