Melissa pruning on a chilly day
Today in the orchard
Melissa Madden joined us for a day of pruning in the orchard. Melissa is a New York orchardist and cider-maker who has been visiting central Maine for the past month. Cammy, Melissa and I pruned a number of the larger trees in our “Finley Lane” test orchard. One of Melissa’s specialties is looping and weaving branches as a strategy for reducing vigor and increasing productivity. You can see one of her loops in the foreground of the picture. We did a lot of looping today. The air temperature was milder than it’s been, but the combination of a solid cloud cover and a steady breeze made for a chilly day. Still we had an excellent and whimsical time. Pruning season is in full swing.
Here’s an apple Haiku for today from Anthony Neils:
“Learn from plants” he says
Now I’m stuck outside freezing
Maybe he was right
