How to Quickly Grow Fruit Trees in the Backyard Orchard 

We just planted 24 varieties of fruit trees this spring. I agree we prefer to plant in fall but we just moved to our homestead here late summer...we have clay too and our garden soil had to be mixed with sand and a mixture of similar things you mixed yours with. The deer here are very aggressive so we did plan that extra mile and wrapped the tree with ten feet of 7 ft fencing with chicken wire around the bottom to keep rabbits out as well. We learned the hard way at our other place we lost about 8 out of our 12 fruit trees deers munching them down. It was a lot of work but worth it. We tamped three t bars into the ground and wrapped the wire fencing around the t bars. Some of our trees may need burlap wrapped around the fencing in winter we get -35 f at times. There is a method called 'Hugelkultur' from Germany in the mountainous regions (we used this method to amazing results). The hole is dug a little deeper and wider. Soak roots of tree for an hour. Pour couple gallons water into hole. We gather rotted tree branches and small stumps and that becomes first layer on bottom, then composted soil mix on top, then layer of soaked cardboard, then soil, then tree. Wouldn't hurt to add composted manure in between the soil. We learned that its the organisms in the soil that are alive and seeking starches from the tree roots in exchange for predigested minerals, that create the condition of strong immunity of the tree. When a tree is strong and healthy, pests and their larvae are not attracted to this tree, but they are drawn to a distressed and struggling tree especially those tree never pruned.

I planted both my apple trees in 42” wide 17” high raised beds haha. I control everything now :)

Unfortunately you created an in ground “pot” for the tree. In the future you should put 50% of the soil back into the hole with your soil recipe. The roots will grow extremely well for the first 5 years and when the roots hit that clay soil they will start to choke itself out because it’s used to “stress free soil.” It’s never had to grow into thick tough clay and will take the path of least resistant and turn on its self. Also I’d recommend making the hole 3x the root ball size (for areas of clay soil) in width as well. Hope that’s helps and happy growing. (Just want ya to get the most from your trees)

Ive grown fruit trees for 20 years all ages, as expanding the orchard through time. Always fertilize under the tree, then add a bit of dirt so it doesnt touch the roots and the new roots grow into it. . That rootball was fine, lots of feeder roots that he destroyed,without and large roots circling the bottom. If you do see circiling roots at the bottom, cut them by 1/2. My career was growing fruit trees.

Im really loving my soil right now. Im in Massachusetts, i have big rocks that i usually have to dig out. BUT my soil is super dark. Looks like compost and every time I dig i hit tons of earthworms. I went to fertilize my fruit trees and so i moved the mulch to get to the top of the roots and soon as i move the mulch wow. It was like a worm farm. Very happy.

Nice video. I suggest one thing. Before putting soil, make small holes in the bottom with crow bar or some iron rod. At the cent make a big hole with rod and rotate the rod so that it makes a canonical hole then put the soil. Roots will pernitrate into those holes and holds tight. It will give extra strength to the plant. I do with my plants like Mangos, Guava etc. Also it is better to put some stones. Roots will catch the stones and become strong. Plant will stand still for high winds.

I assure you that clay rich soils contain plenty of nutrients. All I have is clay and sedimentary rock and everything I have planted (that is indigenous) thrives very well.

So one of the problems with doing the hole this way, is that the roots grow easily in the compost but won't penetrate the hard clay. In five or so years the tree is totally root bound. Often when they die and you pull them up, there is a very tight root ball the exact size of the original hole just like when they come out of a pot that they have been in to long. At least, rough up the sides of the hole.

For watering your trees and making it less intensive, you might consider trying Remiawy 20 gallon watering bags for trees. They slow drip and water your trees, and they can help protect them from deer 🦌 as they wrap around the tree trunks. Thanks for sharing 👍 ❤

Thanks so much. I’ve lost several because I didn’t know what I was doing! I so appreciate your time and sharing. You’re a wise dude!

I'm happy fir you😊

I have hard clay soil as well in south Texas and follow the exact same steps with great results (fruit in second year mostly). It helps the tree get established faster instead of fighting for its life. Great video!

I definitely learned first hand about air pockets. Had leaves keep dying till i got that corrected

THANKS FOR THE INFO,,, MANY BLESSINGS ❤❤❤❤

May you be blessed from all yer hard work. I just got 8 fruit trees put in, just heard of permaculture orchard...trying that route. Nitrogen fixer then 2 trees & another nitrogen fixer, & so on. 2 shrubs between trees, on treeline, also 10-15 edible perennials around @ tree. Working on shrubs & perennials now. Stefan out of Southern Quebec is a great teacher on subject. I'm excited to get my hands back in the dirt !

Excellent information. Thank you

"Great Channel, Instruction, Instructor !" Thank You Great Shepherd !"❤ 😁👍

Nothing better than southern Illinois clay

kinda feel sorry for it. < -- Love that!

Super Cool video! Loved the content and just subscribed!

Should be square hole so roots break through corners and don't spiral. Should also plant them high because you don't want them to settle low which can lead to trouble. Thanks for sharing.

Learned that if you will pop off a few firecrackers you won't have time worry about the deer

That’s exactly how I planted my fruit trees because my yard has very hard clay and you have to make it easier for the roots to grow strong and then they can go through the clay

Thank you allways learning

I really like your idea of planting. Thank you this is very smart

Great video! I learned a lot sir! Keep making videos!

Good content. Thank you.

Thks fo great advise putting manure in the hole with potting soil is very healthy fo trees becos rain washed them away if put around plants.

Great video. I'm going to try this with my new fruit trees

Thank you

Excellent information.....truly appreciate your video....The common sense approach, your speaking and sound levels are excellent. Thank you.

you can strategically use some gypsum in your land if you have clay soil.

I just bought a couple fruit trees and I'm excited to get them in the ground. Thanks for the tips!

That is cool the way you plant you apples. But have and Idea for the first time you any tree. Use a pvc pipe. You find more information in " youtube." 👏👍🇺🇲

think i need to do that with my next trees

Very good info. I have some apple trees

❤❤thanks a bunch, I am growing apple trees

Thanks!

When I plant my trees I leave the root ball one to two inches above ground in December about 4 months in April i have a few small fruits starting to show I'm in mid Mississippi red clay soil

Good info! Thx!

Wow learned a lot. Subscribed. Thanks. I was amazed over the angle of the branches and that you mentioned how you could use weights to make the branches 90 degrees. Made sense. Thanks. I want to buy a plum tree next month and was very interested in this.

Thanks

Thank you I have 2 peach 2 apples and a plumb I need to get planted so thank you for this vid

Just found your channel. Southern illinois here also. Union county. Thanks for the info.

I use chicken manure worm castings perlite top soil mix.

I honestly see trees and plants as life. I actually feel sad when i see a plant fell in the store & is laying on the floor. Also ill go around like an employee and just lossen the dam tags because every time i check out fruit trees, the tags are all choking the tree and ill losen them all & i apologize to the trees for others not fixing it lmao. I do though

I like to add a 4 inch layer of mulch in the spring before i plant in winter. The worms start breaking down the whole area making for easier planting. After planting i add 4 inches of mulch as well. I also mulch about a 6' square so the roots will grow wide.

I have hard red clay soil . I used weathered bales of straw and alfalfa and added it to the whole to help weather retention through our dry late spring through fall

Well crap I been planting trees the wrong way all my life here in red clay in Tennessee!I do have right around 16 fruit trees and put in 5 paw paw trees 2 years ago!have plenty of blueberries blackberries and all still living and will picking fruit this year good lord willing.i dig a hole set the tree or bush in put compost on top and pick fruit off in several years..who knew

Very informative,,thanks for shring,I'm planing tohelp my young friend and i mentioned he should planting fruit tree's and berry bush's thanks

I have soil very similiar to yours. Two things that I also do in addition to everything shown is to take a pitch fork and stab the sides of the hole, otherwise the tree can become pot bound in the hole. I also mix about 40% of the native soil in with the added "good soil" to ensure soil capillary action brings water in from the surrounding ground.

what location is this in? we are in zone 8 b down in NC.. I am very piqued by what you have done. thank you for the detailed video !! congrats on working this on horse pasture .. we have to take what our developoers and builders have done - basically strip everything before they dumped sheet rock bits and shards and nails and stuff - sift through and rejuvenate our yard ..

I would have mixed up all of it with som of that clay so no to get heavy light soil problem . looking like your doing well with it good for you.

Miracle grow and water is the easiest way

👍

For the deer find a companion nitrogen fixer plant that the deer don’t like so much whether it’s by smell or thorns. Some do exist but it varies depending upon your area

, N. How do you plant a cherry tree a black tartan cherry? What do you need to put in with its roots? I got the title up but I don’t know what to do next.

Unless the tree has been grafted the tree needs to only be planted as deep as the graft in fact just under the graft ….. ❤

Hint he didn’t mention; always buy trees & shrubs in containers with real root. Bare root trees will barely survive summer.

Really nice peach bud's started, will frost hurt already started tiny peach starts?

How do you keep the bugs/insects and wasps off the fruit to keep it healthy and edible? We had fruit on our tree the second year but it was eaten by wasps. Peach tree in west Texas. Thanks

I am retired in California. Now I am looking for modest home in suburban, where I can grow my own fruit garden and keep chickens. May I ask is there any affordable homes with space for garden in were you live?

Hi just found your channel Thank you for sharing What kind of grass is that you was saving to ues some were elsewhere Thank

Will the roots of the tree actually grow through the clay? I've heard that the clay will work like a pot and the tree can end up root bound even though it's in the ground. I have clay here in TN that's been heavily compacted because the house/subdivision is new.

careful with a round hole, and too much foreign stuff in hole , first let tree establish then feed

My golden delicious apple keeps getting yellow leaves, ive fertilized, watered im about to give up on it this is second year, i have clay soil also i did amend it at planting. Mine was horse pasture too.

Do I have to have more than 1 apple trree to produce fruit. I'm not sure what Strain, it is but I picked it up at homedepot. Any insite would be appreciated.

may I suggest you plant apple trees in the forest for deer to eat so you don't have the problem

I was at Lowe's yesterday. All of their berry bushes were dead! They let them just dry up and die. How is that cost effective to anyone?

We have new barefoot apples coming in a month or two… I need to find a way to protect them from voles! I am in southeast Idaho… high desert mountains Have been told to wrap the deep holes 6-12 inches deep with 1/8” hard wire And then wrap the tree in hardwire as well…

Your soil is very much like mine but I'm on an island in the PNW with massive amounts of glacier rocks. My planting holes were done much like yours but the outer areas were jackhammered out to allow root growth expansion. So many of my neighbors put their trees and bushes in holes just like this and they go root bound. They literally choke the life out of themselves.

Hi , i recently bought persian lime tree from home depot its foot or more in height, should i plant it ground or wait n potted up bigger pot as scale till it gets bigger? I live in Houston tx.

I mix my native soil with rabbit manure and compost. What’s your though

Week How do you plant a sweet cherry tree a tartan, sweet cherry? How do you handle it?

what state are you in to give us more background, SW Florida here, alot of sand, small amount soil

Hello I have fruit apples but they became rotten do you spray them with some

I live in California I have fertilizer 999 in my shed. Can I use that for fertilizing my plants?

What do you use to keep the squrls from eating the fruit or all other animals from eating or damaging the trees? Mabe bugs too?

I have started an apple tree from seed. When should the first pruning be?

Too bad Iowa farmers didn't think about topsoil instead of money and chemicals, oh and the check in the mailbox(no tax)

When bying fruit trees the tag stated not to add amy fertilizer until next season. Im confused now.

How far south are you? Started building my home orchard and vineyard in southern IL also. Upto 25 or so planted and 15 personal grafts il plant next year if they take.

What about squrls or other animals might try to devour the fruit from the trees?

I have a question. During the winter. How do you keep these trees from freezing. Especially the citrus 🍋🍊

that grow bag is air-pruning the roots which effect you can see - dense roots! and not root bound really, else there'd be circling of roots...raw manure? already aged? best would have been to mix aged manure and your potting mix? not here to question your method if your experience tells you to do it but new transplant sitting on manure?...blessings

How many years of growth do you have for reference with this method?

Should I water my fruit trees every day?

There is nothing wrong with the potting soil that was used. It is all organic matter and the tree will grow for a couple of years in that mix. No nursery uses native soil. If there is anything that seems odd, it is that a person buys and inexpensive product from a big box store ( instead of a local grower) and then complains about the very attributes that keeps the cost down in the first place.

I don’t have rabbits but I do have cows. Can I do the same with cow manure?

❓ No cardboard on top for weed suppression?

I’ve given up on growing anything, the bloody squirrels are stripping everything bare before they are ripe.

Are you sure the root will not ROT from all that organic matter the root is buried in.....

Greetings, I bought two dormant trees from Tractor Supply last year (2023 spring) An apple and a peach tree with the roots inside a plastic bag. The trees are about five feet tall. Due to family illness I never got around to planting them. : ( I still have them on my porch and am wondering if they are still viable and should I bother with planting them. I live in Zone 7.

will chicken droppings work or to hot ?

The problem i have is squirrels lol

you need to dig much wider. don't know how much rain you get but the drainage on our land is really poor. you are going to have problems as the trees mature. how deep does that clay go? if you have a backhoe, dig a test hole deep and see if you can get to better soil a bit lower. as for plants to break up your soil, one of the best is great mullein. it has a very deep taproot that goes way deep on the first year, then flower stalk up on the 2nd year. i recommend you start spreading it all over that field. it will not hurt your trees at all and if you do this for a few years, your soil will loosen up and drain much better. they also attract earth worms. when they are in flower all 2nd summer, they attract pollinators as well. they are the best plant to help you with your problem and you are likely to find wild seed heads in the fall that you can take with thousands of seeds. i do not have your problem at my orchard but i grow them anyway. the seed heads left over winter are a great help with birds as they stick out of snow and provide food for birds too. it is the most useful plant and my favorite. odd that most people kill them as weeds. pure stupidity.

Why do we dig deep hole ti planters yet in nature they grow very shallow and send roots down and we get gigantic trees.nobody duggs hotel fir them in the wild.

I have 20yr old peach and apple trees planted in NC clay with no amendments. Just sayin…

You put me in a coma 😅

Plant wide not deep