Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 249, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 October 1911 — FALL PLANTING THE ORCHARD [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FALL PLANTING THE ORCHARD

W M W» MCHARDS, B»rtfaJt»r»l Dqxrt—<. ■ »iin

Fall Is, perhaps, the best time for ithe general fanner to set hla orchard At thia season of the year farm work , hi generally slacker than in the spring «M 1 the work ckn thus be given more The trees should be ordered early, tt you wait until late tn the season you apt to get cull stock. Order from some good, reliable firm that Is locat At somewhere near home. If the stock is then unsatisfactory the nurseryman hi close enough to be dealt with. But only trees of standard varieties. Let the other man or the experiment stations do the experimenting. For a home orchard, two

Fig. I—Planting board. By moans of thia board the exact location of the trees can bo determined after the holes are dug. or three trees of about five varieties of each sort of fruit will be found to be a great plenty. This will make aa orchard of from ear acre to an acre and one half in else and win produce more than enough for a family ! of average alee. Before the trees arrive the ground ahould be well fitted. Plow the orchard area well and then harrow it and leave the soil In aa good condition aa if you were going to sow wheat Just aa soon aa the trees arrive they should be taken from the boxes and have their roots puddled. This is done by making a thin mixture of day and water and then plunging the root systems of the trees into it Puddling is done to prevent too rapid drying out of the roots. For the farm orchard the square system of planting will be found to ho very satisfactory. The trees are set at the corners of squares 35 or <• feet on a side. On a small area the trees can be set with a garden line. On a small area the trees can

Fig 2—Apple tree being set with planting, board. The tree Is put in exactly the right place, being located by the notch on the board. Be cure to work the coll carefully about roots. be Mt with a garden line. Stretch the line tight and then place a stake every forty feet Now move the line over forty feet stretch again and set the stakes as before. Continue this operation until there are as many stakes located as there are trees to be planted. Each stake thus repro-

marts the exact location of the trues MSB will stand forty feet each way. In order to set the tree tn the exact place occupied by the stake, a simple device has been designed known as the planting board (Fig. 1). This Is a plebe of board about six feet long with a notch in the middle and a hole in each end. The board Is laid on the ground with the stake fitting In the central notch. Two other stakes are now placed in the end notches and driven in place. The planting board can now be lifted from the marker stake, the stake removed and the hole dug. When the hole is dug the planting board is replaced over thr end stakes and the central notch now rests over the holo in the same place as the original marker stake. The tree is then held in the central notch (Fig. 3) and the soil placed about Its roots. Care should be taken to cut off all mangled and broken roots and to also shorten in all extra long ones. The soil should bo thoroughly worked around the roots and no air spaces left in contact with them. When the

Fig. 3—Two-year-old apple tree. In the spring this fall set tree should be pruned at the black lines. This severe cutting back restores balance of top and roots. tree is planted the board is removed and the tree now occupies the exact position of the marker stake. By using the planting board on each tree, the rows of trees can be kept as straight ,as was the original line of marker stakes. No top pruning should be dons to tall planted trees until the following spring when the tops should be cut back severely. (Fig. 3) By careful work a fall planted .orchard can be brought through the winter in good shape and at least two weeks gained in growth over spring planted trees. Plant carefully and then care for the trees if a satisfactory harvest is expected.