Trimming off the mummies as spring nears

Pruning season has arrived for fruit trees. Warren resident and orchardist Peter Montgomery offered some tips to The Lakeville Journal  for healthy, productive fruit trees. He emphasized essential elements of successful fruit tree care: pruning, fertilizing and spraying. 

“Now is the time to inspect your trees for damage, dead wood and ‘mummies’,” Montgomery said. Mummies, or old, shriveled fruit still on the tree from the previous season, can be especially dangerous as they often harbor pathogens. 

Trim off those mummies along with any dead wood. Prune at the end of March for apples and pears. For peaches, plums and nectarines wait to prune until May, as the wetter months of early spring make these varieties prone to viral infections if trimmed too early.  

“The goal of pruning is to promote open branching,” Montgomery explained. Opening up the canopy allows the sun to reach the fruit so it can ripen. If one limb or branch is too close to another, trim one of them back. Trimmed branches will grow in the direction of the bud that is just below the cut, so take time to think about the shape the tree will take before lopping off limbs. 

Practical considerations, such as being able to pass a lawn-mowing tractor beneath the branches or controlling the height of the tree for ease of access, should be taken into account, as these factors will also influence pruning practices.

Adequate nutrients are vital to fruit production and to a tree’s overall health. Montgomery recommends using an organic fertilizer at three points during the year: before the spring bloom, when the immature fruit is the size of your thumb and in autumn after half of the leaves have fallen. 

He also suggests adding dolomitic lime to the soil. Lime is a naturally occurring inorganic material that enriches the soil with calcium and magnesium. This is important since the soil in Connecticut tends to be deficient in magnesium. Lime also balances the pH level of the soil.

One intriguing piece of information that Montgomery shared was the recipe for an all-natural, nutrient-rich probiotic spray that can be applied directly to the leaves, branches and trunk. 

Enhancing the naturally occurring bacteria and organisms that live in the arboreal environment promotes the overall health of the tree, allowing it to fend off harmful fungi, pests and pathogens.

“We are essentially helping the tree help itself,” he said.

This recipe yields 4 gallons of solution. In a large bucket, mix  2.5 ounces of neem oil, 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, 10 ounces of liquid fish fertilizer, 5 teaspoons of liquid kelp, 4 ounces of agricultural probiotic, 4 ounces of molasses and 3.5 gallons of distilled water. 

Spray this solution on trees at least four times each year, always in the morning, and never when the trees are in bloom. Apply it when the buds are beginning to show a hint of green; as the buds are beginning to show color; and then one and three weeks after petal fall. 

“If you’re really motivated, you can apply it every two weeks, and after a big rain,” he said. “You’ll never kill 100 percent of anything, but with this approach you can reduce the overall threat posed by pests and pathogens.”  

To further deter pests, he recommended a product called Surround, which is finely ground kaolin clay that can be suspended in water and sprayed on trees in a similar regimen. 

“The clay creates a gritty texture that insects don’t like. It also changes the spectrum of light that bounces off the fruit, so it does not look as appetizing to bugs,” Montgomery said.

For more information and to order fruit trees for this growing season, call Montgomery at 860-619-8028 or email him at petersgardens@optonline.net.