Garden with established orchard but neglected for years Q1

Thank you for the advice @NigelJ
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@NigelJ I raked up the leaves and fallen fruits from the crab apple tree and Cleared a 2 foot area around the trunk, but this seems to be growing out from the base of the tree.






Unfortunately we cut off the growth a couple of weeks ago so don’t know what the stems look like. Would this be part of the crab apple tree? They are solid and not budging. There are a few other shoots like that coming out further around the trunk, but these are much smaller.




I’ve put the earth back around the base for now but would appreciate knowing if I should try and did this up and if so would it damage the tree?

Thanks
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@Tinkerbelle61 By the look of it they are suckers coming from the roots of the crab apple tree.
Usually you would pull these off, to reduce the chance of regrowth. In this case some are of them are quite stout.
So I would try and pull off what you can, the ones that don't pull off move the soil away to expose the base of the sucker where it joins the root of the crab apple and cut off as close to the root as possible.
You will see some reqrowth remove this in the same way; pull off where possible or cut as close to the root as you can get.
Unfortunately this could become a regular chore.

 

Ahh, okay thank you @NigelJ That’s my first job of the day sorted I best start before it gets too warm. Happy Gardening everyone.

 

Yeah, that is an apple tree. We also had such a tree in the backyard when I was a kid. The apples from that tree were terrific! I can still feel their taste!

 

@shiney thanks for the advice, I tried pulling but they were solid, so cleared as much earth that would come away, got the loppers and cut through about three quarters of it, then the rest pulled up (with effort)! Yes a regular job I agree, as I cleared two foot diameter around the trunk am hoping it will be easier to see any new growth and get it sorted before it gets too thick again.

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hmm