THE OFFICIAL GARDENING AND PRESERVING CHALLENGE

[Wannabefree]

How do you prune back an OLD apple tree (45 plus years old)... There are a few at my grandmas house, and would LOVE to harvest some. They give lots of small apples now, but would like some bigger ones. They also have pear trees, but they're the right size, just hard, only used for baking purposes, I believe!

G r a d u a l l y!!! Be patient, and take off one third of unnecessary limbs per YEAR until you can cut it back right the third year. Start with opening up toward the top to let more sunlight in. Gradually pruning gives it time to adjust to sudden changes and isn't as likely to kill the tree. At least that's what my grandma always told me. She had pretty apples, so I took her word for it

 

[Wannabefree]

OH JAMIE!!! I forgot, I am getting SAP from my hickories!!! It's sweeeet too I'm not getting much as I am positive I am beyond the prime time for collecting but at least I know I did it right hey...it's progress right?

 

[FarmerJamie]

OH JAMIE!!! I forgot, I am getting SAP from my hickories!!! It's sweeeet too I'm not getting much as I am positive I am beyond the prime time for collecting but at least I know I did it right hey...it's progress right?

That's awesome. Yeah, you need below freezing nights and above freezing days to get a good flow. If it stays above freezing, the sugars from the below stop migrating up the trunk, if I remember correctly.

Next year, you'll be prepared!

 

[Wannabefree]

OH JAMIE!!! I forgot, I am getting SAP from my hickories!!! It's sweeeet too I'm not getting much as I am positive I am beyond the prime time for collecting but at least I know I did it right hey...it's progress right?

That's awesome. Yeah, you need below freezing nights and above freezing days to get a good flow. If it stays above freezing, the sugars from the below stop migrating up the trunk, if I remember correctly.

Next year, you'll be prepared!

Well let's see it was 24 degrees last night and 62 today I wouldn't call it a "good" flow, more of a decent drip, but yeah, I'll know next year

 

[FarmerJamie]

How do you prune back an OLD apple tree (45 plus years old)... There are a few at my grandmas house, and would LOVE to harvest some. They give lots of small apples now, but would like some bigger ones. They also have pear trees, but they're the right size, just hard, only used for baking purposes, I believe!

G r a d u a l l y!!! Be patient, and take off one third of unnecessary limbs per YEAR until you can cut it back right the third year. Start with opening up toward the top to let more sunlight in. Gradually pruning gives it time to adjust to sudden changes and isn't as likely to kill the tree. At least that's what my grandma always told me. She had pretty apples, so I took her word for it

Clear off any suckers/shoots at the trunk, too. That's where I start.

 

[Wannabefree]

How do you prune back an OLD apple tree (45 plus years old)... There are a few at my grandmas house, and would LOVE to harvest some. They give lots of small apples now, but would like some bigger ones. They also have pear trees, but they're the right size, just hard, only used for baking purposes, I believe!

G r a d u a l l y!!! Be patient, and take off one third of unnecessary limbs per YEAR until you can cut it back right the third year. Start with opening up toward the top to let more sunlight in. Gradually pruning gives it time to adjust to sudden changes and isn't as likely to kill the tree. At least that's what my grandma always told me. She had pretty apples, so I took her word for it

Clear off any suckers/shoots at the trunk, too. That's where I start.

The first limb is about 20 foot up the tree, on both of the ones I have tapped. Hickories rarely have lower limbs. I tapped two Shagbarks. Maybe I didn't drill deep enough or something?

 

[FarmerJamie]

G r a d u a l l y!!! Be patient, and take off one third of unnecessary limbs per YEAR until you can cut it back right the third year. Start with opening up toward the top to let more sunlight in. Gradually pruning gives it time to adjust to sudden changes and isn't as likely to kill the tree. At least that's what my grandma always told me. She had pretty apples, so I took her word for it

Clear off any suckers/shoots at the trunk, too. That's where I start.

The first limb is about 20 foot up the tree, on both of the ones I have tapped. Hickories rarely have lower limbs. I tapped two Shagbarks. Maybe I didn't drill deep enough or something?

How big of a diameter? The larger maples here will often have 3 taps if the diameter is more than a foot.

 

[Wannabefree]

Clear off any suckers/shoots at the trunk, too. That's where I start.

The first limb is about 20 foot up the tree, on both of the ones I have tapped. Hickories rarely have lower limbs. I tapped two Shagbarks. Maybe I didn't drill deep enough or something?

How big of a diameter? The larger maples here will often have 3 taps if the diameter is more than a foot.

These are about 48 inch diameter, huge, OLD trees.

 

[FarmerJamie]

The first limb is about 20 foot up the tree, on both of the ones I have tapped. Hickories rarely have lower limbs. I tapped two Shagbarks. Maybe I didn't drill deep enough or something?

How big of a diameter? The larger maples here will often have 3 taps if the diameter is more than a foot.

These are about 48 inch diameter, huge, OLD trees.

WOW.

 

[Wannabefree]

How big of a diameter? The larger maples here will often have 3 taps if the diameter is more than a foot.

These are about 48 inch diameter, huge, OLD trees.

WOW.

The one I didn't tap is about 60-80 diameter