New Mexico State University San Juan County Cooperative Extension Service will host a pruning and training workshop from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday, April 3, at Growing Forward Farm, 12 South Oliver Drive, Aztec.
Participants will train in the farm’s heritage orchard, which consists of about 55 apple, peach and cherry trees. Learn how to train young fruit trees to encourage productive growth using industry standard methodologies, including the central leader and vase techniques on both full-sized and dwarf trees.
Training orchard tree's maximizes fruit production by increasing sunlight, decreasing pest pressure, and creating the ideal canopy structure for fruiting. This practice happens every late winter and early spring in orchards all over the Northern Hemisphere.
The workshop will be led by County CES Director and Ag Agent Bonnie Hopkins-Byers and Growing Forward Farm Program Coordinator Andrew Foster.
The workshop is free and open to the public. Register online.