Ansa Permaculture Design Ireland

Summer Orchard Pruning Season is Open!

26/07/202526/07/2025 Paul LynchLeave a commentOrchardapple pruning, cork, fukuoka, ireland, orchard, skills, summer pruning, sustainability, watershoots, workshop

What a glorious fruitful year it is with many of the trees laden with fruit. The perennial question I am asked is: “Why oh why would you prune fruit trees in the summer? Surely its better in the winter?” The answer, as usual in permaculture, is: “it depends”. Most Fruit Trees are Summer Pruning Candidates Firstly, all of the prunus species of fruit tree are summer rather than winter candidates for pruning, so it you have cherries or plums winter pruning runs some extra disease risks. Most apple and pear trees benefit from summer pruning, many suffering from excessive winter pruning without the appropriate summer care. Summer pruning mostly addresses this year’s vigorous growth, directing that energy to future fruiting. So most mature apple and pear trees I tend to benefit from skillful summer pruning. Here is a little video about dealing with water shoots during summer pruning: I tend Continue Permaculture Story

Summer Pruning Workshop Story

23/07/202508/08/2025 Paul LynchLeave a commentOrchardapple pruning, cork, grafting, ireland, lorette, orchard, orchard pruning course, permaculture, skills, summer pruning, sustainability

The pruning workshop covered the following topics: Why prune at all; the natural shape of an apple tree; the purpose of grafting; its effects and side-effects; summer pruning vs winter pruning; vegetative and fruiting wood; orchard guilds and design considerations; pollination; tools and tool care; disease pruning; pruning demos; plant succession mulching, and importantly, the Lorette system of summer pruning.

May Orchard Update – Bumper Fruit Crop Forecast for Ireland in 2025

22/05/202522/05/2025 Paul LynchLeave a commentOrchardapple, apple tree, cork, drought, fruit, fruit crop, May, orchard, permaculture, sustainability

A-May-zing weather for fruit trees God bless the spells of bitter cold, snow and frost we had during the winter and God bless the beautiful calm, warmth and sunshine this spring. I expect that most gardeners couldn’t fail to notice the widespread, spectacular flowering of both domesticated and wild fruiting trees this year. Gardeners and non-gardeners alike traveling about the countryside will have been greeted with an almost exotic display around each corner from the hawthorn trees laden in white. With the limits of brilliant white exceeded, an abnormal fraction of the May trees have changed clothes this year and blossomed in pink instead, as if they couldn’t wait longer and ripened themselves instead of setting fruit. Fruit tree “chill hours” requirement Even that winter cold spell – now a distant memory – was good for the trees. Proper cold winter weather has a role in regulating the apple tree Continue Permaculture Story

Climate and soil conditions for orchards in Ireland

06/03/202507/03/2025 Paul LynchLeave a commentOrchardapple pruning, climate and soil, cork, microclimate, orchard

Recently I finished an orchard pruning job near Cork. Most of my pruning work is on domestic scale orchards that I manage in a day, but sometimes there are bigger orchards that need a few days, or even a week to get into shape. This orchard had nearly sixty trees and was located in a garden on the outskirts of the city. The site was on a gentle ridge high up on one of the many rolling hills to the south of Cork city, with a northerly aspect. There was little wind shelter to the site save from the landform itself. Many of these conditions are not ideal – the wind exposure, the aspect and the fact that some of the trees were planted too close together. As regards health however, the trees were overall in the better half of orchards that I have tended to in County Cork. Climate Continue Permaculture Story

Orchard Pruning Workshop Story

24/02/202524/02/2025 adminLeave a commentOrchardapple pruning, cork, ireland, orchard, orchard pruning course, permaculture, skills, sustainability

Winter and early spring is a busy time for the permaculture deisgner and orchardist. Besides running sustainability and pruning courses there is always a list of new pruning customers to tend to. It is also the period of planting bare root trees, orchards and hedging for design customers. I’m finally getting a chance however to write about the recent winter orchard pruning workshop here at the Ansa Permaculture Design headquarters, also known as my home and garden in West Cork. On a sunny frosty morning in February I was delighted to teach a small group including one student travelling all the way from Germany! Orchard pruning workshop topics The pruning workshop covered the following topics: Why prune at all; the natural shape of an apple tree; the purpose of grafting; its effects and side-effects; summer pruning vs winter pruning; vegetative and fruiting wood; orchard guilds and design considerations; pollination; tools Continue Permaculture Story

Pruning Apple Trees in Kerry

24/01/202504/02/2025 Paul LynchLeave a commentOrchardapple pruning, apple tree, ballyvourney, ireland, kerry, killarney, orchard, permaculture, pruning

This week I went on a lovely orchard care adventure pruning fruit trees in the beautiful town of Killarney, County Kerry. Its that time of year when there can be several new inquiries for orchard care on a given day and when there are smaller jobs somewhat in the same area I naturally plan to do them in the same trip. Ballyvourney Apple tree Pruning on the way to Kerry First up was a job pruning a large vigourous mature apple tree in a garden in Ballyvourney County Cork. Ballyvourney is a large village at the northern end of the Muskerry Gaeltacht, and its a beautiful place. It was on the main N22 road from Macroom to Killarney until it was recently bypassed. West of Ballyvourney the land rises up into the Derrynasaggart mountains and the lovely Lee valley is left behind as you head for the county bounds and Continue Permaculture Story

Orchard Pruning Workshop 8th February 2025

17/01/202517/01/2025 Paul LynchLeave a commentOrchardapple pruning, cork, ireland, orchard, orchard pruning course, permaculture, skills, sustainability

I’m delighted to announce another winter orchard pruning workshop in County Cork Ireland on Saturday the 8th of February. I’ve provided professional orchard care to hundreds of customers caring for thousands of trees since turning my lifelong interest in orchard care into my vocation back in 2016. I will teach you the exact same theory and techniques that I use to care for home, farm and old estate heritage orchards across Cork and the wider Munster region. I will teach the workshop at Ballingeary, in West Cork. Directions provided on booking. Workshop price is E80 and if you would like 10% off of this then make sure you are a subscriber to my newsletter and always be in the know when new workshops are announced! Subscribe for 10% off sustainability Courses here. Winter Orchard Pruning Workshop Details Saturday 8th February, 10am -16.00pmBallingeary, Co Cork Join Paul Lynch for a workshop Continue Permaculture Story

Winter Orchard Pruning Season is Open!

23/11/202429/11/2024 Paul Lynch2 CommentsOrchardapple pruning, cork, fukuoka, ireland, orchard, winter, workshop

With the first proper freeze of the winter come and gone the winter orchard pruning season is well and truly open in Ireland. I tend to the orchard care needs of customers in Cork and Kerry, and sometimes further afield in counties Limerick and Clare. My interest in the care of fruit trees goes back to over 20 years ago when I was a curious teenager and I have tended to hundreds of orchards since turning professional back in 2016. Some pruning jobs involve a few small trees in a domestic garden while other jobs can involve tending to centuries old orchards on the grounds of old estates. Holistic Orchard Care While there are general rules and concepts that apply to all apple trees, each one is also a unique individual with its own personal history. Because of this I treat each one according to its own circumstances, history and Continue Permaculture Story

Summer Pruning Espalier Apples and Pears in Ireland

22/07/202406/10/2024 Paul LynchLeave a commentOrchardapple pruning, circular economy, cork, Food security, ireland, orchard, permaculture

I was working locally today pruning some pear and apple espalier trees. What are espalier fruit trees you might well ask? Espalier Fruit Trees Espalier fruit trees are a restricted form of fruit growing that trains the trees to grow in a two-dimensional vertical plane. Usually there is some form of post and wire structure built before tree planting to tie the tree to as it grows. This results in a compact two-dimensional tree that in theory is easier to harvest from. In the Irish or UK climate it is a system often used against a south or west facing wall to take advantage of an the warmer, more sheltered microclimate created there, or along a path to take advantage of more regular attention and easier access that the trees will get on a highly frequented walk-way. Basic Espalier Fruit Tree Advice My basic advice for people who want espaliers Continue Permaculture Story

Permaculture Summer Pruning & Orchard Care Course, Sat 27th July 2024

22/07/202406/10/2024 Paul LynchLeave a commentUncategorizedapple pruning, cork, ireland, orchard, permaculture

I’m looking forward to running another pruning course this weekend! There are still some places so please get in touch if you are interested. Here are the details: Summer Orchard Pruning Workshop 2024 Orchard Summer Pruning Workshop Details Saturday 27th July 10am -16.00pmBallingeary, Co Cork Join Paul Lynch for a workshop on the theory and demonstration of orchard care from a permaculture perspective, focusing apple pruning. Here is an article introducing the subject: https://permaculturedesign.ie/orchard-pruning-cork/ Course topics: Bookings & Information To guarantee a place on the course contact paul@permaculturedesign.ie for bank transfer details and directions to the venue. Or ring 089 2553096 for enquiries. About the course leader: Paul is a professional permaculture teacher designer and orchardist based in West Cork, Ireland. Paul’s teacher bio: https://www.permaculture.org.uk/user/paul-lynch Permaculture orchard pruning – photos from previous courses Here are some photos from the 2022 summer pruning and orchard care workshop at the Ansa Permaculture Continue Permaculture Story