Fruit tree planting in a unique soil condition

Drew Wilkinson wrote:First: should I attempt to breach the clay layer into the sand before backfilling with dirt, to allow for summer drainage, even if it allows more water to rise up into the space during the spring? Or alternatively would leaving the bottom of the hole clay be the better option?

Drew Wilkinson wrote:Second: Any suggestions for acquiring decent fill dirt? I have acreage and plenty of soil, but since it's either tall grass or forest and everything below the topsoil is clay whenever I dig for backfilling I'm just digging up a fat 6" piece of sod full of roots from grasses, etc.. i want to be self sustainable and not truck in dirt from off-site but not sure how to make what I have into adequate material.

Drew Wilkinson wrote:I feel like with the right method of planting I have a wonderful area for potentially sub irrigated fruit trees. The rest of the natural forest (almost every species of tree found in N Idaho) do extremely well.

Cristobal Cristo wrote:

Drew Wilkinson wrote:If you have a rodent problem, please use 0.5" welded wire and make 12" diameter cages from them. 18" tall should be sufficient for underground part. If you also encounter some destruction of the trunk, I would make them taller. This is how I planted 150 trees in my orchard.

I am about to plant about 25 fruit trees and there are a lot of voles on the property. So from my understanding, you are suggesting to put a 12" diameter wire cage with 1/2" openings 18"  deep UNDER the ground? Do the roots grow through the wire cage? I am getting bare root trees. Will I be able to get the roots that are longer than 6" through the wire cage when initially planting? Or maybe I am picturing what you are suggesting all wrong?

Annie Collins wrote:I am about to plant about 25 fruit trees and there are a lot of voles on the property. So from my understanding, you are suggesting to put a 12" diameter wire cage with 1/2" openings 18"  deep UNDER the ground? Do the roots grow through the wire cage? I am getting bare root trees. Will I be able to get the roots that are longer than 6" through the wire cage when initially planting? Or maybe I am picturing what you are suggesting all wrong?

Cristobal Cristo wrote:I also plant bare root trees. I buy the rolls in 36" width, so for trees I make 12" diameter x 18" height cages, and for grapes (or small bushes, like ornamental but fruiting quince):  8x12". First I cut the netting into rectangles, then make cylinders and then attach the bottoms. If the roots are not fitting into the cage, I trim them a little. One could make bigger cages, but then more material will be used. I dig a hole 20" diameter, place the cage so only 2" of the cage is above the ground, put soil into the cage to match the root depth of the tree and fill all with dirt, compact well, then add some manure on top and woodchips all around.
At the beginning of my orchard adventure I was not using any cages, but the loss was massive - all almonds, all figs. Then I was using 1" chicken wire, but it did not help at all. In total I lost around 25-30 trees to gophers. Once I switched to 1/2" wire, I did not lose any single tree because of root damage..

Cristobal Cristo wrote:Researching for the right rootstock and cultivars, finding the vendors that sell them, then spending money, caring for the tree for half a year, irrigating, weeding and then finding in September that the trunk was cut in half by the invisible rodent is quite depressing.

Annie Collins wrote:I heard that it is a good idea to prune quite a bit of the canopy when first planting a bare root tree due to the roots having been lessened a lot when the tree got ripped out of the ground for selling. The theory is that lessening the canopy by pruning allows for the tree to concentrate its energy on healing the root system and grow it again more fully, and to all around get the canopy and root system in better balance again. It made sense to me. Do you do that?

Cristobal Cristo wrote:Annie,

It depends on the tree. I did it for peaches and some plums that had quite developed tops and were at least 5/8" thick. I did not do it for apples and pears, that were just 1/2" caliper sticks. If the trunk is thin and delicate I would not touch it, because it could quickly dry at my location. Trees that are thinner than 3/8" I protect with vine shelters (waxed paper secured with a stake).