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urban orchards

Looking at ways to grow fruit in cities on a medium to large scale.

Cordon

Space may be an issue so I'm trying to adapt the techniques used in monetary gardens which involves lots of pruning. In Amsterdam we are trying out Cordon; a line of small trees placed close together (125cm>x>75cm) at an angle of 45º. The angle produces less growth in wood and more in fruits. In Cordon a high variety of apples and pears can grow on limited space.

Espalier

This type of pruning can be used on trees that grow along walls. Some beautiful examples can be found in old etchings where the trees are integrated into the architectural patterns of buildings. This fits well to species that like warm temperatures.

Guerilla Grafting

Grafting involves exchanging branches between related plants. In this case we are exchanging {sylvestris} and {cultivar} apples and pears, placing domesticated Opal plum twigs {Prunus cultivar} on Urban Blackthorn or Sloe {Prunus spinosa}. Malus sylvestris See: http://boskoi.posterous.com/guerilla-grafting