Fruit tree pruning workshop
DOVER-FOXCROFT — A sure sign that spring is just around the corner ‚Ä“ it’s time to start pruning fruit trees. Have you ever wanted to learn how the experts prune their trees? The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) in partnership with the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) are providing a hands-on fruit tree pruning workshop on Saturday, March 26 to demonstrate how to prepare trees for the upcoming growing season. Whether you have older, neglected trees or younger trees, and no matter what experience level with pruning is, there will be something helpful and useful at this workshop.
The PCSWCD will be hosting CJ Walke, MOFGA’s organic orchardist, to present this informative workshop. Walke has years of experience teaching and mastering organic orcharding practices, and has worked alongside many orcharding experts such as John Bunker of FEDCO Trees and Michael Phillips, author of “The Holistic Orchard”, among others. Walke has taught orcharding workshops covering topics such as grafting, pruning, pest management, renovating old trees and much more.
Kacey Weber, educational coordinator at the PCSWCD, said that “the PCSWCD hosted CJ for an Organic Orcharding 101 workshop last spring, which was very popular and well-received. We are pleased to have CJ back for another chapter in our orcharding series.”
This workshop will cover fruit tree pruning techniques that encourage vigorous growth, heavy fruit set and quality fruit yield. Walke will also discuss why it’s important to prune, the collection of scion wood, storage of this wood and much more.
Pre-registration is required to attend and spaces are limited to 30 participants and there is a registration fee. This event will be an outdoor event, so registrants are encouraged to dress appropriately. For more information and to register, please contact the PCSWCD by calling 207-564-2321 ext. 3, emailing info@piscataquisswcd.org or by stopping in the office in the USDA Service Center at 42 Engdahl Drive.