Summer Weeding
With the hot weather many weeds are growing rapidly and some will begin to go to seed. Weeding at least once a month is advisable for orchards and food forests throughout the summer months!
POP's weed identification guide is available for sale on our website and we always have free copies to distribute to community orchard partners. Check out POP’s guide to
Ramial Wood Chips and Weeding in Place.
By August, second year canes of raspberries will have finished fruiting and begun to die back. These dead canes can be pruned out anytime between late summer and late winter. For blackberries, tip back first year canes (non-fruiting) to encourage greater side branching for next year's harvest.
Pruning back the tops of 1st year blackberry canes in mid summer can help induce side branching, leading to larger harvests the following year.
Emergency Pruning
During the summer months, most pruning should be limited to emergency pruning only.
Keep an eye out for any diseased, damaged, or dead wood that should be pruned away no matter the season. Pay special attention to the base of trees - especially of the stone fruit varieties: apricots, peaches, plums, nectarines - and prune away root suckers, the quick upright growth that can be a cover for dreaded borers, which make a home beneath trunk wood.
Bacterial canker on cherry and other stone fruits can often be identified by gummosis or oozing sap. This disease is best cut out using a sharp sanitized knife during hot,dry weather.
Remember: use sharp, rust-free hand tools and sanitize between every cut for disease prone trees during the growing season. For easy disinfecting, we recommend carrying a spray bottle with you of rubbing (isopropyl 70%) alcohol or a bleach solution (1 part bleach: 10 parts water) to wipe down tools.