Spring Pruning of the Garden. The Beginning

Bzzz!

Today I was start the trimming my trees.
I was reminded of the wonderful communities of gardeners on the hive and thought you might be interested in watching the pruning process...

A few years ago I planted a small seedling of the apple variety Semerenka. It is a sour-sweet variety of green apples that ripen in late fall and can be stored all winter. Since childhood I love the sour taste of these dense juicy fruits, so it would be foolish not to plant such a tree on my plot as an inheritance to my children and grandchildren. I advise everyone to plant as many trees as possible, especially fruit varieties and nuts.

So, in a couple of years my sapling has grown into a small tree and it was time to shape it a bit at the beginning of the warm season.

The pictures may not show the difference between the beginning and the end of the procedure very well. But since the tree is small, my intervention will be minimal and unnoticeable.

According to my ideas, I need to form the crown of the tree in the shape of a bowl, so that the sun easily penetrated inside illuminated all the branches, and the birds hiding inside from predators can help me to cope with pests.

I have seen a method of crown formation where all branches are bent in one plane and the protruding ones are cut off.This provides maximum aeration and illumination of fruits and leaves, but I do not like this method.
The tree acquires an unnatural look and tends to take a familiar shape, which subsequently implies continuous participation of the gardener in the formation of the crown. Nevertheless, slender rows of "flat" trees look very perfectionist. It will be out of the general style of the mess of my vegetable garden)))

On this tree, I'm going to prune some branches growing inward, and pinch the tips of the branches that are reaching upward the fastest.

I started by pruning the inside branches that are in the way of the future bowl.

I gradually moved on to pruning the tips of the branches, letting the tree know that it is expected to grow inwards, not upwards.

You don't have to cut off the whole tip. On one of the branches, I will try cutting off half of the terminal bud to see how the branch reacts in spring. Will it produce as many lateral shoots as the others, or will this not prevent it from continuing to reach upwards.

I will try to bend one of the lower branches down by hanging a load from the branch on it, which I will later replace with a garter to a peg driven into the ground

This is the general appearance of the tree after pruning.
I hope to get the first fruits for my daughter this year.

Next to the tree I have arranged an improvised playground, which is clearly visible from the window, and which is in the shade of a larger tree which I will be pruning soon.

I can't get away with using pruning shears from the ground and will have to climb the tree with a ladder and a power saw.

And while the cloudy, windy weather does not dispose of work at altitude, I will deal with the renewal of black currant bushes growing next door to the apple tree.

There is nothing tricky here. You just need to choose old branches, which have few buds capable of giving berries and remove them from the bush. Dry dead branches can be seen at once, it is easier to break them off than to cut them with secateurs. I cut off the old lower ends of the branches to the young shoots.

This is a small pile of branches from the pruning of a couple of blackcurrant bushes.

We are all looking forward to spring juicy greenery, as the winter damp grayness for snowless winter has managed to bore quite a bit.
Animals also want to go out to pasture as soon as possible...

If you find the subject of my garden interesting, I will write about pruning tall trees, which I have yet to do. I also plan to plant plants in my vegetable garden.
The first seeds of early carrots and peas are already in the ground waiting for moisture and warm days.
All plans and not to describe in one post, it is better to subscribe that would see!

Translated with DeepL.com

*Phone Camera |||F150Raptor **
Spring 2024 | Ukraine
!only original content your can find in my blog!

And this gif of my ducklings swimming. 🦆

---

banner and feather divider created by @barbara-orenya

---

Trade conveniently on HiveDex.io.

Thanks to @Mahdiyari!

---

I wish you all a peaceful sky above your head and stable soil under your feet! Take care of yourself and your loved ones so that we can meet again in the hive!!