Pruning Fruit Trees with Knives
There are saws with removable blades, the handle being slotted, having a special bolt and nut which can be tightened to keep the removable blade in position.
On the other hand, it is useful to have a short clasping budding knife in addition. The budding knife is not only used for the actual operation of budding, but can be used for summer pruning, pruning the laterals of vines, and for removing the unwanted shoots of peaches, in the summer. The budding knife usually has a white bone handle, it is about 4-1 inches long when closed, and is about 61 inches long when opened. The blade will be short, sharp-pointed and strong, and the make I prefer is known The Saynor. The handle purposely tapers towards the end, so that it can be used for opening up the cuts made in the bark of the wood at budding time.
In these modern days of 'do it yourself' and 'time and motion study' many gardeners prefer to use secateurs for pruning. There are two good types: the Rolcut and the Wilkinson's Sword. Both of these do very little damage indeed to the bark when the cut is made, and the blades can be kept sharp with the whetstone.
Because the maiden tree has been cut back-often expressed by the gardener, 'headed back'-in this way, three good growths should develop, these forming the basis of future branches.
When there are more than three shoots the weakest of them can be cut back to within one bud of its base, in the winter, while the three strongest, which should be well distributed around the top of the tree, are cut back by about half to just above an outward-pointing bud. It is important to try and leave the head of the tree level when doing this.
The pruner hooks the end of the apparatus over the end of the branch or shoot and then, by pulling down the handle, the blade passes through the wood and cuts it off at the desired place. It takes a certain amount of skill and experience to ensure that the cuts are made in exactly the right place.
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February 25 2009 05:31 am | Home Improvement