Pruning Workshop Recap

Feb 27, 2017

By Jason Lingnau of Intuitive Design

The pruning workshop on Saturday was informative and timely. The winter pruning season is upon us and my wife and I  have some work to do but have been hesitant to “make the cut”.

The speaker , Ann Ralph had such a wonderful approach to the subject and gave the group hands on lessons in pruning various types of fruit trees.

Ann is the author of Grow a Little Fruit tree and has a long career in the Nursery business. It was hosted by Sustainable Solano through Benicia Community Gardens. The workshop took place at the Benicia Community Orchard on a brisk February morning and this wonderful outdoor experience was part lecture and part story telling. Ann brought my rough understanding of pruning into focus.

I had a sense that pruning was an important part of keeping a fruit tree productive but learned the how and why of it. Ann broke it all down into simple and practical steps that anyone with a fruit tree of any age could perform.

There were folks from Vallejo and Fairfield that brought the discussion around to growing patterns from other parts of the county.

I was particularly interested in her promotion of the first “knee cut”. Others in the group knew what that meant and were just as horrified as Ann herself was when she was told to perform this on “all bare root trees that left the nursery”. In fact she says that she refused to do it! I hid the fact that I didn’t know what all this meant, but for me this pruning workshop just took an intriguing turn like an Agatha Christie novel.

My curiosity did push me to raise my hand and ask Ann to explain to me in more detail about this mystery “knee cut “. I was to learn how this dramatic cut really does set the stage for a future tree that produces a better crop of fruit. But I was unsure if I could do it to one of our freshly purchased bare root asian pear trees.

This hard pruning technique that was once ridiculed by nursery’s throughout California is now a standard practice for many or a suggestion given to those purchasing bare root trees from Bay Area nurseries.

The group learned how very common sense pruning can be and some tricks that are counter intuitive. I look forward to taking the techniques learned from Ann to promote stronger, more fruit producing branches in our little back yard fruit orchard.

Maggie Ingalls on Ann Ralph of “Grow a Little Fruit Tree”

Jan 30, 2017

Maggie (center) Taking notes on peach tree pruning.

When we asked Community Orchard Program Manager Maggie Ingalls why she invited Ann Ralph to speak to Orchard members, she said, “I took Ann’s workshop on backyard fruit tree pruning soon after we had planted several fruit trees in our new yard here in Benicia. I wish I had taken the course before we planted those trees, but I jumped right in with summer pruning and have successfully kept the trees to a manageable size. I find Ann’s theory of pruning and her teaching style to be very helpful.”

Which is a plus, because pruning can seem quite intimidating, with talk about sizing, different cuts, pruning for growth, pruning for fruit, dwarf trees, semi-dwarf trees, two-year fruit vs four-year fruit. The ideal angle of branches. At times, avid orchardists can forget there is knowledge and terminology that the average (or novice) fruit tree owner doesn’t know. It can be quite dizzying. Ann will spend two full hours teaching and demonstrating the simple logic of pruning: how to prune for short stature and easy harvest, seasonal routines, and pest and disease control. Because unless you do care for an orchard as your main activity in the day, most backyard caretakers will only be able to do what works for them.

To that, Maggie added, “I came away from her workshop with the confidence to maintain my own trees at the size that is convenient for me.”

Have you registered for our upcoming winter fruit tree-pruning workshop taught by author and educator Ann Ralph?  The February 11^th workshop, which will be held at the Benicia Community Orchard, is a great opportunity to learn the basics of fruit tree pruning.

When: Feb. 11, 10:30am-12:30pm (potluck lunch to follow)

Where: Benicia Community Orchard, 1400 E 2nd St Benicia

Cost: $40 (free for orchard members)

Registration Required (space is limited to 20)