Participants in a recent planting event in the Orchard at 21 Acres, braved the harsh, outdoor weather recently to learn more about young fruit trees and techniques applicable to most tree planting. Greg Giuliani with the Seattle Tree Fruit Society led the class and planting session along with more than a dozen residents from the area. Several attendees had previously attended classes in fruit tree grafting and pruning at 21 Acres last spring.

The new urban Orchard is in acreage formerly overgrown with blackberries and weeds and was cleared of invasive plants this year by resident livestock in preparation for planting. According to Giuliani, “most plants do best planted in fall or winter in our climate. It’s prime time, the roots get a head start over the winter as compared to the dry, stressful summer.” Members of the Valley community assisted in the development of the overall Orchard plan and implementation.