Apple tree pruning is a classic Vermont farming job, something akin to a rite of passage for most farmers here. This winter I did my first stint working for my friends at Shelburne Orchard. They have 6000 trees, maybe more, and the sheer scale of work is a bit daunting. After my friend Abe, he’s the one that offered me the job, showed me how he wanted me to prune, telling me they would take a while but that I would get faster, he gave me a couple of rows and let me loose.

I am not much of a poet, but there is something poetic about pruning a tree. With clippers and saws I create shape, form, and purpose. There is never perfection, just the striving for something that speaks to me and the nature of the work. The end goal is a tree that will produce just the right amount of fruit, is easy to harvest, lots of air and light penetration, not too tall or wide for full coverage for mowing and spraying, and aiming for tree health and ideal form. Each tree has its own nuances and story. One might have very wide branches, another may be leaning, another some hollows where some animals might make a hole. Each one needs some special attention but with the enormity of pruning a whole orchard, there is also a need for speed. 

It will take me years, maybe decades, to figure out what is the best way for me to prune a tree. Most likely new technology in pruning equipment, harvesting equipment, and orchard management will make it so there will always be evolving pruning styles and practices. But the story, the poetry, will persist.