Following our two lessons on the theory of olive and fruit tree pruning we were ready for the practical. The photo shows Paolo coming to start the course and wondering what he has done as the whole class had turned up secateurs in hand and ready for action. |
We had the most fantastic day for the course. It seemed that spring had suddenly arrived as there was a beautiful blue sky and the temperatures in the low 60s. Paolo began by pruning a few olive trees highlighting all the points he had made in the lessons.
Why am I cutting this branch – because it is growing into the centre of the tree.
Why am I cutting this branch instead of this one – because we keep the branch that is growing closest to a 45 degree angle.
Why am I cutting this branch – because its growing convex and so all new growth will be on the top of curve growing towards the sky. On convex brances growth is the new growth is towards the earth which makes harvesting easier.
We then moved on to fruit trees and again demonstrated the “principles of pruning. It was fantastic to watch him turn an overgrown tree into something elegant. Everyone was very impressed with his skill and his teaching ability, fielding all questions with ease as he continued cutting.. A really useful course. The only question he didn’t answer was how much he charges by the hour. So it sems Bill will have to do the pruning after all.
Presume you served Delia’s coffee and walnut cake to all?