Hunt Camp Prep , Apple trees

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LE303

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Hey all . I,m looking at fixing up a hunt camp property I now have access to . It has a stream and a bit of a swampy area . There is traces of deer and other animals around . Theres an area about an acre size meadow , with about an acre size area right next to that that has 20 some old old apple trees .
Its really over grown , brush , saplings scrub pines .
My question is . The apple trees are really old . Tons of suckers water shoots . The trees are about 30-40 ft tall and lowest branches are around 12 feet off ground . The apples are small , 1 to 3 inches red and hard as rocks .
Do you think clearing out the under growth and trimming pruning might help with the apple crop . I see apple orchards where they cut the trees right down like stumps .
These trees only get like 30 apples each year . Or waste of time ? Cut half of them down and plant new trees ?
And yes I know you can buy bags of apples and just dump them lol
 
I had a couple some sort of apple trees growing in the area of where I placed a stand a few years ago but they weren't quite as large as yours. 1 I more less trimmed for what could be an esthetic look and the other I really cut back to see what would happen. A couple years later, they both produce the same small amount of apples and the apples they do produce, the deer don't even bother with, according to my game cam.
 
Deer don't typically waste time unless it's in the travel path.. However bears like rotting fruit... they can develop a serious jones for the natural liquor..
I've seen a mother that introduced her cubs to a specific tree on a beach at Adams lake.. they get drunk and sleep in the tree.. Cheers
 
I've taken the time to rehabilitate some apple trees scattered through my bush but where I am the bears and racoons clean them out starting later in August and the fruit will be gone by Oct. 1. The tree in the yard of my camp had a great crop going this year but I picked them small and green and discarded them far away. Otherwise...bears in the yard (or racoons and they come nightly to take the best two apples each and pick out tomorrow's choice while they're there) and the dogs are freaking out and no, not worth it having apples in your yard.
To restore your orchard or to make it a place where deer visit then cutting back the trees and shrubs that are shading out the apples and cutting travel routes will help quite a bit both in making the trees healthier and getting deer more access to the apples on the ground. When I had a house with an old orchard I noticed the deer didn't gobble up apples like a kid with popcorn, instead they would take a bite or two then move on. Then maybe come back over several nights and have a few bites each time.
 
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If you plant new apple trees ..... you will need to protect them with a fence till they are big enough that the deer and moose can't reach the branches any more.

I planted quite a few small apple trees on my property ..... and most died .... they were just eaten by the deer and moose.

And some died because the mice ate the bark in the spring and girdled the trees.
 
LE303 said:
Hey all . I,m looking at fixing up a hunt camp property I now have access to . It has a stream and a bit of a swampy area . There is traces of deer and other animals around . Theres an area about an acre size meadow , with about an acre size area right next to that that has 20 some old old apple trees .
Its really over grown , brush , saplings scrub pines .
My question is . The apple trees are really old . Tons of suckers water shoots . The trees are about 30-40 ft tall and lowest branches are around 12 feet off ground . The apples are small , 1 to 3 inches red and hard as rocks .
Do you think clearing out the under growth and trimming pruning might help with the apple crop . I see apple orchards where they cut the trees right down like stumps .
These trees only get like 30 apples each year . Or waste of time ? Cut half of them down and plant new trees ?
And yes I know you can buy bags of apples and just dump them lol
Click to expand...
Yessir, grab a spacing saw and clear all the little pecker poles cutting at ground level between your target trees. Pruning saw to cut all of the trunk suckers and lower small branches. This will give your old fruit bearers or any trees you want to help a big boost. As far as game attraction it depends where you are.It takes some time to learn the type and habits of critters on your property. I'm in west central AB and the few wild apple trees I've preserved throughout my woods and pastures are absolute magnets for whitetail and the occasional moose. Black bears always show up to scavenge but the deer usually have them cleaned up. It'll be a fun project figuring it all out.
 
LE303 said:
Hey all . I,m looking at fixing up a hunt camp property I now have access to . It has a stream and a bit of a swampy area . There is traces of deer and other animals around . Theres an area about an acre size meadow , with about an acre size area right next to that that has 20 some old old apple trees .
Its really over grown , brush , saplings scrub pines .
My question is . The apple trees are really old . Tons of suckers water shoots . The trees are about 30-40 ft tall and lowest branches are around 12 feet off ground . The apples are small , 1 to 3 inches red and hard as rocks .
Do you think clearing out the under growth and trimming pruning might help with the apple crop . I see apple orchards where they cut the trees right down like stumps .
These trees only get like 30 apples each year . Or waste of time ? Cut half of them down and plant new trees ?
And yes I know you can buy bags of apples and just dump them lol
Click to expand...

You say there’s sign of deer in the area, but no mention of how hard they hit the apple trees. Sometimes deer just won’t eat apples and prefer surrounding sources like corn, beans, hay, etc for whatever reasons. I’ve hunted multiple properties over the years with old apple trees/orchards where the deer just didn’t care about the apples. Why, I do not know.

IMO I’d be sure the deer are currently eating apples enough to justify the effort of clearing the meadow and pruning.
 
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