Fruit Tree Care Classes

2024 Fruit Tree Care Class Series

January 2024 - June 2024

This year we are excited to be offering a number of classes for the backyard fruit tree enthusiast! From January through June we will be having monthly Zoom classes taught by local fruit tree experts. The classes are open to anyone who would like to learn about caring for fruit trees.

Topics that will be covered will range from mason bees to pest management, from pruning to harvesting. These classes will teach you how to take care of your own trees so that they produce abundant and quality fruit! You don’t want to miss out!

Most of the classes will be over Zoom, but some will include the option to sign up for in-person trainings that will give you hands-on experience caring for fruit trees. 

Explore our class offerings below and sign up for the ones you are interested in – or sign up for all of them! We can’t wait to share this knowledge with you.

Alan Lowe will give an overview of how to care for your fruit trees throughout the year. Special focus will be given to the activities you should be doing in January and February in order to improve the quality of fruit and health of our trees. He will also discuss how to select, prune, and plant new fruit trees.
Register Here
Carrie Morlang of Knox Cellars Mason Bees will give a brief history of the Orchard Mason Bees, why they're unique and important, and how to care for them in your backyard. Supplies and cocoons will be available for purchase. The second half of the class will focus on how to prevent disease on your fruit trees, and identify and treat disease if it is present. Organic treatments will also be available for purchase.
Register Here
Pruning is essential to the health of your fruit trees in order to maximize fruit production. Our guest speaker, Alan Haywood, will provide information to help individuals know how, when, where, and what to prune on existing trees and newly purchased trees.
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Alan Lowe will identify and provide solutions for the major disease and pest problems for fruit trees in Western Washington. Apple, pear, peach, cherry, and plum will be the main focus.
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Our guest speaker, Alan Haywood, will provide in-depth information on pruning for tip bearing trees (cherry, plum, and peaches), high density systems, and early summer pruning. It is highly recommended that you have already attending the Pruning I class, but it is not required.
Register Here
(Presenter TBD) This class will teach you how to improve the quality of fruit and health of the tree by using effective thinning and watering techniques.
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(Presenter TBD) This class will provide information to help you know when and how to effectively harvest and store your fruit and keep it fresh for use as long as possible.
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Our pruning experts will work with five people at a time to provide guided practice in pruning real trees. Dates and times will be arranged with instructors and students during the Pruning I class. Pest and diseases management products will be available for sale at these sessions.
Register Here

Do you have excess fruit? Register Your Tree!

Kitsap Harvest will arrange a team of volunteers to come and harvest the fruit from your trees, however much you want, we will even pick some for you as a thank you! The fruit is sent to our warehouse to be sorted and distributed directly to the community sites we serve. This way you fruit doesn’t go to waste and it helps feed those in need.

When you register your tree with us, you are then in our system and will be contacted around the time your fruit is ripe. If you find that your fruit ripens earlier than you expected, reach out to us at gleaning@kitsapharvest.org to let us know.

Thank you!