planted some apples

[Ford]

Planted some apple trees in the back 1/2 acre field..

I know very little about growing trees, except what I have learned off the net recently. Hope I did everything right. I bought two of the trees online, a Braeburn, and a Transcendent Crabapple. The rest are from Home Depot.

[NYBowhunter]

Looks like you did your research....good job. Only concern I have is that fence seems to be tied above the ground which if you have any rabbits near by they may get to the apple trees and eat at the bark. I run my fence from the ground to about 1-2 feet above the tree and then I would lay rock around the entire inside of fence to keep weeds down and to keep anything from digging up under the fence.

[fasteddie]

You could cut some lengths of the drainage tubing , slit it and put it around the base of the tree to keep the rabbits from eating the bark .

[Ford]

Thanks. I do have window screen material around the trunks, I think you can see it in the photo. It goes up about 8 inches, should that do it?

[G-Man]

Window screen material will work but you'll have to check it every year for tears esp if its nylon. 1/4 in welded mesh would work/hold up better. Looks like a nice future orchard.. keep an eye out for tent catipilliars and destroy any nest that appears those little catipilliars will strip a tree quick!

[NYBowhunter]

Also keep in mind that as snow rises so will the reach of the rabbit. As an example lets say your fence is 1' off the ground and you have 8" of screen or anything for that matter around the trunk and you get lets say 8" of snow the rabbit will still be able to get under that fence and still get at the bark,with no screen in sight. In instances where there is a fairly good rabbit population and good snowfall, I have seen rabbit browse lines 2-3' off the ground with bark of trees/bushes all eaten up. However if you rarely see a rabbit, then dont get all worked up and you should be just fine with your current setup. You will have a nice orchard in a few years time.

[Ford]

I never thought of the snow part..Of course that makes sense. But I do not have many rabbits in the area. Maybe I will get one of those 2 ' wire fences and put it around the bottom...Thanks

[Geno C]

howmuch did you pay for a tree at home depot?

[Ford]

I beleive they were like 30 bucks...The ones I ordered were a lot more...

[NYBowhunter]

i went to walmart in oneonta and picked up a 7' pear tree for only $18 and apple trees 5' tall were $20, great prices. If you have a walmart close by with a large garden center that will be the best bang for your buck, I could not believe the great prices. Not much in the way of pine trees or shrubs however Walmart had hundreds of fruit trees.

[Geno C]

how long until they makes fruit? about 3 years or so?

[NYBowhunter]

how long until they makes fruit? about 3 years or so?

Sounds about right, I can see that pear tree producing in 2 years. It also depends on how much you put into them, I try to prune and fertilize each spring.