Climate in an apple orchard?

Question

Climate in an apple orchard?

Answer 1

Deep well-drained loams with a pH of 6.5-6.8 are the best for fruit trees. Avoid shallow soils (depth to bedrock 8-36 inches), and light sands with a high percolation rate. Soils with very slow percolation rates, like heavy clay or waterlogged ground, are not good sites for your orchard.

Cold air flows slowly downhill, piling up in the low places or “frost pockets.” Therefore, your fruit orchard should be strategically placed on high ground or on a hillside where the cold air will flow past it.  

In the far north, the best sites are often open slopes to the southeast, south or southwest (although the latter choice might increase chances of sunscald or “southwest injury”, a form of winter damage.) However, the top or middle of a hill in any direction is better than planting at the bottom of one.

(31° to 32°F and 90 to 95 percent humidity)