Make a planting ring around the tree’s canopy to retain water to drain down from above the roots, and flood the ring 2-3 times to water it with a hose.

Quantity of Water:

Provide a planted 15-gallon size tree with 15 gallons of water to soak the root system and saturate the surrounding soil. A 5-gallon tree needs 5 gallons of water to soak, and a 25-gallon container tree needs 25 gallons of water.

Frequency to water while young: Mature require less frequent watering

Winter deciduous fruit trees do not require water while dormant.
Begin to water weekly once the tree leafs out in the early Spring.
Increase the frequency as the weather warms in the Spring to Summer.
Increase water frequency to every other day or more during Summer heat waves while the tree is young.
Reduce water to once per week in the Fall.
Discontinue watering your tree in the Winter while dormant.

Water Duration – Quantity of water: Automatic System: Run Time depends on Flow Rate.

PVC Bubbler – 5 – 7 minutes with 2 – 4 GPM Flow rate
Sprinkler – 15 – 25 minutes directed into wells
Drip System – More than 30 minutes with multiple emitters. The perforated drip is also a great choice.

Soil Type: Water quantity and frequency also depend on soil type. To saturate sandy soils, provide less water more frequently, while clay soils need more water less frequently.

Irrigation water management requires monitoring soil moisture, irrigation scheduling, and an irrigation system to uniformly and efficiently distribute water based on the evapotranspiration rate while considering salinity and drainage and the practical constraints affecting scheduling, and the Soil-plant-water relationships.

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Fruit trees and edible plants need nutrients to grow. This is called fertilizer and it comes in different forms. Use organic manure, bone meal, blood meal, and humus based fertilizers. Apply fertilizers like manure along with a bone meal, humus based phosphorus fertilizer (1-2-2) NPK ratio in the late Winter, right before spring growth. Reapply with organic high nitrogen (2-1-1) or fertilizers with a 1-1-1 NPK as directed by the label during the Spring and Summer growing season. Do not fertilize in the Fall, new growth at this time will be thin, lanky, and weak.

Prune fruit trees in the Winter to maintain size and shape to prepare for Spring growth. Thin the tree in the Summer, and remove excess fruits. Remove any dry twigs and branches. Cut off any new growth below the graft or very low in the tree, this will direct the plant’s energy to its main branches. Thin your trees during the Spring and Summer seasons to ensure the plant’s energy is directed as desired. If the plant provides an overly large quantity of fruits for that branch, reduce the quantity of fruit so that what remains grows larger. This will also prevent broken limbs. Harvest ripe fruit to prevent undesired pests.

The basics of integrated pest management is cleanliness and the use of a combination of methods. This means we use an organic pesticide when the pest population reaches a threshold that requires action. Horticultural oils such as Neem oil is an organic pesticide that controls tiny, soft bodied insects. Use organic Bordeaux and Liqui-cop to manage fungus causing diseases such as powdery mildew, rust, and leaf-curls.

Keep a clean environment, free of weeds and dropped fruit that host insects or attract animals. Harvest when fruit reaches size and store indoors. Use repellants and bird netting to protect your harvest from other animals.