Another decade has begun, and I can’t wait to see what the next ten years will be like out in our garden. My optimism has been renewed in a simple kind of way; all it took was a couple fruit trees, purchased and planted last spring. They’ve restored my excitement, curiosity and anticipation for my mini-orchard and its prospects for a more bountiful harvest once again. Sure, we have some fruit trees at our place before—peaches, apple, plum pear and cherry—but because many of them are quite old now, these new trees will provide an extension to our orchard’s life … and maybe an extension to our own!

I know that many who receive this publication live in rural areas and likely have ample land to set out fruit trees. So my hope this year is that you will be inspired, as I was last spring, to search for and plant a few of the recommended fruit varieties for our region. The rewards can be absolutely astonishing in yield and personal satisfaction. Just imagine bushels and bushels of fruit at the end of each summer, starting as soon as three years from now!

But before you rush out and purchase the first tree you find at the discount store, let me offer a few quick suggestions. As with just about anything you buy, it will really help if you do a little research first. Read up on the type of fruit you intend to grow—there is a lot of information available in the library, bookstores and online to help you focus on all the differences in fruit trees. Over the years I have found out that all fruit trees have special characteristics. Apples, for instance, come in many varieties, have varying flavors, harvest times, disease resistance, tree size, pollination requirements and heat tolerance. Peaches produce different kinds of fruit (cling or free stone), vary in the amount of cold weather they need to set their fruit, and mature fruit at different times depending upon the variety.

After deciding on a special variety of fruit tree, it is very important to find out its pollination requirements. While peaches are mostly self fruitful and don’t require a different variety to be nearby to achieve pollination, apples are nearly always dependant on cross pollination by another variety to ensure a good fruit crop. So for apples, plan on planting two compatible varieties at the same time in close proximity. Other tree fruits that need a pollinator (once again, a different variety of the same type of tree) include Japanese plum, apricot and most sweet cherries. I must add, since I’m asked this a lot, peaches, pears and apricots will have greater fruit loads if they also are planted near other compatible varieties of the same type of tree.

When it comes to planting your new trees, thoughtfully search for the best locatio. I hope you have an area that is open, receives full sun all day long and has a decent soil with good drainage. Drainage is huge—young trees can succumb during rainy spells if water stands in the planting hole. Old timers highly recommend that fruit trees be planted on the highest spot on the property, out in the open so they are not shaded by large trees nearby. Also, keep trees out of power line easements and away from septic fields, water lines and gas lines.

Pruning, fertilization and pest control are the three most important aspects of raising fruit trees. I recommend light pruning every winter, never removing more than 20 percent of the canopy at one time, mostly selecting suckers, crossing branches and overgrowth. I prune my fruit trees during the summer too: removing unwanted sprouts when they are small lessens the work for me later. 

To feed the tree for a whopping harvest I fertilize each spring shortly before bloom time. I also spray with a fungicide at the same time well before the buds swell. After the blooms drop off, I have found my fruit trees need to be sprayed up to three times with a combination spray containing an insecticide and fungicide. More natural, organic compounds are available if you want to avoid synthetic pesticides. Just read the label before you buy the product so you will know how it should be used.

I have created a short list of very good fruit tree varieties that have proven themselves worthy of our back yard orchard for many years. They are listed in order of ripening so you will know when you should expect to gather fruit. Good luck with your plantings, and may this be the decade you experience a back yard bonanza of fresh fruit!
 

Nectarines
Sunglo   Late July
Nectared  Early August
Red Gold  Early August
Royal Giant   Early August