Orchards were once in every community and provided nutritous fruit that was eaten fresh and preserved for the winter months. Fruit provides an excellent source of local vitamin C and other healthy nutrients to help prevent colds during the long winter months. Winter is the time to be planning your orchard and selecting the trees you wish to purchase. Two excellent suppliers of mail order fruit trees are Future Forests in Bantry, Cork and Irish Seed Savers in Scarriff, County Clare (Contact details can be found in Ethical Marketplace on the Top Menu).

To get us started this short video shows a group of friends planting a community orchard in England ... a fun community activity.

Planning an Orchard - Find your Space

One of the first things you need to consider is how much room you have for an orchard. Walk your property and look around. You probably have some idea in your mind as to where you might want to have your orchard. Check out the area and pace it off to get an idea of how much room you have. Look out for good drainage and soil conditions (see below), and especially for surrounding trees that will eventually grow larger and shade out, or steal water and nutrients from your orchard.

Varieties and Sizes of Trees

The types and varieties of trees you want should also be considered when planning an orchard. Generally you should plant trees of the same variety adjacent to one another. Apples next to apples, peaches next to peaches.

This can assist in pollination as well as tree maintenance like spraying and pruning. Not to mention organization and appearance. You should also consider how big your trees will get at maturity. Fruit tree spacings are very important. Space trees so that their branches won't grow into each other. This can cause the trees to interfere with one another's growth patterns and productivity. You'll want them close to each other, but not overlapping.

As a general rule of thumb, allow:

-8-10 foot circle for dwarf trees

-12-15 foot circles for semi dwarf trees

-20-25 foot circle for standard sized trees

Obviously, the mature sizes of your trees will have a bearing on how many trees you can plant in the space you have available. If you want more trees than your orchard plot will allow, you will have to select smaller trees or expand your orchard. Either way - it's good to know up front so you can plan accordingly.

Pollinator Trees

Do your trees need pollinators? Some varieties of fruit trees are self pollinating, while others need a pollinator tree. Some varieties even need a specific (but different) variety to be fruitful. Most reputable nurseries will tell you this up-front in their catalog or on their websites. If you need a pollinator to have successful crops, make sure to plant them next to each other. Pollinator trees are most effective when they are close to each other, instead of at either ends of your orchard. The good news is that the pollinator trees will bear fruit as well - providing you a bit of variety in the process.

Soil and Water

Fruit trees like fertile, well drained soil and sunny locations. If you have poor soil (low in nutrients), you can always amend it with composts, fertilizers and mulch, so don't let poor soil stop you from having an orchard. Add new top dressings of compost and mulches every year. Improving poor soil is an ongoing project. It may take your trees a bit longer to bear fruit if you start with poor soil, but if you keep working on it each year, you will succeed.

Good drainage is also an important consideration. I have my orchard on a slight slope so that water doesn't stand on them during wet times. It makes mowing a bit more difficult, but the benefits to the trees is worth the extra effort. Don't plan your orchard where water will stand for long periods of time. If the ground stays too wet, the trees roots will be more susceptible to fungal and bacterial infections. The roots can rot completely away if they stay wet too long.

A Pleasure to the Eye

Yes, simple aesthetics are important too. Make the layout so that it is pleasing to the eye. An orchard in full spring bloom is a sight to behold - especially if it's your own!

Plan your order with a view to the future!

Planning an Orchard - Other Considerations

Here are a few other items that you may want to take into consideration when planning an orchard:

-Rights of way - if you have legal rights of way on your property (and it's more common than you might think), don't plan your orchard so that it encroaches those rights of way. Stay a good distance away from public roads, utilities, and property boundaries.

-Buried utilitiy lines - Digging holes where utility lines are buried is a recipe for disaster. Remember the old "call before you dig" thing? If you're not sure where electic, phone, cable, or gas lines are buried - find out first.

-Overhead Utility Lines - Don't plant your orchard under overhead lines. If your trees get big enough, they could interfere with these lines. The utility companies can come to your home and cut the tops out of your trees without warning. They don't normally take much care in doing it either. There are exceptions, but why take the chance?

-Property lines - do you have good neighbours? If not, planting trees that encroach the property line can cause problems. Even if you have the best neighbors you could ask for, I don't recommend planting your orchard close enough to property lines that they will grow over to your neighbor's side. Remember - neighbors move, houses sell. The next people who move in may not be so nice.

-Accessibility to water and supplies - Home orchards do require some maintenance. Pruning and spraying require carrying equipment to the orchard, and carrying pruning waste away. How far are you willing to carry that stuff? Harvesting means getting the harvest from the orchard to your house.

A bushel of any kind of fruit can be pretty heavy.

Dry times may require watering your trees. Do you have a water source close enough or garden hoses enough to water your trees? Hand carrying buckets full of water can get really old, really quickly.

Hot To Make Fruit Jam

Use organic sugar !

Nutritional Benefits of Fruit

Including fruits in your diet is one sure way to a healthier body. A daily intake of these delicious foods can be of great benefit to your body in various ways. If you are beginning to eat a healthier diet to help you lose weight, or just as way to become more energetic, a diet high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains is a great way to start. As you begin to eat more fruit, you will begin to realize how much better you will feel. Continue reading as you will discover various amazing facts about the effects that fruits can have on your body.

It is common knowledge that you you need to drink lots of water. Like most people, you probably do not get the recommended six to eight daily glasses of water. But you probably didn’t know that fruit contains 80% water. So it would make sense that adding fruit to your diet would increase your overall water intake. No other food on this planet exists that has that much amount of water.

Digestive problems such as constipation, diarrhea or abdominal cramping, can be alleviated by eating fruit. Fruits that contain natural fiber also can also help regulate bowel movements. Fruits have also been proven effective when it comes to lowering cholesterol levels. This can help you prevent strokes and heart disease.

There have even been studies that say fruits can stimulate your memory. People who consume fruits on the daily can retain more information and even recall it quicker versus those who don’t partake in eating fruits. There have also been studies that say people who drink fruit juices or eat fruit regularly can lower their risk of contracting Alzheimer’s disease by an incredible 76%.

You might even find it more attractive to include fruits in your diet because of its relatively inexpensive price tag. Some people don’t know this and they think that they can’t afford fresh fruit because it might be too expensive. But consider the price you already pay for a pack of potato chips or take out meals. You should make it habit to substitute those unhealthy snacks and replace them with fruit, then you will definitely notice a gap in your food bill. It might even be less! Although the real benefit that you get when replacing those unhealthy snacks with a serving of fruits is a healthier body. And there is no possible price tag for your health.

One great tip to help you to eat more fruit is to keep fruit out in a place where you can see it, like in the front of the refrigerator or out on the kitchen counter. By doing this you will be more likely to eat it than if it is kept out of site.

We must keep in mind that fruits are the most natural foods on this planet. They are almost the only kinds of food that grow on a tree or a bush that you can eat without any preparation or cooking. Your body has a craving for all natural foods. Fruit is how food is supposed to be.

So if you think fruit isn’t an important factor for your health, then you should reconsider. Fruits can improve your memory, prevent disease, and they can provide your body with necessary water. There are tons of benefits that come from this food easily obtainable and most importantly all natural. So do yourself a favor and begin eating more fruit. You will love feeling and looking better.