In November of our second year on the land, we planted 50 fruit trees in seven days. This is what we learned.
## Why November
Bare-root trees are lifted from nurseries while dormant — typically October through February — and planted before the sap rises in spring. In Norte Portugal, November is close to ideal. The soil is still workable (not the concrete of August, not the waterlogged mud of January). The winter rains are beginning, which means you're planting into moisture, not against drought. The trees have four to five months of cool, wet conditions to establish their root systems before the growing season demands anything of them.
Container-grown trees can be planted year-round, but bare-root trees planted in November in this climate establish faster and more reliably than container trees planted in spring. The root system on a bare-root tree is undisturbed by a pot's constraints; given a well-prepared hole and good soil contact, it will usually root more aggressively than a potbound tree planted in warmer conditions.
There's also a practical argument: bare-root trees cost roughly 40–60% less than equivalent container stock. On 50 trees, that's a meaningful difference.
## What We Planted
We chose varieties specifically selected for altitude (we're at 450m) and the silty-loam, slightly acidic soils typical of northern Minho. The list:
- **Quince** (*Cydonia oblonga*) — 8 trees, the Portuguese variety 'Lusitânica', reliable heavy cropper, good for membrillo - **Apple** (*Malus domestica*) — 10 trees, split between 'Fuji' (for fresh eating) and 'Maçã Bravo de Esmolfe', a native northern Portuguese variety with excellent flavour and local adaptation - **Pear** (*Pyrus communis*) — 6 trees, 'Rocha' (Portugal's most widely grown commercial variety) and 'Williams', for different harvest windows - **Medlar** (*Mespilus germanica*) — 4 trees, an underused fruit in modern orchards but reliably productive at altitude and essentially maintenance-free once established - **Fig** (*Ficus carica*) — 6 trees, 'Lampa Preta' and 'Pingo de Mel', both well-established in northern Portuguese cultivation - **Persimmon** (*Diospyros kaki*) — 6 trees, 'Rojo Brillante', chosen for its non-astringent fruit and tolerance of the wet Norte winters - **Mulberry** (*Morus nigra*) — 4 trees, planted on the orchard perimeter for wildlife value as much as fruit production - **Chestnut** (*Castanea sativa*) — 6 trees, local selection, partly for fruit but primarily for long-term timber and canopy function
## Hole Preparation
This matters more than almost anything else in orchard establishment. Our soil has good structure in the top 30cm but compacts heavily below that. For each tree, we dug a hole 70cm wide and 60cm deep.
The critical step: we broke the subsoil at the base of the hole with a breaker bar. Compacted subsoil creates a drainage barrier; tree roots hit the hard layer and stop. A ten-second intervention with a 20kg bar eliminates a failure mode that kills trees in year two or three rather than year one.
Each hole received: - A 2cm layer of biochar at the base (sourced from a local producer — we make our own but hadn't processed enough yet) - 10 litres of composted cow manure mixed into the backfill - The native soil returned around the roots, firmed by hand, not stamped
We did not add commercial fertiliser. Young trees don't need or benefit from high nitrogen at planting — it stimulates top growth before the root system can support it.
## Staking and Rabbit Protection
Each tree was staked with a single 1.8m chestnut stake driven to 50cm, positioned to the windward side. We used a figure-eight tie with rubber tree tie rather than plastic. The stake's purpose is to anchor the roots, not to support the trunk — the trunk should be able to flex; that flexing builds taper and strength.
Rabbits are a serious problem at this altitude. Every tree was protected with a 60cm diameter spiral rabbit guard. We lost two trees in a previous, unprotected planting to bark stripping — one confirmed rabbit, one suspected hare.
## First Spring Results: Honest Account
Of the 50 trees planted, 44 showed healthy bud break and leafed out normally by April. 3 were slow but eventually recovered. 3 died outright.
The losses: 2 persimmon (we suspect the stock was weak from the nursery — they arrived with visibly dried-out roots despite having been ordered in advance) and 1 pear (position chosen poorly, in retrospect — too wet in winter, a natural hollow we hadn't identified as a drainage problem in the dry November when we planted).
This is an 88% establishment rate in the first year. Commercial orchards typically target 85–90%, so we're within normal range. The two persimmon were replaced in January from a different nursery; both are now establishing well.
## Total Cost
50 bare-root trees: €410 (average €8.20 per tree) Biochar: €45 Compost: free (our own) Stakes (50): €85 Rabbit guards (50): €60 Labour: our own, approximately 70 person-hours over 7 days
**Total: approximately €600, excluding our own labour.**
A container-planted equivalent from a garden centre would have been €1,400–1,800 for the same number of trees, plus the same preparation costs.
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*We document the full land development at Lusitano Retreat — orchard, food forest, biological pond, and all the things that didn't work — on this blog.*