Uploaded March 2019 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
A tour of some fruit and nut trees, to see how early training and pruning, or lack of, and neglect to prune or train, shapes them or fails to achieve forms like modified central leader and delayed open center in the orchard.
Fruit tree training playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL60FnyEY-eJDO5ba6NjpeZUSV4-1tvm2O
The pruning shears I use: See my brief review on skillcult.com/amazon-store or view on Amazon: amzn.to/2UXK7vc
Silky Pruning Saw: See my brief review on skillcult.com/amazon-store ,or on amazon: amzn.to/2YqqBtx
ARS 10 foot telescoping long reach pruner: Read brief review @ skillcult.com/amazon-store or buy on Amazon: amzn.to/2YpQTMx
ARS telescoping pruning saw. Read brief review @ skillcult.com/amazon-store or buy on amazon: amzn.to/2uCpHwx
Support on patreon.com/skillcult has been critical in keeping me experimenting and making content. If you want to help me help others, this is probably the best way to do it. Thank you Patrons for supporting the mission!
Buy less, but buy it through my links! Shopping through my affiliate links generates revenue for me, at no extra cost to you, click links here, or go to my Amazon Store page: skillcult.com/amazon-store But seriously, buy less, do more.
Standard gear I recommend. I either use or have used all of it.
Council Tool Boys Axe: amzn.to/3z0muqI
Bahco Farmer's File: amzn.to/3Hbdhij
King two sided sharpening stone: amzn.to/32EX1XC
Silky f180 saw: amzn.to/3yZzM71
ARS 10 foot long reach pruner: amzn.to/3esETmM
Victorinox grafting/floral knife: amzn.to/3Jki1E9
Wiebe 12” fleshing tool: amzn.to/3sB0qSl
Atlas Elbow Gloves: amzn.to/3FwB5g6
BOOKS:
The Axe Book, by Dudley Cook: amzn.to/32kx7sN
Bushcraft, by Mors Kochanski: amzn.to/32q2rpT
Subscribe to my channel for more insightful Self Reliance related content: youtube.com/skillcult/subscribe Click the bell icon to be notified of new content. Subscribing doesn’t mean that much on it’s own.
Blog and website: skillcult.com/blog
Instagram and Facebook @SkillCult
The first few years of a trees life provide an opportunity to shape the tree for health, utility and beauty. After this window closes, it can be much harder to achieve balanced growth through pruning and subsequent training. Smart tree training aims to work with the physiology and growth habit of fruit and nut trees in the orchard to attain specific goals related to tree health and longevity, as well as the generous production of quality fruit. Looking at my older trees and how they were trained or not and maintained or neglected, provides an opportunity to examine how early interventions and training of fruit trees in the first few years affects trees for the rest of their life. Pear, peach, plum, apple, nectarine, apricot, persimmon and other fruit trees all grow differently, but there are some basic physiological similarities in how trees grow which can be exploited to achieve desired forms. Notching, disbudding and heading back can be used to train trees to useful forms like modified central leader and delayed open center.
A tour of some fruit and nut trees, to see how early training and pruning, or lack of, and neglect to prune or train, shapes them or fails to achieve forms like modified central leader and delayed open center in the orchard.
Fruit tree training playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL60FnyEY-eJDO5ba6NjpeZUSV4-1tvm2O
The pruning shears I use: See my brief review on skillcult.com/amazon-store or view on Amazon: amzn.to/2UXK7vc
Silky Pruning Saw: See my brief review on skillcult.com/amazon-store ,or on amazon: amzn.to/2YqqBtx
ARS 10 foot telescoping long reach pruner: Read brief review @ skillcult.com/amazon-store or buy on Amazon: amzn.to/2YpQTMx
ARS telescoping pruning saw. Read brief review @ skillcult.com/amazon-store or buy on amazon: amzn.to/2uCpHwx
Support on patreon.com/skillcult has been critical in keeping me experimenting and making content. If you want to help me help others, this is probably the best way to do it. Thank you Patrons for supporting the mission!
Buy less, but buy it through my links! Shopping through my affiliate links generates revenue for me, at no extra cost to you, click links here, or go to my Amazon Store page: skillcult.com/amazon-store But seriously, buy less, do more.
Standard gear I recommend. I either use or have used all of it.
Council Tool Boys Axe: amzn.to/3z0muqI
Bahco Farmer's File: amzn.to/3Hbdhij
King two sided sharpening stone: amzn.to/32EX1XC
Silky f180 saw: amzn.to/3yZzM71
ARS 10 foot long reach pruner: amzn.to/3esETmM
Victorinox grafting/floral knife: amzn.to/3Jki1E9
Wiebe 12” fleshing tool: amzn.to/3sB0qSl
Atlas Elbow Gloves: amzn.to/3FwB5g6
BOOKS:
The Axe Book, by Dudley Cook: amzn.to/32kx7sN
Bushcraft, by Mors Kochanski: amzn.to/32q2rpT
Subscribe to my channel for more insightful Self Reliance related content: youtube.com/skillcult/subscribe Click the bell icon to be notified of new content. Subscribing doesn’t mean that much on it’s own.
Blog and website: skillcult.com/blog
Instagram and Facebook @SkillCult
The first few years of a trees life provide an opportunity to shape the tree for health, utility and beauty. After this window closes, it can be much harder to achieve balanced growth through pruning and subsequent training. Smart tree training aims to work with the physiology and growth habit of fruit and nut trees in the orchard to attain specific goals related to tree health and longevity, as well as the generous production of quality fruit. Looking at my older trees and how they were trained or not and maintained or neglected, provides an opportunity to examine how early interventions and training of fruit trees in the first few years affects trees for the rest of their life. Pear, peach, plum, apple, nectarine, apricot, persimmon and other fruit trees all grow differently, but there are some basic physiological similarities in how trees grow which can be exploited to achieve desired forms. Notching, disbudding and heading back can be used to train trees to useful forms like modified central leader and delayed open center.
