Pruning Techniques in a Regenerative Food Forest: Moving Beyond Traditional Methods
On our farm, we’ve moved away from standard pruning techniques like the Central Leader, Open Center/Vase, and Modified Central Leader shapes for our fruit and nut trees. While these methods have long been recommended for optimal tree health and fruit production, they don’t align with the regenerative technologies and wildlife-friendly practices that are core to our food forest. Here's why we’ve adapted our approach.
A Regenerative Approach to Pruning
As an organic farm utilizing regenerative practices, we view our food forest as part of a broader ecosystem, where the health of the land and its inhabitants are prioritized. Unlike conventional orchards or gardens, our trees coexist with a variety of wildlife, including deer, squirrels, raccoons, and an array of bird species. Since our food forest is unfenced, these animals have unrestricted access to our fruit and nut trees.
Yes, we’ve lost beautiful trees to deer rub, and many lower limbs have been pulled down by deer eager to reach the leaves and fruit. However, rather than see this as a challenge to overcome with barriers or exclusion, we’ve adapted our pruning techniques to work in harmony with the wildlife that calls our farm home.
Why We Modified Our Tree Pruning Techniques
1. Wildlife Interaction and Tree Damage
The presence of wildlife in our food forest has fundamentally altered how we prune. Deer, in particular, are frequent visitors. They are known for rubbing their antlers on tree trunks, which can severely damage or even kill trees, especially younger ones. In addition, they often pull down lower branches to reach leaves and fruit. Rather than try to keep them out, we’ve made adjustments that minimize damage:
We now remove large limbs that deer can easily pull down, reducing the stress on the tree.
At the same time, we leave some lower limbs to discourage deer from rubbing directly on the trunk, protecting the trees from fatal damage.
2. Evolving with Age and Physical Needs
Another significant factor in our decision to modify traditional pruning is our own aging bodies. Over the years, we’ve found that ducking beneath lower branches to mow or work under the trees has become increasingly difficult due to reduced flexibility and range of motion. Our new pruning style reflects this reality:
We remove branches at heights that make it easier for us to work around the trees.
This allows us to maintain our orchard without the physical strain of navigating under low-hanging limbs.
3. The Benefits of Herbivores in Building Soil
While wildlife like deer can sometimes cause damage to trees, herbivores also play a critical role in enhancing soil health within our food forest. By allowing animals like deer and other herbivores to roam freely:
Natural grazing stimulates plant growth, improving biodiversity and resilience in the understory vegetation.
Herbivore manure enriches the soil with organic matter, adding valuable nutrients and promoting microbial activity.
Trampling of vegetation helps break down plant matter and incorporate it into the soil, accelerating decomposition and enhancing soil structure.
These natural processes help us regenerate the land, fostering rich, healthy soil that sustains our trees and overall ecosystem.
Shifting Away from Central Leader and Other Standard Methods
Traditional pruning techniques often aim to maximize fruit production, creating strong structures with good air circulation and sunlight exposure. For example, the Central Leader system uses a single dominant trunk with tiers of horizontal branches, while the Open Center or Vase shape encourages multiple scaffold branches to allow more sunlight into the center of the tree.
However, as we’ve integrated more regenerative practices, our goals for pruning have shifted:
We no longer prune for maximum harvest. Instead, we leave a portion of the fruit for the wildlife that shares our food forest.
We avoid using the Central Leader method with large standard rootstock apple trees, which used to be our go-to method for easier harvesting. Now, we prioritize the overall health of the ecosystem, allowing the trees to develop more naturally while still managing for practical use.
Our Approach Today: A Wildlife-First, Practical Pruning Method
Today, our pruning focuses on:
Removing dead, diseased, and dysfunctional limbs: We still practice basic tree health maintenance to ensure that our trees remain vigorous.
Managing tree height and limb structure: To protect from deer damage and make it easier for us to navigate, we remove large, low-hanging limbs while allowing some lower growth to act as a natural deterrent to deer rub.
Leaving fruit for wildlife: We intentionally leave part of our harvest on the trees, ensuring that wildlife has access to food throughout the seasons. This supports biodiversity and creates a balanced ecosystem in our food forest.
Conclusion: Working in Harmony with Nature
Our food forest is not just an organic orchard; it’s a living, regenerative system where wildlife and humans coexist. By adjusting our pruning methods to accommodate both the needs of the trees and the presence of wildlife, we’ve found a new rhythm that works for us. Rather than imposing rigid pruning shapes like the Central Leader or Open Vase, we embrace a more fluid, adaptive approach—one that aligns with the natural balance of our environment.
In this way, we are not only preserving the health of our trees but also fostering a sustainable, interconnected ecosystem where humans, animals, and plants can thrive together. The integration of wildlife, especially herbivores, not only keeps our forest thriving but also contributes to the regeneration of soil—an essential foundation for a resilient and productive food forest.
