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CHOOSING AND PREPARING A SITE

For the healthiest trees and best crops, select a site where air flows freely and water percolates through the soil quickly. Avoid that fertile creek-bottom land: Waterlogged soil leads to root rot, and low areas that trap cold air create "frost pockets" that can kill blossoms in spring. Highly fertile soil induces overly vigorous vegetative growth that is difficult to control, more susceptible to fire blight and will delay the onset of fruiting. Once trees do start bearing, excess fertility produces softer fruit that's more prone to rot.

A gentle to moderate slope is usually the best site. A south-facing slope is useful for long-season varieties in shortseason areas, as it warms up sooner in spring, hasten ing bloom and harvest. A north-facing slope delays bloom and harvest, which is helpful for early-blooming apple varieties where late spring frosts often threaten (though in many areas, most apples bloom late enough to avoid frosts most years. Eastand west-facing slopes don't affect bloom or harvest time much, but western slopes are usually best avoided because they need more irrigation—especially in hot, dry climates—and because morning sun dries dew off the foliage quickly, lessening the risk of disease.

A source of irrigation water is essential during the first season after planting, and an irrigation system provides valuable drought insurance—especially for trees on shallow-rooted dwarfing rootstocks—throughout the life of the planting. A trickle system is the most water- and energy-efficient way to irrigate, but soaker hoses can be fine for a small, family apple orchard.

Strong winds will increase the trees' moisture needs and can whip young trees around in their planting holes, weakening them and leaving them vulnerable to pests. So where winds are strong, choose a site protected by existing plantings, or plant a windbreak. Place the windbreak so it diverts the prevailing winds of the windiest season, and is at least as far from the fruit planting as its ultimate height. In our region, a one- or two-row summer windbreak of deciduous trees south of a fruit planting helps minimize summer irrigation needs and windfallen fruit. Areas with harsher winters may need a two- or three-row winter windbreak—including a row of evergreens, usually pines or spruces—northwest of the orchard.

Before planting, test your soil and adjust the pH level to within the 6.0-to-8.0 range if needed. Add phosphorus or potassium only if your soil tests quite low for these nutrients. If your site lacks organic matter, you could turn under a green manure crop before planting, but don't build the soil up too much for apples. Establish a good legume-grass ground cover (we use white clover and fescue), or, if the site already has one, plant directly into it. Killing the sod around each newly planted tree with a heavy mulch or glyphosate (Roundup herbicide controls weeds, and the decaying ground-cover roots boost tree growth. Later, once the trees are established, you can plant wildflowers in the tree rows between the ground-cover strips, to attract beneficial insects.

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