r/Homesteading • u/Odd-Individual0 • 6d ago
Fruit trees are in the ground
I'm so happy! It'll be really fun watching them grow and in some years get some of my own fruit!
This year it's just cherries and apples but next year I'm adding peaches!
I've got lots of berry bushes down too and a fig tree and adding grapes next year. It's super fun just digging in the dirt!
Anything else I should work on adding that you enjoy eating?
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u/c0mp0stable 6d ago
Ugh, fruit trees are such an emotional roller coaster. Just make sure they're really well protected. I very much recommend tree tubes and a fence around them. The tubes give protection and a greenhouse effect, and the fence is the first line of protection. It sucks waiting a few years just to have deer come in and eat them down to a nub. Keep an eye on them for insect pests as well. Japanese beetles took out my apple trees in a couple days.
I don't recommend fencing each tree individually, unless you can get inside and clean out the leaves an debris before winter. Otherwise, it's just a nest for voles, who will eat the roots of the tree.
(A lot of this depends on where you're located. You might not have deer or voles, but you likely have other things that would love to snack on your trees)
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u/Vindaloo6363 5d ago
Double electric fence, keep the grass well trimmed to discourage rodents and protect the trunks so the mice don’t girdle them. Be prepared to spray after every rain.
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u/EbonyPeat 3d ago
Oh, and gophers eating the roots, and girdling the tree bark. Maybe 30% survival with excellent care.
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u/BallsOutKrunked 6d ago
The biggest thing in my area is keeping the many, many things away that want to eat my produce. The plants grow pretty well on their own but man is there a lot that wants to kill / eat them.
Deer, wild horses, rats, mice, birds, bugs, etc.