The South Orchard was our first larger scale project in growing food. This was back in 2012 and we didn't know anything about permaculture, how to choose the right location for planting fruit trees, and just relied on the nursery to plant them in the best possible place in our yard. We had about 10 fruit trees and various other fruit bushes planted in the middle of lawn, in a very high wind area. Some were planted where water drained and sat. It took many years for the trees to fruit, and some still haven't despite our efforts to reengineer the surroundings, plant companion plants, etc. Ideally, fruit trees are planted in a sunny spot where they aren't getting blown nonstop by wind, storms, snow, etc. The most ideal location would be a "sun trap" where they can get plenty of sun, but are protected on three sides (almost like a curved protective overstory of taller trees around them). Plantings should be done so that you are mimicking the forest with different layers: the overstory tree layer (tall trees such as pines, oaks, maples or standard fruit trees), understory trees (such as dwarf/semi-dwarf apples, pears), shrub/bush layer (blueberry, raspberry), herbaceous layer (such as comfrey), the root layer (such as carrots), ground cover layer, and then climbing vines like grapes. Fruit trees should be planted with companion plants that help keep water in, that provide them with the right nutrients, and fix the soil in other ways (such as nitrogen fixing plants like comfrey).
Before (2010): Nothing but honeysuckle and wetland pasture.
