What Is Backyard Orchard Culture (And How To Reap The Benefits On Your Property)

Who doesn't love delicious and perfectly ripe fruits. Whether you're more of a fan of cherries, peaches, or plums, fruits are almost always better when they're freshly picked. While you may have thought you were doomed to grocery store fruits if you don't have a massive property with acres of space for fruit trees, that's not necessarily the case. If you plan carefully and pick the right fruit trees, you can often grow a fruit orchard in your yard, even on a relatively small suburban or even urban lot.

Backyard orchard culture requires trees to be planted relatively close together compared to traditional orchards. It also tends to involve a variety of different types of trees, providing you with fruits all season, ideally ripening at different times, as opposed to traditional orchards, which are more likely to involve a monoculture of one type of tree. If you do opt to create your own backyard orchard, it's important to look for trees that stay relatively small and ideally are self-fertile, so you can still get fruit even with only one tree. Additionally, it's important to stay on top of pruning your trees to keep them at a manageable size for your yard.

As you're dealing with limited space, carefully planning out which trees to buy and where your trees will go is imperative when creating a good backyard micro-orchard. Some of the best options for backyard orchards include trees on dwarf or semi-dwarf rootstock, which won't grow as tall as other varieties. Find out the minimum amount of space necessary for the trees you are interested in and create a map of your backyard, showing where you plan to put each tree, as well as where any paths and other infrastructure should go. In some cases, backyard growers even opt to plant their trees more closely together than recommended or even plant multiple trees in one hole. Don't forget that factors like sun requirements and hardiness still need to be considered, just as they would be with any other tree.

Once you have installed your backyard orchard, it's important to stay on top of pruning your fruit trees to ensure you get the maximum amount of fruit in the minimum amount of space. You may also need to provide your trees with slightly less fertilizer per tree than if the trees were planted further apart, thanks to the roots overlapping. While your orchard will likely need significant irrigation early on, the trees will likely require less water as they become established and grow deeper roots.