The Backyard Orchardist: A Complete Guide to Growing Fruit Trees in the Home Garden
For every gardener desiring to add apples, pears, cherries, and other tree fruit to their landscape here are hints and solid information from a professional horticulturist and experienced fruit grower. The Backyard Orchardist includes help on selecting the best fruit trees and information about each stage of growth and development, along with tips on harvest and storage of the fruit. Those with limited space will learn about growing dwarf fruit trees in containers.\ Appendices include a...
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The Backyard Orchardist shows the novice gardener and the experienced fruit grower how to select the best site for an orchard, prepare the soil for planting, prune fruit trees for maximum growth and production, control pests and diseases, harvest and store the fruit.
\ List of Illustrations VIII List of Charts XI Acknowledgments XIII Preface XIV\ Section I. Getting Started with Fruit Trees\ 1. Enjoying Fruit Trees in the Landscape 17\ 2. Selecting the Right Site 21\ A Close Look at Your Site-Climate-Average Minimum Temperatures and Hardiness-Length of Growing Season-Microclimate-Soil-Soil pH-Moisture-Sunlight-Space Required-The Perfect Site\ 3. Planting and Early Care 37\ Preparing the soil-Selecting the tree-Plating-Pruning After Planting-Other Care\ Section II. Fruit Fundamentals-Growth Habits of Specific Tree Fruit\ 3. Pome Fruit 47\ 4. Apples 49\ Growth Habit-Flowering and Fruiting-Rootstocks-Variety Choices-Disease Resistant Varieties-Popular Varieties-Varieties for Special Situations\ 5. Pears 67\ Growth Habits-Pollination-Rootstocks-Domestic Varieties-Judging Ripeness and Harvest Time-Asian Pears Stone Fruit 81\ 6. Sweet Cherries 83\ Growth Habit and Training-Flowering and Pollination-Rootstocks-Variety Selection\ 7. Tart Cherries 91\ Growth Habit and Pruning-Rootstocks-Variety Selection\ 8. Apricots, Plums, Apriums & Plutos 95\ Apricots-Flowering and Pollination-Rootstock-Varieties-Types of Plums-Pollination-Rootstocks-Pruning-Apriums & Pluots\ 9. Peaches & Nectarines 107\ Growth Habit and Pruning-Flowering and Pollination-Rootstocks-Varieties-White Fleshed Peaches-Need for Thinning-Nectarines\ Section III. Caring for Your Fruit Tree\ 10. Nutrition and Fertilizers 117\ Photosynthesis-Choosing a Fertilizer-Function and Sources of Nutrients-Soil and Tissue Testing-Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms- Fertilizer: How Much?-Water: How Much?-Mulching-Modifying pH\ 11. Pruning Basics 127\ Young Nonbearing Trees-The Bearing Tree-Rejuvenating the Neglected Overgrown Tree-Proper Pruning Cuts-Pruning Tools\ 12. Growing Fruit Trees in Containers 141\ Genetic Dwarf Trees-Choosing a Container-The Soil Mix-Plants and Repotting-Feeding and Watering-Keeping the Container Growm Tree Healthy-Winterizing the Container Planting\ 13. Flowering, Fruiting and Thinning 149\ Understanding Fruit Bud Development-Managing Growth and Fruiting in the Early Years-Flowering, Pollination and Fruit Set-June Drop-Biennial Bearing-Hand Thinning\ Section IV. Pests & Diseases\ 14. Insect Pests 161\ Understanding Insect Life Cycles-Insect Damage-General Insect Identification-Direct Insect Pests-Indirect Pests-Occasional Insect Pests-Beneficial Insects\ 15. Disease Identification 175\ Fungus Diseases-Bacterial Diseases-Virus and Miscellaneous Disorders-Nematodes\ 16. Insect and Disease Control Methods 187\ Different Philosophies Defined-Safe Handling of Materials-Effective Pest Control-Insect Control-Disease Control\ 17. Wildlife Pests 199\ Birds-Deer-Rodents-Raccoons and Porcupines\ Section V. Harvest\ 18. Harvest and Storage 205\ When to Harvest-Picking Technique-Proper Storage\ Section VI. Preface\ Appendix Reviving the Ailing Tree
