the 'dwarf' cherry trees we have are loaded with fruit this year. this is probably a result of the mild winter. i don't own an orchard ladder. the dwarf trees are at least 20' tall. not very dwarfy. any thoughts on how to convert a regular aluminum extension ladder to an orchard ladder?
orchard ladder
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JDgreen227
Super Member
When I saw your thread, I realized I had never seen the term "orchard ladder" before so I did a Google search. It seems to me that any conversion of a standard extension ladder to an orchard ladder would be quite unsafe as it would lack the widespread base of an orchard ladder. It may be safer and more practical to convert a heavy duty stepladder but I don't know where one would obtain the third leg required. Wish I could be more helpful. I use a heavy duty 10' stepladder to harvest peaches and moving that thing around is a huge PIB.
Smallplot
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Had a buddy make one out of 3 2x4s for legs then add 2x4 rungs on one side. Length of chain attached from back support to each side of the leg. May be an option.
JDgreen227
Super Member
Op asked about converting his extension ladder and I didn't even think about making one from scratch. Even if built with SYP lumber I would be very uncomfortable climbing anything made out of 2X4's higher than 5-7 feet. I do like the idea of using chain for the back support. Perhaps use a bolted-thru gate hinge to fasten the third leg at the top? However, need to devise a method so the third leg cannot fold up at the wrong time...
20 feet high reaching for cherries.. no way unless you rent a bucket truck
A good producing cherry tree should have plenty of clusters nearer to the ground. I'd pick what is safe to reach... you be the judge of your own safety... and let the birds have the rest.
Do you prune the trees every year? The reason I ask is why did it get that tall in the first place?
There are 2-3 ranges of "dwarf" but non are meant to allow to grow that tall
for picking fruit.
If you really have to have the fruit from the high branches this year you might suspend netting off the ground and cut the branches with a long pruning pole after you have picked the low branches. You might save a few from the high branches that way or just make juice from them.
The pruning would put you ahead for next year if you don't kill the tree.
How do you spray effectivley in a 20 foot high fruit tree?
Is it a self pollenator or do you have another near by?
Good Luck
You could probably modify an extension ladder to make it like this one:
Orchard Ladder
But why risk your safety? Just buy an orchard ladder, or something like this that will fit cherries.
Pole Fruit Picker
Bruce
Orchard Ladder
But why risk your safety? Just buy an orchard ladder, or something like this that will fit cherries.
Pole Fruit Picker
Bruce
i don't do anything to these trees. they have some kind of tree disease and lose their foliage way before fall. so are you saying i have to prune the trees to make them stay dwarfs? i thought that would be in their breeding.20 feet high reaching for cherries.. no way unless you rent a bucket truck
A good producing cherry tree should have plenty of clusters nearer to the ground. I'd pick what is safe to reach... you be the judge of your own safety... and let the birds have the rest.
Do you prune the trees every year? The reason I ask is why did it get that tall in the first place?
There are 2-3 ranges of "dwarf" but non are meant to allow to grow that tall
for picking fruit.
If you really have to have the fruit from the high branches this year you might suspend netting off the ground and cut the branches with a long pruning pole after you have picked the low branches. You might save a few from the high branches that way or just make juice from them.
The pruning would put you ahead for next year if you don't kill the tree.
How do you spray effectivley in a 20 foot high fruit tree?
Is it a self pollenator or do you have another near by?
Good Luck
i've had these trees for at least 15 years and this would be the second crop i can harvest more than just a few. i don't spray.
Cherry trees are very particular. The leaves fall off early when the summer is too dry, but they don't like too much water either. They prefer a certain type of soil to produce well. An area above Chicago produces most of the commercial cherries, or so I have been told. We live in OH and have a couple cherry trees that don't do much either most years. We even grafted another type cherry to them but it didn't improve anything. We just enjoy the blooms
and the birds enjoy the cherries.
On the other hand we have apples and pears that do very well in the same soil.
charlz
Elite Member
Be careful with something like that as it might get you the fruit but you don't want to break off the woody spur as that will be next years fruiting wood. That is why they generally say to keep the stem along with the cherries as it means you have to pick them individually versus grabbing a whole hand full which usually brings the woody spur as well.
Stems are also a good indicator of how old the cherries are. When buying cherries you want to look for green stems. If they are brown and old looking the cherries have been sitting around a while.
Around here orchard ladders come up on the Craigslist once in a while, just something you have to keep you eyes open for.
Robert_in_NY
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If you were coming through this area I would sell you one of my extra orchard ladders. I have 10-12 of the 8' orchard ladders and really only use a few of them. We bought them when a pick your own operation went out of business. Only wanted a couple but bought the whole lot thinking my orchard would be profitable but that never materialized (walmart and the older generation passing away has really killed the road side stand market that my neighbor raised his entire family off of).
bigtiller
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Lowe's sells orchard or tripod ladders in sizes from 4 to 12 foot tall made by Werner. They are special order but any Lowe's can get them for you.
forgeblast
Elite Member
Handy Farm Devices - Cobleigh - ToC
has some links on making them.
has some links on making them.
CompactTractorFan
Super Member
20 feet high reaching for cherries.. no way unless you rent a bucket truck
a.k.a. "Cherry Picker"
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
JDgreen227
Super Member
a.k.a. "Cherry Picker"
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
Good one....:laughing: as for me I was wondering if OP had a tractor with a loader that he could have someone operate while he stood in the bucket and picked...he could not get 20 feet high but a good distance using that method.
forgeblast
Elite Member
A place we lived at in college called the slums had an old station wagon with a cherry picker bucket mounted on top so they landlord could fix the siding but we never saw him considering I had a tar paper window for 2 years. It looked like the car from the ghostbuster movies echo1.
Gil A
Member
If you have just the one fruit tree it is not worth the investment of an orchard ladder. But if you have other fruit trees, yes it is a good investment. I have small orchard and purchased an 8 ft orchard ladder many years ago. It was worth it, only wish I had purchased the 10 ft. The 3 leg ladder may be used for other uses, such as painting, cleaning out gutters, etc. Mine is aluminum and easy to move about. Some suggested building out of 2x4s. Have they considered how heavy the ladder would be if build for safety?
Gil
1973 John Deere 2030, John Deere Gator, John Deere GX345 mower
Gil
1973 John Deere 2030, John Deere Gator, John Deere GX345 mower
Bill,
Even though some folks use their FEL buckets for man-lifts it is one of the prime things the FEL mfg.'s warn against for many reasons.
A few I know about from operating FEL's for years.
1.Operator inexperience in adjusting curl with lift smoothly could cause a fall.
2.Most buckets do not have a shape profile for safe standing on/in when raised to max.
3. Uneven/sloped or soft ground in orchards often has the tractor base on an angle which is multiplied at the elevated bucket level.
4.There is no interlock in case a hydraulic hose breaks.
As far as the purpose.
Unless he has a very large tractor the bucket bottom is only going to be around 12 feet off the ground or less.
To reach the cherries the bucket is probably going to have to push in on the limbs at the bucket height and the front of the tractor will push into limbs with the bucket at max height. A lot of the cherries will be damaged as well as limbs may be split. He has never trimmed this tree in 15 years.
Much time will be spent moving the tractor around the tree so the picker can reach the cherries.
Don't ask how I know all this; it wasn't from reading a book
He is wanting to go 20 feet high on an extension ladder that has a 16" wide base leaning against springy tree limbs and knows that's not safe.
I always try to think safety and the possible consequences at least before trying something.
I must admit, I started wearing my tractor seat belt again while mowing fields,
just last evening, after reading the post yesterday about the senior farmer falling off his tractor and being killed by the mower on the back.
Ron
I'd like to see a picture of this 20 feet tall loaded cherry tree and it's surroundings.
tpulley
Silver Member
As for pruning your trees. It would behoove you to take a pruning class or have someone who you know that could teach you. Some of the reasons you prune the trees are to keep diseases down, , to train the tree to make it more easy to harvest the fruit, to invoke more growth, to take out limbs and suckers that are not productive and rob your trees of nutrients and lastly to imporve the over all quality of your fruit.
In a nutshell since you waited until the tree is 15 years old to do any pruning it may be too late. Not trying to bash you about it. I too didn't undertsand the benefits of pruning until this year. Our coop offered a fruit tree pruning class. I learned so much from that.
Some trees you would want to prune like a vase (when you go by a peach orchard often these are in this shape. Apple and pear trees are pruned differently than peaches or nectarines. You prune a tree the first year you get them believe it or not.
In a nutshell since you waited until the tree is 15 years old to do any pruning it may be too late. Not trying to bash you about it. I too didn't undertsand the benefits of pruning until this year. Our coop offered a fruit tree pruning class. I learned so much from that.
Some trees you would want to prune like a vase (when you go by a peach orchard often these are in this shape. Apple and pear trees are pruned differently than peaches or nectarines. You prune a tree the first year you get them believe it or not.
