LOCATION.--Having decided that under certain conditions the planting
of an apple orchard will prove a profitable venture, and having
ascertained that those conditions prevail on your farm, the next step
will be to determine the best location on the farm for the orchard. In
choosing this location it will be well to keep in mind the relative
importance of the orchard in the scheme of farm management. If the
orchard is merely a source of home supply, naturally it will not
require as important a position on the farm as will be the case if it
is expected to yield a larger share of the farm income. If the
relatively large net income per acre which it is possible to obtain
from an apple orchard is to be secured, the best possible location is
demanded.
Contrary to the common ideas and practice of the past, the orchard
should not be put upon the poorest soil on the farm. The best
orchards occupy the best soils, although fairly good results are often
obtained on poor or medium soils. The relative importance which is
attached to the orchard enterprise must also govern the choice of
soil. If apples are to be a prominent crop they should be given the
preference as to soil; if not, they may be given a place in accordance
with what is expected of them.
SOILS.--In general, the apple prefers a rather strong soil, neither
very heavy nor very light. Subsoil is rather more important than
surface soil, although the latter should be friable and easily worked.
The apple follows good timber successfully. Heavy clay soils are apt
to be too cold, compact, and wet; light sandy soils too loose and dry.
A medium clay loam or a gravelly clay loam, underlaid by a somewhat
heavier but fairly open clay subsoil is thought to be the best soil
for apples. Broadly considered, medium loams are best. The lighter the
soil the better will be the color of the fruit as a rule, and so,
also, the heavier the soil and the more nitrogen and moisture it holds
the greater the tendency to poorly colored fruit. In the same way
light soils give poorer wood and foliage growth as compared with the
large rank leaves and wood of trees on heavy, rich soils.
VARIETAL SOIL PREFERENCES are beginning to be recognized. We cannot go
into these in detail in this brief discussion. A few suggestions
regarding standard varieties must suffice. Medium to light loams or
heavy sandy loams, underlaid by slightly heavier loams or clay loams,
are preferred by the Baldwin, which has a wider soil adaptation than
practically any other variety. Baldwin soils should dry quickly after
a rain. Rhode Island Greening requires a rather rich, moist, but well
drained soil, containing an abundance of organic matter. A light to
heavy silty loam, underlaid by a silty clay loam, is considered best.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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