God's eye

A Sunday stroll through traditional orchards.

 

Traditional orchard meadows are a distinctive and historically evolved form of extensive fruit cultivation. These landscapes are typified by vigorous, tall-trunked trees with expansive canopies, arranged in loose clusters that significantly shape the scenery in many parts of Baden-Württemberg. These orchards typically comprise fruit trees of various species, varieties, and age groups, making them some of the most biodiverse agricultural systems in Europe. They generally consist of full and half-standard trees. Conservationists emphasize the importance of full-standard trees for their contribution to biological diversity, while orchard managers often prefer half-standards for their easier accessibility during maintenance. Unlike modern, intensively farmed orchards with dense plantings, individual trees are always visible in traditional orchard meadows. The use of pesticides is infrequent. Characteristically, the undergrowth in these orchards is either mowed or grazed.

 

 

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