We are lucky to have three apple trees in the garden. They are very old though, and are far too tall. 11 years ago when we moved here, we got a tree surgeon to come and prune them for us, and they did a poor job. They cut off all the lower branches, meaning that the apples are very hard to reach.
We've done a small amount of pruning in the intervening years (we always mean to do a proper job, but when we finally decide to do it, Spring has sprung); but now that we are moving into producing cider from our crop, we needed to get them sorted properly. So, this week we've starte on one of the trees, trying to reduce its height. With this sort of situation, the experts say to do the tree over three years so you don't shock it too much.
The branches are waiting to be cut into logs, and the smaller branches have mostly been made into kindling. There are a lot of small bits which, if desperate, I could use for kindling, but we've decided to burn to make woodash. They are sitting in the incinerator, with more in our green waste bin, waiting for a suitable day.
I've got one last pile of small branches to deal with, but snapping or cutting for kindling is a bit tedious, so I'll save it until we've cut the last of the branches of the first tree.
There's still two apples, a greengage and a plum to go. Not sure we'll get them all done in time.
We've done a small amount of pruning in the intervening years (we always mean to do a proper job, but when we finally decide to do it, Spring has sprung); but now that we are moving into producing cider from our crop, we needed to get them sorted properly. So, this week we've starte on one of the trees, trying to reduce its height. With this sort of situation, the experts say to do the tree over three years so you don't shock it too much.
The branches are waiting to be cut into logs, and the smaller branches have mostly been made into kindling. There are a lot of small bits which, if desperate, I could use for kindling, but we've decided to burn to make woodash. They are sitting in the incinerator, with more in our green waste bin, waiting for a suitable day.
I've got one last pile of small branches to deal with, but snapping or cutting for kindling is a bit tedious, so I'll save it until we've cut the last of the branches of the first tree.
There's still two apples, a greengage and a plum to go. Not sure we'll get them all done in time.
