This is great info, I'm curious on only 65 acres of hardwoods in hill country I only have one large field. That's why I was doing a central orchard. I have a clearing I plant grain or clover in every year but its covered in walnut, i dont know that i could slide in fruit trees there due to sunlight. Powerlines are the only other opening I have which sucks because they are right where I'd want to plant.
With that said would you drop trees so you can open canopy for new fruit trees? What about semi dwarf trees that wouldnt interfere with the powerlines?
Also a thought, would planting micro plots in fall mixes do the same thing you are explaining if I cant get trees in the small clearings I already have or will the established orchard pull them all in and create social pressure?
You can definitely open up areas to create more sun. I like to hinge cut areas around mini orchards. Doing so opens up the canopy, and it also creates feathers edge and cover, browse, and screens different groups of trees into smaller areas. Some of my best producing apple trees are wild trees that I did not plant, but I do keep the canopy around them open.
80% of my property was open hayfield when I bought it in 1985. Now it's 80% cover with little pockets of openings and varied edges. if you plan to stay on your property for a long time, you can transform it into sections. Ten, 1-acre plots are better than one, 10-acre plot. There are lots of ways to divide plots. Switchgrass, Egyptian wheat, pines, hinge cuts and a few others work well to divide large plots into smaller units.
I toured Tony Lapratt's property in Michigan a few years ago. He had ~55 acres (if I remember correctly) and that small property seemed like 300 acres. The cover, the plots, and the bedding areas were like a maze of little units. It was quite impressive.
If you are clearing walnut trees, you need to check to see if the trees you are planting are juglone resistant. Juglone is a substance created by walnut trees (and some other species to a lesser extent) and it's contained in every part of the tree...roots, wood, and leaves. There are a lot of species that cannot tolerate juglone so don't plant certain things within the drip line and root zone of walnut trees. My chestnut trees did not do well when planted too close to walnut trees.
What planting restrictions does the power company place upon you? do they do any spraying or semi-annual mowing? If so, then you can't plant trees.
You are in hill country? That should be taken into consideration when choosing locations for trees. Avoid low, frost pockets. East exposures get the morning sun earlier which dries trees earlier each day. Dry trees produce less mold and disease. The North edge of openings are a little better for total sun exposure throughout the growing season.
If you do decide to go with one central orchard that's of mixed varieties and species, layer the varieties so the shorter trees (at maturity) are on the South side and the taller trees on the North side. That will limit the large trees shading the smaller trees. And don't make the mistake that I seem to always make...be careful how closely you plant them to each other. Make sure you'll be able to get tractors and mowers in to keep it maintained.
