Videos
This page contains a series of videos we produced to demonstrate various techniques for caring for fruit trees and shrubs.
Planting
- Planting a shrub or fruit tree with Chuck Marsh and a Nanking cherry
- Planting a blueberry bush with Chuck Marsh and a blueberry plant
Pruning
- Pruning young fruit trees with Chuck Marsh and a couple apple trees
- Pruning trees into bushes with Debbie Lienhart and some mulberry trees/shrubs
- Pruning young blueberry bushes with Troy Swift and a blueberry plant
- Pruning mature blueberries
- Pinch pruning with Chuck Marsh and a whole cast of plants
- Pruning muscadine grapes
Caring for blackberries
- Taking care of blackberries with Chuck Marsh in Marjorie’s blackberry patch
- A shorter version of taking care of blackberries with Chuck
- Taking care of blackberries (follow up)
Winter protection for figs and other cold-sensitive plants
- Tuck your figs in for the winter with Chuck Marsh and a couple fig trees
- Winter protection for small figs with Chuck Marsh and some smaller fig plants
- Untucking figs after winter – see which protection methods worked the best
Planting a shrub or fruit tree
Chuck Marsh demonstrates how to plant a Nanking cherry
Pruning young fruit trees
Chuck Marsh demonstrates pruning young apple trees. This method is applicable for trees that are being pruned to have a central leader and scaffolds, including apples, pears, and cherries.
Pruning trees into bushes
Debbie Lienhart demonstrates pruning a young mulberry tree into a shrub, making the plant smaller and the fruit closer to the ground.
Pruning young blueberry bushes
Troy Swift demonstrates pruning a young rabbiteye blueberry. This technique also applies to highbush blueberries and can be used with most other young shrubs.
Pruning mature blueberry bushes
Chuck Marsh demonstrates pruning a mature rabbiteye blueberry that has not had regular pruning. This procedure rejuvenates the plant and is applicable for most shrubs that grow new branches from the ground.
Planting a blueberry bush
Chuck Marsh demonstrates planting a blueberry bush. Blueberries require additional soil preparation for optimum health.
Pinch pruning
Chuck Marsh demonstrates a pruning technique called “pinch pruning” or “tip nipping,” in which the branch buds are pinched off to encourage development of branches, creating a more compact plant. We use this technique on most shrubs.
Taking care of blackberries
Chuck Marsh demonstrates several techniques for late spring care of trailing blackberries in his wife’s blackberry patch.
This is a shorter version of the above video.
Blackberry followup
Chuck returns to the blackberry patch in early summer to check on the earlier pruning and show a little more love to the plants.
Winter protection for figs and other cold-sensitive plants
In this series of videos, Chuck Marsh demonstrates several methods for protecting figs for the winter, and then checks to see which methods worked best. We use these techniques for plants that aren’t reliably hardy in our area, including figs, pomegranates, Asian persimmons, and citrus.
Tucking figs in for the winter
This video demonstrates techniques more applicable for larger plants.
Winter protection for small figs
This video demonstrates techniques more applicable for smaller plants.
Untucking figs after winter
This video shows how the different methods compared.
Pruning muscadine grapes
Chuck Marsh goes on the road to South Carolina to demonstrate pruning mature muscadine grapes that have not been pruned for awhile.
Greenhouse timelapse
Here’s a fun timelapse video of the construction of the greenhouse that we use for plant propagation.