The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918, 1911-12-28
Planting and Care Of Orchards
Up to the Time Of Bearing

In selecting lard for an orchard site
there are these things that should be
taken into consideration:-the lay OF
the land, drainage, and depth of the
soil. Land should not only be selected
which will give good soil drainage,
but air drainage should also be taken
into consideration. 1t is we'll known
fact that cold air always settles In
low places and the planting Of orchards
in such places should be avoided, in
as much as they are more suscepti-
BILE to frosts. It is also very import
ant that land selected for horticultural
purposes should be deep and we'll
drained soil, so that at no time will
water be allowed to stand around the
trees, and the soil should be of good
depth, so the trees will have ample
room to develope their root system.
The best results cannot be attained
by planting on shollow soil. Trees
planted on shallow soils are bound to
be surface feeders and will not stand
drought, and will require more water
and moro frequent irrigation than
trees planted on deeper soil.
The varieties of apples to be plant
ed in any section should be governed
great deal by the length Of the
growing season and the elevation at
which they are to be planted. Some
sections have a longer growing sea-
son than others and in selecting COM
mercial varieties to be planted, the
length of the growing season should
be taken into consideration. The
planter should study his own locality
and the conditions existing there be-
fore selecting his varieties. Varieties
should be selected so that the fruit
will reach a good size, ard have good
color and texture in the given number
Of months which will be the growing
season in that section. The growing
Of fruit on the western slope has
reached such stage that no planter
can afford to plant any fruit other
than the commercial varieties, and the
fewer number Of varietise that are
planted in any one section, the better
for the grower when the fruit comes
into bearing, as too many varieties
are now raised on the western slope
which have no commercial value and
are not of good keeping quality.
There is great deal of difference in
the opinions Of various horticulturists
of trees used in planting but the best
results have been attained by the
planting of one year old, well-develop-
ed trees. AS a general rule, stock
from four to six feet, with a good
top land root is used, and in purchas-
ing such nursery stock, it is well to
buy from some reliable nurseryman
as near home as possible. In this wa,
the planter can see just what he is
buying. Spring planting is generally
practiced in Idaho, although some fall
plantlng is done. In buying trees for
fall planting, the planter should be
certain that the trees are we'll ma
tured before purchasing. In some
cases, the nurseryman will strip the
trees of their leaves before selling
them to the planter. Such trees are
worthless and should not be planted az
1t is impossible to form a low-headed
tree from such stock
The planting in the spring is begun
Just as soon as the spring freezes are
over, and the soil is dried out, so that
1t is mellow When handled. AS a gen.
eral rule, the apple rees are planted
from thirty to thirty three feet apart.
This distance gives them ample room
10 build up good root system and
ample soil from which to feed upon
In planting, the holes are dug about
2x2. The first to 10 inches of the
top soil is placed in one pile by itself
and the subsoil in another. The tree
IS placed in the hole at about the sam,
depth, or possibly little deeper than
when it grew in the nurcery. The
TOP soil is' then placed in the hole frs
and is we'll packed in around the roots
by using some blunt instrument that
viii not bruise the roots. AS soon as
the top soil is placed in the hole, a
quantity OF water should be run in
ana the tree we'll settled by slightly
pulling 1t up and down while the wa.
Ter IS sinking away. AS soon as this
Is done, the sub-sOil should then he
aaoed and well taMped in. The hole
should be we'll filled and a dust mulch
left on top. Before the tree is PLANTED
the roots should receive some slirh1
trimming, cutting away any injured
roots, or any root that has abnormal
growth, and will not lay straight in
the hole when planted. The tree
should be set with the larger roots to
ward the prevailing wind. The tor
should also be slightly leaned in this
direction. In this way, the tree will
gain a good root system before it is
Dent over or thrown out Of line b,
the prevailing winds. Another meth
Cd used in some of the old established
rruit sections Of Idaho is the plantina
OF corn every third or fourth row If
new orchards, parallel to the prevail
Ing winds. The corn grows to a eoot
, height at an early date in the spring
and furnishes good wind break. AZ
ter the tree has been planted, tn.
top should be cut back to correspond
with the root system. The average
height In cutting back tree from
four to six feet, is from twenty-fou1
to thirty-six inches. The cutting bacl
OF smaller trees should be ct the sam
rate. This operation is very importar
as 1t Is very essential to form a goot