190 



ESTABLISHING THE ORCHARD 



9. Preparing Field for Planting. 



Procedure: 



(a) Preparing the soil. 



(6) Determining location of trees. 



(a) Preparing the Soil. Plow orchard land as early in the 

 spring as soil conditions permit. This will insure both settling 

 of the ground before planting and conservation of the moisture, 

 which the trees will need. Plowing in the fall and working the 

 land in early spring are desirable in many sections. It is 

 better thattthe land should have been devoted to a tilled crop 

 the year previous rather than that trees be planted on a freshly 

 turned sod, though the latter is by no means to be disallowed 

 under all conditions. If planting on sod, fall plowing is par- 

 ticularly desirable, so that the soil may settle and disintegra- 

 ^on of the sod may begin before the trees are set. 



Peaches should always be set on tilled land. In some sec- 

 tions extensive apple orchards have been developed under 

 conditions that do not permit tillage, and some growers use 

 other systems of soil management through preference. These 

 are described in the chapter ^^Managing Orchard Soils.'' It is 

 best to set in tilled land whenever possible, regardless of the 

 type of soil management followed later. 



(b) Determining Location of Trees. A simple method of 

 staking a field that is fairly level is indicated in Fig. 68, show- 

 ing trees to be set 40 by 40 feet on the square, 30 feet to be 

 allowed on the ends of the rows beyond the last trees for turn- 

 ing, given one straight side of the field, as a road or line fence 

 (which side does not matter) . 



Turn a right angle at one corner of straight boundary or base line, as 

 indicated by m, in the triangle, Fig. 68, by measuring 60 feet along the 

 base line and parallel with it, and setting stake 1; measure 80 feet 

 approximately at right angles to m-1, and set stake at n. Then change 

 the position of n until the distance n-1 is exactly 100 feet without alter- 

 ing other dimensions (smaller triangles as 30-40-50 may be used, but the 

 chance for error on the shorter distances is greater). 



