Workshop ‘Introduction to natural fruit tree pruning – young tree pruning/educational pruning’

Workshop Contents

Pruning fruit trees

With the right care, large-crowned fruit trees not only produce delicious fruit for up to 200 years, they are also landscape-defining elements with high ecological value. In this workshop, we will focus in particular on the tree’s youth, as the first 10 years of a fruit tree’s life are decisive for its lifespan, stability and long-term fruit yield

It is important to support the tree during this time in forming a permanently stable crown structure. From the outset, the crown must be created in such a way that the tree can fully utilise its lifespan and remain healthy in the long term. We allow the tree to develop its full size and build up the crown in such a way that it still remains easy to care for and the main harvesting zone is located in the lower, easily accessible area, even in later years.

In order to achieve this, a good basic understanding of the needs of the tree, the natural laws that govern its growth and the desired crown structure is required. The correct approach to pruning and the choice of the right pruning tool also play a decisive role in the long-term health of the tree.

The main learning content of the course in brief:

• Different tree sizes and fruit varieties for different locations;
• Pruning fruit trees throughout the year: When to prune which fruit trees;
• Why do fruit trees need to be pruned at all?
• How do fruit trees ‘grow’? Development of shoots, yield and growth laws of the fruit tree;
• Build-up of a natural-looking crown;
• Procedure for pruning fruit trees: sequence, pruning and wound healing;
• The right tools for fruit tree maintenance.

This event is organised by Food Forest Rehfelde together with Manu Pieper.