[knightquest]

We've just taken on an allotment which has three plum trees on it and the previous tennant has thrown all the grass that was turned over around the trunks. My question is - should I clear it away so that the trunks are visible again? The trunks are covered up to the first branches.

My instinct is to shift it all. Will this do any harm?

Thanks in advance.

Ian

[little blue]

how much of the trunk is covered?
it should be able to "breathe" (if you know what I mean!) and especially with young trees, the ground around the base should be clear, to reduce competition with grass etc.

congrats on your new allotment, have you had to wait long to get it?

[Dan]

That does sound odd. How high are the lowest branches?

My instinct is the same as yours - I can only think it would encourage ground-based beasties, giving then easy access to branches.

[knightquest]

Thanks lb we had to wait a whole two months   I'm pretty excited to tell you the truth.  

The grass is about 1.5 to 2 feet high so tomorrow, it'll all be cleared. The trunks are about 5 inches in diameter so that means that I have no idea how old they are  

We have had some luverly plums off them already tho' I think that they are victorias but I'm not sure.

I suppose that they should be pruned too but I might wait until spring???

Ian

[knightquest]

Here is a picture of the offending grass.



Ian

[doganjo]

My daughter has the opposite problem.  They have moved to an old house with a very mature garden that the previous owner had done nothing with since her husband died.  So the soil has eroded round the base of the fruit trees.  I've told her to get some good compost and fruit tree feed for them.  They are producing fruit but the leaves don't look too healthy.  At least yours look quite healthy, Ian.  The one on the right looks like it needs pruning too.  Probably been neglected too.

[Fleecewife]

  I think all that rubbish definitely needs to go - the trunks will rot with it there.  A danger with plums, gages and so on is silver leaf disease so you can only prune in certain months which I think are June, July and August but someone with a book please check.  You don't prune plums to the extent that you do apples, mainly just if they have broken or diseased branches, but not 'formative pruning'.

[knightquest]

Thanks guys. The grass will definately go tomorrow. I've seen different stories on t'internet about how to prune but I'm going to just remove damaged branches for this year.

Always nice to get good info. And I hope you are feeling well Juliet 

Ian

[Millwood]

In the south we can prune between March-October

[knightquest]

Grass cleared and trees pruned...............lets see if it's too late

Ian

[Fleecewife]

  Well done.  Can we have another pic of the pruned and cleared trees?  Are the trunks damaged below the rubbish line?

(I'm just waiting for more hospital Ian - and getting bored so I must be feeling a bit better  thank you)

[OhLaLa]

It looks to me like the previous tenant has put the soil there to keep the old wooden doors from falling in to his (now yours) side!

Don't prune when the weather is wet, it will kill the trees. Wait until the warmer weather in late spring.

  

PS: Or are there pigs/poultry etc on the other side of that wood? That would account for the piles of earth - to prevent anything from digging under and out.

[northfifeduckling]

I was just told at a summer pruning course - never prune plums and cherries in the winter, as they will get something like  silver leaf disease?
Also, my gran always had a meter around her trees completely cleared and she had a lovely crop - I wish I had the time to do that . Definitely no extra grass or soil around a fruit tree!
 

[knightquest]

Well, I pruned them and we had two days of warm weather before the rain set in..............Here's the picture




I think that there is a bit of damage to the trunk on the left of the picture. What can I do to give them a tonic so to speak? Unfortunately, I can't glue the branches back on 

The grass was thrown there because the previous tennant was lazy it seems. The doors are there because the guy next door tried to dig the area and found hundreds of bottles buried there. This convinced him to build his compost bins there instead of growing crops. 

Ian

[Fleecewife]

  There are proprietary products you can use on wounds and pruning sites, although I don't know anything about them.  I have used Stockholm tar, although it drips a bit on vertical surfaces, and thick Vaseline but I think that because of the danger of silver leaf disease you might be better with the proprietary stuff, from a garden centre.

It all looks very neat now and the area covered by the tarp looks just the thing - you have been busy    You might need a couple more pallets in the middle of the tarp if a big wind is forecast.   Oh and an allotment site wouldn't be an allotment site without doors everywhere    Anyone who has found doors in a skip will carry them back to their plot as proudly as a hunter with an eland.  Skip-raking is another side of allotmenting which you soon pick up    I wish I had your energy now.