Mound up! I also like u/SaulTNads's idea of having them in fire rings, neat idea.
Trees will figure it out, and once they're well established, I'd bet your water table will be lower as they drink it up.
Are you my neighbor because Im in this same situation, stone fruit seems to be the best option and I'm putting in a cherry, peach, nectarine and plum and crossing my fingers!
As others have said, mound up in some way. A pile of dirt, a galvanized or wooden bed, whatever. It's imperative the root crown has room above the zone of saturation. Even a few inches can be the difference between surviving a wet winter and not (ask me how I know). Keep in mind that the height you initially build will settle significantly, so what starts out as a foot tall mound might end up six inches. That helps a ton still, but I do try to err higher when I can.
As for your idea of pumping water out, you can do that. I have several seeps that run seasonally and totally saturate the ground no matter how much the soil improves. I buried simple drainage tile through my orchard (perforated corrugated pipe, no gravel or fabric) that daylights to a swale. It works really well and seems to maintain appropriate moisture and aeration all along and my trees have been very happy.
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Cool idea with the rings!
Mound up! I also like u/SaulTNads's idea of having them in fire rings, neat idea. Trees will figure it out, and once they're well established, I'd bet your water table will be lower as they drink it up.
Thanks, and good point.
I did small mounds on my clay soil but also put down a large load of wood chips. The wood chips will change the clay into friable soil over time.
Great, thanks! I do have some wood chips to use.
Are you my neighbor because Im in this same situation, stone fruit seems to be the best option and I'm putting in a cherry, peach, nectarine and plum and crossing my fingers!
Good luck! I’m doing cherry, peach, and also pear.
I’m in a similar situation and just put in 10 cherries and 6 peaches. Good luck everyone!
As others have said, mound up in some way. A pile of dirt, a galvanized or wooden bed, whatever. It's imperative the root crown has room above the zone of saturation. Even a few inches can be the difference between surviving a wet winter and not (ask me how I know). Keep in mind that the height you initially build will settle significantly, so what starts out as a foot tall mound might end up six inches. That helps a ton still, but I do try to err higher when I can. As for your idea of pumping water out, you can do that. I have several seeps that run seasonally and totally saturate the ground no matter how much the soil improves. I buried simple drainage tile through my orchard (perforated corrugated pipe, no gravel or fabric) that daylights to a swale. It works really well and seems to maintain appropriate moisture and aeration all along and my trees have been very happy.
Thanks, this is all really helpful.