Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 3
Designing or Redesigning Your Orchard
CHAPTER CONTENTS
Here is where the fun starts. Whether you are planting one tree or 10,000,
the same principles apply. For those of you with established orchards, this
will be a good opportunity to evaluate your orchard and, perhaps, update
your orchard layout and training systems. Take the time to get your design
right before buying trees and equipment or changing management practices.
Investing in trees and trellises, laying out fields and roads, and installing ir-
rigation systems and fences are long-term decisions that can be expensive
and difficult to change. For organic growers, it is very important to create a
design that minimizes pest and disease problems and lends itself to organic
management practices. And again, you also want to think about how you will
market your crops, as discussed in chapter 14.
Creating and fine-tuning your orchard on paper is much easier and less
expensive than correcting mistakes later on. Our goal is not to create a good
orchard, but to create a great orchard!
