The orchard serves plants and animals as a habitat, has a positive impact on the environment and can even be financially profitable. We show what is important.
Benefits and properties
The orchard meadow is an important habitat. This applies to both animals and plants. They can prevent soil erosion on slopes. In addition, old, regional species are preserved on them. Orchards are therefore an important contribution to protecting the environment.
For this reason, some federal states also provide financial support. For this, however, the orchards must have some desired properties that differ significantly from the requirements for an orchard. These include:
- Trees of different ages
- great diversity of species or biodiversity
- tall trees with a crown from at least 1.8 m
- no use of artificial fertilizers
- comprehensive herb layer
- No chemical-synthetic pesticides
- 60 to a maximum of 120 trees per hectare
Tip: On a meadow orchard, the trees are significantly higher and further apart than on orchards. Therefore, they can already be clearly distinguished from one another optically.
Purchase and lease
Orchards are often sold in many places if, for example, the care and harvest can no longer be managed. A purchase is therefore relatively easy, depending on the region and the number of meadows. The prices for this are, also depending on various factors, in the range from five to over 20 euros per square meter.
The decisive factors are:- existing plants
- state
- location
- State of the meadow and vegetation
Otherwise, fallow land can also be used to create orchards yourself. Another option and alternative to buying is to lease the land. In both cases, the first point of contact should be the land registry. Here you can find out who owns the land - if it is not advertised for sale or lease with the owner's contact details.
Tip: Since the harvest in particular is very time-consuming and labor-intensive, it can make sense to acquire and cultivate the orchard together with other people. This also makes properties with higher square meter prices affordable.
Invest
In order to be able to create a meadow orchard, only a few points have to be considered. These are:
Plant spacing
The greatest possible distance should be maintained between the trees. For pears and apples, at least twelve meters is ideal. The same goes for walnut trees. With cherries, plums and wild fruits, the distance between the trees can be smaller. However, it is advisable to place the young trees further apart. This makes it easier to plant younger trees over the years. A distance of at least 20 meters also ensures that the crowns do not close and that wild bees, among other things, feel better
can settle.Distance to paths and lanes
The distance between trees and any paths or streets that may be present must generally be at least three meters. However, the regulations for this may differ depending on the state and municipality. Therefore, the respective rules should be found out before planting.
Number of trees
On orchards, there should be between 60 and 120 trees per hectare. However, these should not be planted all at once. It is better if the plants are of different ages. An exception is when there are already fruit trees or seedlings of various sizes can be planted.
biodiversity
The first choice for orchards should be regional and older varieties. It is also ideal to combine different types of fruit and nuts. The diversity not only brings variety to the harvest, but also attracts different animals. This increases the value as a living space and the attractive appearance is also improved through different flowering times.
Plant in stages
So that the trees have a different age, the planting or the creation of the orchards should be spread over several years.
Planting holes
The planting hole should always be twice as large as the respective root ball.
planning
In neat rows or colorfully distributed? It's just a question of individual taste. Rows can make harvesting and creating paths easier. However, they quickly appear sterile and therefore do not contribute to a natural landscape design, at least visually.
Tip: Since a large number of trees have to be planted when creating a new orchard, it is advisable to rent a mini excavator. With this, the planting holes can be excavated much faster and easier, so that the effort can be reduced.
plants
When planting the trees, other points should be taken into account in addition to the distance and size. The following instructions show what is important:
- A plan for distributing the trees is drawn up. In doing so, attention should also be paid to the respective requirements of the location and the plants should be positioned accordingly.
- The best time to plant is usually in spring and autumn. Spring should be preferred so that the plants can grow before the first frost.
- After digging the planting hole, the soil can be fertilized with compost and, if necessary, provided with sand to loosen it.
- The young trees are planted as deep as they were before in the planter. If a refinement has taken place, this point should be above the ground.
- After the young trees have been planted and the substrate has been pounded into place, the plants should be well watered. At least ten liters per tree is recommended.
- If the trees have not yet been pruned, the crown can be corrected immediately after planting.
Tip: Experience has shown that the use of a stake as a support is useful for very small, still dainty trees. This should be used on the weather and wind side at a distance of about 60 centimeters. Usually this is the west side.
Care and harvest
Tending the trees in orchards is not much different from orchards or plants in the garden. Are important:
- a regular, if possible annual blending
- Fertilize with natural means such as compost, manure or horn meal
- Irrigation during dry periods
- Checks at regular intervals in order to detect diseases or parasite infestation at an early stage
- Winter protection in the first year of standing
In contrast to the care, the harvest is more complex compared to a garden or a plantation. Because here not only the different ripening times of the fruits have to be considered. Due to the larger distances or an irregular distribution of the fruit trees as well as the Biodiversity, the harvest phase is very long and getting from one tree to the next falls more difficult.
Promotion and building regulations
Due to the numerous advantages of the orchards, financial support can be applied for in the respective federal state. Various points are important for this.
These include:
- Obtain information in advance
- Observe building law
- Do extensive research, for example at a nature conservation association or online
- Care as natural as possible and without synthetic substances
This makes it possible to receive comprehensive support.
