Starting an orchard can feel a bit overwhelming- especially if you didn’t grow up in a farming community. So we put together our favorite home orchard supplies to help you get on your way toward growing your own fruit in your very own yard.
There is nothing like the satisfaction of growing your own food, and having fruit trees is a great way to not only be a little more self-reliant but provide for your family with nourishing wholesome food. Plus when it’s grown in your own yard you know exactly where it came from and what is on it.
These orchard supplies will make growing fruit much easier, and help you to keep your trees healthy and producing year after year. You may find that you don’t need all of them, depending on the type of fruit trees you plan to plant in your yard but we wanted to cover everyone.
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Orchard Supplies For Beginners
We all have to start somewhere, and the orchard is no exception. Having the right orchard supplies will set you up for success and delicious fruit. If you’re just starting out, some basic things like a shovel, gloves, and even a journal (so you can keep track of what varieties you are growing) are important.
When we moved to Tennessee 20 years ago we didn’t know anything about growing fruit. Over the years we’ve done tons of research on growing an organic orchard, and through trial and error found a system that works for us. Everyone’s orchard care routine is going to look a little different but these orchard supplies will be helpful no matter what you grow.
Selecting The Right Orchard Supplies
Before we dive into all things orchard supplies it’s important to know what kind of fruit trees you are going to plant. Some orchard supplies -like a shovel- are suitable for all orchards. However different types of trees will require different types of orchard supplies to care for them or harvest their fruit.
So before you go any further figure out what you are going to grow, or if you have fruit trees that someone else planted figure out what they are.
Orchard Supplies: Pruning Tools
Pruning tools are an important piece of orchard supplies for making sure that your orchard remains healthy. You’ll need one (or more) of these orchard pruning tools in the late winter for removing any dead or damaged wood, or suckers on your tree, along with topping it so the fruit stays low and harvestable on the tree.
High-Performance Orchard Lopper: First and foremost loppers are one of the most important pieces of orchard supplies that I have. We use these every single season for removing dead branches, and shaping our trees. These will help you to prune larger limbs and also reach limbs higher in the tree.
Opinel No. 10 Pruning Folding Knife: Another great tool to have in your orchard supplies is a pruning knife. With its curved blade beveled on both sides, The Opinel No10 Pruning knife is the ideal tool for grape-picking, shrub pruning, and cutting ties. As well as cutting fruit which makes this a great orchard tool.
Stainless Steel Pruning and Cutting Horticultural Scissors: This handheld pruner can cut small branches neatly and smoothly while keeping the fibers intact and not damaging the branches. This is a great one to include in your orchard supplies so you are ready to remove suckers and other small limbs from your shrubs, or trees.
Heavy Duty Double Action Pruning Lopper: These are professional quality loppers, designed for pruning large branches, outstanding for the removal of large vine cordons and large branches on fruit trees which makes it another great tool in your orchard supplies.
Extendable Tree Pruner Pole Saw: This is another wonderful tool to have in your orchard supplies. If you are just starting out with young trees you may not need this- however, if your trees are mature or well-established you’ll probably find it invaluable. This tool is used to trim branches that are out of reach for regular loppers.
Orchard Supplies: Sprayers
Orchard sprayers are another important piece for your orchard supplies. Sprayers (if you plan to use disease and pest control on your trees) will be used throughout the season. You’ll use these for everything from dormant sprays to insecticides and fungicides and even liquid fertilizers.
Hudson Trombone Sprayer: A trombone sprayer is a great one to include in your orchard supplies. This is one that we have in our own orchard supplies, it is useful for trees, hedges, and low-growing plants. This orchard tool sprays up to 25 feet which makes it a great sprayer for tall trees. You place the end in a bucket of whatever you are spraying and then pump it (like a trombone).
Flo-Master Chameleon Hose End Sprayer: Have shorter trees? These hose-end sprayers are a great addition to your orchard supplies for trees that are young and don’t require something like the trombone sprayer. We use these hose-end sprayers as an orchard tool for our very young trees, and for berry bushes.
4 Gallon Backpack Sprayer Manual Pump Sprayer: Another great piece on our orchard supplies list is this 4-gallon backpack sprayer. This is great if you have a lot of fruit trees over a good stretch of area and need to transport your spray this is a great choice.
1 Gallon Sprayer: This is another great one for your orchard supplies that we use around here, it has a surprising range and is perfect for spraying fruit tree trunks- or if you have young trees this is a great option.
This sprayer is another excellent piece for your orchard supplies if you have a ton of fruit trees. It has an adjustable spray gun that can spray up to 25 feet vertically and 30 feet horizontally.
Orchard Supplies To Protect Your Harvest
Now that we’ve covered pruning and spraying orchard supplies, let’s look at some products that will help to protect your fruit to include in your orchard supplies.
Anpatio Fruit Protection Bags: A great addition to your orchard supplies is fruit protection bags. These bags cover the fruit and help to pests away from fruits or vegetables. Not only providing good protection for fruit, but also increasing your fruit yield.
AllwaySmart 100 Reusable Fruit Protection Bags: Like the first option these protection bags do the same thing to protect your fruit from pests, either one would be great to include in your orchard supplies.
Garden Orchard Mesh Anti Bird Mist: Netting can be a great piece to include in your orchard supplies that will protect your crop from the birds without hurting the birds.
Apple Maggot Trap
s are a great addition to your orchard supplies for apple trees. We use these in our own orchards. You deploy them on the east side of your apple trees with the bait and reapply it every couple of weeks throughout the season.
Some other great additions to your orchard supplies for the protection of your harvest are:
Orchard Supplies: Harvesting Tools
Some of the best products you can include in your orchard supplies, are orchard tools to help you harvest your crop. Things like baskets, pickers, and even harvesting aprons are so useful when harvest time comes around.
Home-organizer Tech Fruit Picker: This is a great one to have in your orchard supplies. It allows you to pick fruits without climbing a ladder and with no fruit or tree damage. Slim, lightweight, convenient, and labor-saving, it’s very practical. To harvest, you use the teeth of the ring to cut fruit loose they then drop down into the bag.
EVERSPROUT 19-Foot Fruit Picker: This fruit picker is very similar to the one we use, it includes an Eversprout Extension Pole (6.5 to 18 ft) which is very useful for harvesting high-growing fruit. Along with a Twist-On Basket (13” x 5.6” x 5.6”). The fruit basket twists onto the aluminum extension Pole & extends to any length from 7 to 19 Feet. It can reach up to 26 feet when standing.
A Nut Gatherer is another great one to include in your orchard supplies if you have nut trees in your orchard. This nut collector can collect buckeyes, horse chestnuts, pecans, acorns, walnuts, butternuts, hickory nuts, chestnuts, sweetgum seeds, lemons, limes, tangerines and more.
Another great orchard supplies item is this Agrikon Harvest Apple Barrel Fruit Picking Bag
- Used for harvesting Apples, citrus, and pears.
- It’s made from a lightweight material so you can carry it easily.
- The bag has a foam pad inside and around the mouth to prevent damage to the fruit.
- Worn in front of the body, waist-high allowing you to work without holding a basket.
Or this Barebones Waxed Canvas Gathering and Harvesting Bag
- sporting a vintage-inspired orchard design
- Multi-way straps for easy handling
- Water-friendly and non-absorbent
- The bottom is designed to drop out for easy unloading
- Removable waterproof liner
One Peck Basket – Set of 3: One thing we can never have enough of in our orchard supplies is baskets. When you are growing your own food you can never have too many baskets, this is one you can find in our own stash of orchard supplies.
Bulary Picking Pail Collapsible Bucket with Strap:
I really love this orchard tool, it keeps your hands free while you are working, and gives you a place to collect your fruit until you are ready to unload.
Garden Fruit Picking Apron: another great one to consider for your orchard supplies is this fruit-picking bag is the most used and preferred by the best citrus pickers in the industry. Fruit-picking bags can also be used for apples, pears, berries, peaches, lemons, avocados, and a variety of other fruits and vegetables.
A Roo Garden Apron is perfect for hands-free harvesting making it another great addition to your orchard supplies – Easy-to-access pouch is designed to hold your veggies, fruit, berries, and herbs! Release the pouch at the bottom to easily empty your harvest into your sink for easy washing.
Other Great Orchard Supplies
Some other great orchard supplies to have on hand would be:
This kind of ladder is super handy to have in your orchard supplies when you are harvesting trees. The tripod keeps it steady while still allowing you to get in close to the tree.
Another great piece to have in your orchard supplies, would be this grafting kit, so you can graft your own fruit trees.
Have an orchard tool you love? Let us know in the comments!
Before you go, check these out!
Great list of supplies for growing your own fruit! Thanks for sharing a link to my article on choosing the best fruit and nut trees for your homestead 🙂
Growing your own food is a wonderful way to save money and eat a healthier diet!