One may clear stones [from a field] until Rosh Hashanah. One may prune [trees], thin [them], and cut away [their] decay until Rosh Hashanah. R’ Yehoshua says: Like the thinning and cutting away decay of the fifth, so is that of the sixth. R’ Shimon says: As long as I am permitted work of the tree, I am permitted to cut away its decay.

One may apply something rancid to the saplings, and one may wrap them, put ash on them, make shelters for them, and water them, until Rosh Hashanah. R’ Elazar bar Tzadok says: He may even water the branches during the seventh [year], but not the base.