Apple Tree Wall

Yesterday I visited a large fruit farm a few towns away here in Southern NH. I knew the owners through tractor pulling. They are Ford enthusiasts like myself. They own in the neighborhood of thirty Fords from a two Fordsons up to a few NHs under five years old. Nearly all of them are in regular use. The farm is owned and operated by "Chip" and his son Trevor. Within five minutes of my arrival Chip had me in a golf cart off on a tour that lasted over an hour. We looked at the tractors first, Then on to the stock of irrigation equipment that they stock and sell out of two large modern warehouses. He also noted that they had five trucks out delivering to two supermarket chains that morning. We then went out into the orchard where he showed me some of their miles of drip irrigation tubing supplied by various pumps with filter systems that they build and sell. Then we came to the Apple tree walls:




These apple trees are planted in rows twelve feet apart with the individual trees three to five feet apart. They are supported by cables and kept pruned so that branches extend no more than thirty inches from the cables. He explained that in addition to enhancing the light shining on the apples it makes the trees more accessible to use of mechanized pruning and picking. Ladders are not used for picking.


At this time the workers were on lunch break from pruning. They employ 35 Jamaicans for five months a year. There are no local people available for this sort of work.










The machine drives itself following the tree bases optically, and carries four pickers. The platforms can extend a few feet towards the trees, and elevate or go down a few feet. Two pickers are on the ground picking and placing the apples on a conveyor that drops them into the bin on the back of the machine. It also levels itself automatically as it moves along with an air bag system.


They use five inch reinforced concrete posts imported from Italy to support the cables which support the trees. Even with shipping from Italy these posts are a lot less than the pressure treated wood posts that they used to use.


I was very impressed with their modern practices and equipment.

We had a family reunion Sunday. One cousin was telling me that another cousin has planted a good number of trees that way now.

I know very little about apple trees but I thought pruning is normally done during the winter.

="showcrop"](reply to post at 09:44:58 08/04/21)

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"They employ 35 Jamaicans for five months a year. There are no local people available for this sort of work."

(at the price he pays the imports)


Did you get a pic of these Italian cement blocks that are cheaper to import vs make here??

Looks like a fun visit, but how were the apples? Surely you tried some.

Interesting setup. Thanks for sharing. I like the wall idea.
If it was done small-scale, would the supports be needed?
How tall are the posts?

(quoted from post at 08:31:37 08/04/21) Looks like a fun visit, but how were the apples? Surely you tried some.

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Yes, I did try one. It tasted good though a little on the tart side. I could have spent the afternoon tasting as he must have forty varieties. Most are of course a few weeks away from being mature.

Nice. I love apples. I'm afraid I would not have been able to stop eating. I have 5 or 6 trees on my farm but I don't remember what varieties they are any longer. I think at least one is winesap. I have an early tart apple that is great for making apple butter and apple sauce.

I'd love to visit a farm like your friends. I noticed the ground is pretty clean beneath the trees. I wonder what they put at the base of the trees to prevent grass and weeds. It kind of looks like limestone gravel in the photos. In any case, it looks and sounds like an interesting operation.

Good stuff ..... and for those that love apples, NEVER eat two (one after the other). The second one always tastes different to me and is never as good as the first. Anyone else feel this same way?