Jon Harshbarger

Thanks so much Bryant. So you wouldn't plant trees on the mound? I was thinking that doing so would raise my trees that much more off the water table. Your between the swale idea makes sense though if I can redirect / redistribute water from uphill. I just got done watching "The Permaculture Orchard" where it talks about it being preferable to dig down 4 ft. without hitting water or saturated soil. I know I couldn't do that and thought that my only option was to go up on a mound. But now you got me thinking

Trying to plan out my orchard which will be located on the side of a hill. I planted a few trees previously without much planning or earthwork and they are just barely hanging on. I know the water table throughout my hillside farm is quite high - and I'm thinking now after some research that might be part of the reason for lackluster growth (although several wild apples seem to do fine). The previous owners left multiple brush piles throughout and I'm thinking that hugelculture beds / swales might be appropriate. Questions: With standard fruit trees how wide would the bed have to be? Can I plant the trees immediately after forming the beds? Thanks for any thoughts.

Thank you so much for your quick responses. As soon as our ground thaws and the two feet of snow is gone, I'll get new sites prepped and move them. I'm in the Northeastern U.S. (upstate New York), so I've got a couple weeks yet. I just wanted to make sure that moving them wasn't a bad idea. I don't want to lose them as they are heritage varieties. Thanks again! This forum is awesome!

Hi everyone- I am studying "Edible Forest Gardens" and have realized that over the past two years I've planted about 10 standard apples way too close together. Any advice on transplanting these with regard to timing, tools, pruning etc...
They are still relatively small (4 or 5 ft.) Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi all- I'm new to the forum and have a homestead just south of syracuse.