By Tom Hansen, Butte County Master Gardener, August 26, 2016.

Now is a great time to do some summer pruning to keep trees manageable in the home orchard. The flush of new growth can be brought down so you don't share so much fruit with the birds next year. By directing the growth where you want it to go now you will cut back on the amount of pruning needed in the fall or winter. This is good for peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots, and most of the stone fruits. Fruit bud differentiation is occurring all summer, so what you leave on the tree as fruiting wood for next year will be in reach without needing a tall ladder; sprays (such as fungicide to prevent peach-leaf curl) can reach the interior of the tree; and you will have to do less thinning of fruit next year. Cut off up to half of the one-and-one-half to three-foot long new growth, making your cuts one-quarter of an inch above an outer bud. Just be sure to leave enough foliage so that the main branches are shaded sufficiently to prevent sunburn on the structural limbs.

Raspberries and some blackberries too are ready for the old canes to be removed and the new canes tied up. Grapes can have some of the excess leaves trimmed off to allow better air flow and ease your search during harvest. There is a lot to be done this time of year in the home orchard, so go out there and enjoy yourself.