The Essential Fall Task That Will Help Your Fruit Tree Survive Winter

By autumn, the ground under your fruit trees can become a chaotic mess. When fruit trees produce abundantly, keeping up with them can be almost impossible. By the time October rolls around, there are often piles of leaves, fallen fruit, and broken branches all over the ground. As wasps buzz around and wildlife scopes out the area, it might be time for a fall fruit tree cleanup. The list of things to do around your house and garden this fall might be long, but this one needs to be a priority.

The mess you see in your yard is only part of the problem. Hidden in the debris under your fruit trees are pests, diseases, spores, and other pathogens that lurk through the winter and could infect your trees come spring. Bacterial and fungal diseases like apple scab (Venturia inaequalis), which affect both the fruit and the leaves, blossom in the spring and quickly spread. 

Uninfected leaves can be taken to the compost pile and used to give garden soil an extra boost. However, if you have infected leaves and fruit, carefully dispose of them to prevent spreading diseases and pathogens. Composting is fine, but only if your pile gets hot enough to kill pests and pathogens. For this to happen, your compost must maintain a temperature between 131 and 170 degrees Fahrenheit for at least three days. Debris from fruit trees can also be burned or buried to prevent the spread of disease.

Not taking fall cleanup seriously enough is one of the most common mistakes people make when growing fruit trees. Depending on how many trees you have, their size, and how much they produce, this can be a significant chore. To make fall cleanup a little easier, some people ask friends and family to help them with surplus fruit. Others advertise it for free online or offer it to food recovery organizations.

Other tips and tricks for fall cleanup include having the right tools, starting with ladders and fruit pickers so you can get the fruit off the tree before it falls to the ground. Once the leaves fall, you need tools like wheelbarrows, leaf blowers, and mulching lawn mowers to make this chore a little more manageable. Staying on top of cleanup throughout the growing season is essential for making fall chores easier. Additionally, keep your trees trimmed up all summer so that you can get your lawn mower underneath in the fall.

As late fall winds to a close, make sure to remove any mummified fruit that sometimes hangs on into winter. Not only can fruit mummies be a sign of fire blight (Erwinia amylovora), they can also harbor other diseases and pests. Other than that, the most important tip for fall fruit tree cleanup is to make it a yearly habit to ensure your fruit trees stay healthy.