Thinning apples for a better crop

[SANTRECE13]

Outstanding pointers! Very informative and detailed!

[79Testo]

Time consuming to be able to go through an entire orchard thinning apples like this. The labour cost would be a killer.

[stephenhayesuk]

@79Testo you're right. comercially they use chemical or mechanical thinning and avoid apple varieties (like Winter King) that need a lot of thinning. I have a sedentary job and enjoy the exercie outdoors.

[mycomama]

Very nice videos Stephen!They really helped me a lot.I am looking to put in a few more , any older varieties you would recommend for a beginner? I like firm, crisp, slightly tart, apples.

[chuckie000111]

great video thanks so so much for the info god bless , now i can start eating proper and more apples , they need to teach us this at school instead of junk food

[telemarker77]

nice job. do you like the gala? my favorite apple. takes forever it seems like to fruit from bare root-six years. nice compact tree that dwarfs well on semi rootstock, blight and disease resistant, heavy bearer. long storage. what varieties have you found that produce fruit after 3 years? golden dorset and anna have been quick fruit producers for me and chehalis. fuji takes a long time in california.

God Bless

[stephenhayesuk]

Thanks. I don't grow Gala, its popular here in England but my primary mission is to grow rare and hard to find varieties, some of which are threatened with extinction.

Most apples will start to crop from the third year, but realistically its 5 or 6 years before you can expect a good crop. Modern orchards use high densities of small trees and support them with post and wire systems, they start cropping within 2 years, but this is a ot more effort and requires more precise management.

[onceuponatube]

Thanks for all your info and efforts in your infomative video,

Chris from Chicago

[agrotis79]

Is this Sunset on MM106?

Any fire blight issues ever?

[stephenhayesuk]

yes nearly all my apple trees are on MM106 including these Sunset. I've never had fireblight.

[Writingwriter16]

Cheers alot for posting this, helped me with an assignment i was doing :)

[leefoll]

Thanks for your time and effort. Lee

[docrw]

Stephen, I think this is your best video yet.

Cheers docrw

[madelineanne93]

When you do a lot of thinning with your hands, your hands get sore right? oh ya that was a good video. and if you practice a lot then you get better? Are you from england. you have a cool accent!! And umm, how much do you think you get paid if your just starting to thin and your not that good yet?

[toobmes]

Thanks for great video on thinning.

A question: I am restoring an old orchard of 40-year-old semi dwarf trees. They have required a lot of pruning to put them back in shape. I find that they still have too much vigor and produce a lot of vertical water sprouts. This year we have a huge crop, coming on the heels of last year's bad frost-ruined season. If I leave a lot of these apples on the trees (more than you advise), will the trees put up less new foliage?

Thanks.

[stephenhayesuk]

Hard to say toobmes, it's a matter of judgement, which improves with experience.

Water sprouts should be removed from the base, although you may leave a few where they are necessary for the architecture of the tree (it's all about balance, as I said in my first video, you want 1) new wood, 2) fruit bud formation and 3) fruit).

restoring a neglected tree or orchard should not be attempted to be done all in one year. Don't overdo it. I recommend about 1 apple every 2 inches of branch

[stephenhayesuk]

Good question scrumpyboy. I tend not to rely on the June drop, it's unreliable and maybe even something of a myth. we have consistently found that if we do not thin adequately, and with 800 trees and not enough tme due to being part time farmers this happens, over thick apples do not in fact drop but stay put and lead to marble or golf ball sized fruits at harvest. Varieties differ, for example Lord Lambourne tends to give a pretty decent apple size, whereas Winston or Spartan are always tiny

[scrumpyboy]

Another useful video Stephen. How does this early June thinning fit in with the natural 'June Drop'?. Does this effectively reduce or prevent the trees need to lose fruitlets in June, or have your trees already had a 'May Drop' this year?