The trees lose their leaves in late May and things go quiet for us for a while and then the next round of work starts.
First, in August, we prune for new growth in the Spring. This is done with a large tractor wielding a boom saw which prunes every second pair of rows. We have prunings all through the orchard which we then pick up and collect into a large pile. (This becomes our winter bonfire although we are looking for equipment which will allow us to chip and recirculate the wood into the orchard.)
Following the pruning we spread chicken manure from a local farm. This year we spread 75 cubic metres over the 4 hectare orchard.
Then there is mowing and irrigation repairs and maintenance. Throughout this whole period we are busy selling our crop and creating value-added products.
By Winter’s end we are looking forward to bud burst in early October and Spring really takes hold. We’ll share the Spring mayhem with you in our next season report!