As I contemplate our new facility location, one of the most important things to work through is siting the trees on the property. All apple trees need sunlight, air, water, and clean-ish well-drained soil.
I have been studying the microclimates of the Stables for a year now. The sunlight patterns are odd, but not unmanageable. The combination of our work flow and the sun pattern dictates that almost all of the apple trees at this site will be planted on south-, southeast- and a handful of west-facing public-oriented spaces. All of these slope slightly southeast. The westward facing trees will face the most risk in the winter for heat splitting and in the summer for wilting. Luckily (?), we have faced similar circumstances at the current urban orchard in Manchester, growing a linear orchard between two industrial sites radiating lots of heat all year long. So this will not be surprising and we have a few tricks for dealing with it.
Access to water at the Stables is excellent with a couple of key spots to connect hoses. I may need to have an irrigation solution in place during the early years as the trees get established and develop their deeper roots. My mom, the horticulturalist, and I will think through this carefully in December so that we can design and install any new plumbing required as part of the total site rehabilitation.
In the New Year, Mom and I will get to the business of deep core soil samples (some of the future panting areas are currently covered in asphalt) and planning any potential soil amendments at the Stables. Our current urban orchard is located between an old aluminum foil factory, an old cardboard paper/coffee warehouse and rail yards all around. Despite over 100 years of industrial activity all around it, the soils at this site were “shockingly normal” and required ZERO amendments beyond compost and mushroom soil. My guess is that, barring something really weird, the new orchard will not need much fuss in the soil department and that we can begin a regimen of organic soil building practices that are normal for our climate.
Watch this space as the new urban orchard takes shape in Scott’s Addition next year.
-Courtney Mailey
