5 Things you can do to Get Fruit Trees Ready for Spring when you're Bored in the Winter

When you're bored looking out your back window at fruit trees covered in snow it's hard to sit still. There are so many things that need to be done in the orchard when the weather is nice, but it seems like there is nothing to do now. Here are 5 things that can be done in the winter to get your fruit trees ready for spring.

Sharpen your tools

Winter is a great time to sharpen, clean and oil up your tools. If you are anything like me, you keep using your tools until they stop working properly. Only after several hours of hard frustrating work do you realize that the reason this task is so hard is because your are using dirty, dull tools. You take a minute to sharpen the saw and your realize that you should have done that a long time ago. Or even better you should just make it a habit of starting every day with clean sharp tools.

How to Sharpen Hand Pruners

Leaving dirt on your tools over winter will increase rust, and cause the metal to pit. Pitted, rusty tools don't hold a sharp edge as long, and the rough surface of the steel increases the friction of the tool against what it's cutting. I know it doesn't sound like it makes that much difference on a single cut, but more friction over hundreds of cuts, or thousands of cuts can make a big difference at the end of the day.

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When you are done cleaning and sharpening your tools, you can coat them with a thin layer of mineral oil or WD 40 to protect them until they are ready to be used again. Oil will prevent the humidity in the air from rusting tools that are not being used.

Make Sure your Tool Bag is Updated

I have all of my fruit tree pruning tools together in a single location so I can quickly grab everything I need without having to dig through a tool box every time I need to prune a tree. Sometimes my tool bag doubles as a trash can in the fall when I'm wrapping trees or replacing tree guards. I'll find wrappers, stickers, and roll ends in my tool bag because I was too lazy to find a trash can.

Also, I sometimes find dull saws, broken pruning shears and empty bottles of disinfectant. Winter is a great time to clean out your tool bag, replace broken, damaged tools and make sure your have everything you will need come spring. Sometimes I realize that I've been carrying around a tool that has never left my bag in two years, or I wish I had a tool that I never carry around with me. Now is a great time to remove unwanted tools and add those that you think you will use in the future.

Learn About Fruit Tree Pests

Nothing is worse than anxiously awaiting harvest time, and then to lose your crop to pests weeks before the fruit is ripe. Many fruit tree pests occur annually. These are the ones that you can often stay on top of because you have seen them before and you know what to look for. 

Every once in a while, you will be blindsided by a fruit tree pest that you have never seen before and by the time you notice it, it's too late to treat. Each state has a land grant university with a cooperative extension that can give you fruit tree pest control information regarding your specific area. The more you know about fruit tree pests in your area, the better prepared you will be.

State by State Fruit Tree Resources

Take our Free 9 Part Fruit Tree Pruning Course

This free course will teach you basic fruit tree biology, anatomy, and techniques that will help you to know why one branch needs to go and the other one needs to stay. It can be helpful to watch a video on how to prune fruit trees, but it's even better to understand why you are doing what you are doing.

Prune your Trees

I know sometimes it's better to wait until spring, but if you're really bored, then your fruit trees can be pruned in the winter. This is what happens to pruning cuts in the winter. It can cause unnecessary damage and stress, but your trees won't die. I start pruning in the middle of winter because I have hundreds of clients and thousands of trees to prune every year. If I don't start early, then they won't get done and a fruit tree pruned early is better than a fruit tree that hasn't been pruned at all.

There are things that you can do when your bored in the winter to get your fruit trees ready for spring. If you have a hard time sitting still, then get out and do something. Oh, and if I could add a sixth thing, I would say give gardening a rest and take up ice fishing... just saying.

If you would like to learn more about the care and pruning of fruit trees, please browse our 100+ fruit tree articles here, join our Backyard Fruit Growers Facebook Group, and take our free Fruit Tree Pruning Course. Also, please subscribe to our Fruit Pruning YouTube Channel.