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6. Growing Fruit Tree Seedlings – Forest Garden Training Center
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  1. Home
  2. Lead Extension Activities
  3. 6. Growing Fruit Tree Seedlings


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6. Growing Fruit Tree Seedlings


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Download the Growing Fruit Tree Seedlings Chapter

The Growing Fruit Tree Seedlings chapter of the Facilitators Manual provides the detailed instructions (and support materials) you need to implement the mobilization meeting.  Download the chapter here.

Summary

Goal Farmers will use appropriate nursery techniques to cultivate fruit seedlings for planting in their Forest Gardens. Objectives
  1. Learn how to prepare various fruit tree seeds for planting.
  2. Learn fruit tree nursery establishment and seedling propagation techniques.
  3. Learn fruit tree nursery management best practices.
Venue and Timing This module should be facilitated three to four months before the start of the main rainy season. This workshop should take place on the lead farmer’s or a participant farmer’s farm. The farm should have a nursery site prepared prior to the workshop, with enough space for participants to meet and conduct training activities. Relevant Technical Manual Chapters Before this training event, the facilitator should read, review, and thoroughly understand the following chapters and sections in the Technical Manual:
  • Chapter 4: Seeds
  • Chapter 5: Seedling Propagation
  • Chapter 6: Fruit Trees (Rearing Fruit Seedlings section)
  • Chapter 11: Pruning, Harvesting, and Tree Management
Preparation
  • Identify a nursery site (on the lead farmer’s or a participant farmer’s land) where the training will take place and inspect the site to make sure it is protected with a fence or otherwise safe from animals. The host farmer can use the agroforestry tree nursery site, if there were no problems with that location.
  • Ensure that the site also has trees in green wall and alleys that are ready to be pruned and harvested.
  • Select locally available fruit species, at least one to use as rootstock for grafting and at least one that does not need to be grafted, in addition to the species the group agreed to plant in Module 5.
  • Decide which tree nursery (bareroot bedding, tree sacks) and seed pretreatment techniques (e.g. soak, scarify and soak, boil and soak, etc.) need to be covered with the group based on the fruit species selected.
  • Ask the host farmer to prepare 5 fruit seedling sacks with multiple seedlings in each pot. These should be started about 4 to 6 weeks before the training event, depending on the species. The seedlings should be about 5 to 10 cm tall.
  • Prepare seeds for planting if pretreatment requires overnight soaking or another process that cannot be completed during the workshop.
Supplies
  • ½ wheelbarrow of wood ash
  • ½ wheelbarrow of charcoal ash
  • Screen material for sifting potting soil
  • 5 sharpened, clean knives or pruning sheers
  • 3 wheelbarrows of sand or topsoil
  • 2 wheelbarrows of compost or decomposed manure
  • 15 tree sacks per participant (5 for the activity, 10 for the assignment)
  • 5 spade shovels
  • 3 watering cans
  • 1 wheelbarrow of Azadiractha indica (neem) or Eucalyptus sp. leaves (where available)
  • Ripe fruits of selected species for extracting seeds (a few per participant)
  • 5 tree sacks with several germinated trees (~10 cm tall)
  • 50 liters for watering seedlings
  • String
  • Any materials needed for pretreatment of selected species
Total Time Approximately 4 hours Handouts in Farmer’s Workbook
  • Pruning Correctly
  • Fruit Tree Nursery

Agenda

  Opener: Fruit tree nursery discussion (1 hour)
  • Nursery siting
  • Seed quality
  • Germination beds
  • Tree sack and bareroot nurseries
  • Direct seeding and cuttings
  • Protecting the nurseries
Activity 1: Establish a fruit tree nursery (1.5 hours)
  • Form small groups
  • Build nursery sites appropriate for the seeds selected
Activity 2: Extract and pretreat fruit tree seeds for planting (30 mins)
  • Demonstrate how to extract seed from a fruit
  • Why pretreat seeds
  • Demonstrate pretreatment method for selected fruit trees
  • Practice seed extracting and pretreatment methods
  • Demonstrate how to extract and pretreat selected fruit tree seeds
  • Practice seed extraction and pretreatment methods
Activity 3: Sow fruit tree seeds in the tree nursery (30 mins)
  • Farmer demonstrates how to sow
  • Farmers practice sowing
Activity 4: Fruit tree nursery care and maintenance (30 mins)
  • Review best practices in nursery management
  • Demonstrate thinning
Debrief and Take Home Activity 5: Build your fruit tree nursery (30 mins)
  • Instructions for Farmers
  • Follow-up

What you need to know

Whether you intend to sit the FG Pro certification exam, or lead Seedling Propagation module extension activities, you must be able to answer the following questions to succeed.   

Seeds: quality, collection, extraction & storage

Soil types, amendments, compost & mulch

Building your nursery, planting seeds, and seedling care

Caring for Seedlings in the Nursery

Watering

Weeding

Thinning

Hardening Off

Read the Popular Fruit Trees article to familiarize yourself with some of the more common species of fruit trees.

Pruning, Harvesting, and Tree Management

 
Updated on May 30, 2017

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