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Dawn
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If you do, would you share what kind and how you manage it?
This will be our first season trying to grow fruit. We have a bunch of raspberry plants on the way (red and gold) and dh is planning to buy a few apple trees and a pear tree this weekend. He is also looking at one of those strawberry terraces ... has anyone grown strawberries this way?
When we were first married we lived on a small pocket farm (set up by the previous owners) so we reaped the fortune of established fruit trees and wild berry vines. We live in the suburbs now, but would really love to grow fruit here ~ as much for the experience as the fruit! 
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mary
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i have successfully grown blueberries and blackberries. my rasberries have never thrived - they don't like getting their feet wet. i would love to try again, but just never gotten around to it. my strawberries have been eh, but i have never planted them in rows and moldy berries have been my issue. those terraces look great and i'd love to hear how they turn out for you.
i did plant fruit trees when we first moved here but they require lots of spraying which i'm unwilling to do. so, we currently enjoy the blossoms, the deer have killed a fair amount of my trees and the apples are wormy. i have cared enough to try an organic sprays. please pass along any info on growing fruit trees successfully without spraying. (i really am enjoying your blogs.)
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MichelleW
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We have grown raspberries and blackberries for ten years now, on three different properties. Very easy! big payoff for very little time investment. My neighbor has to net hers, but we never have. I think it is because she is alone over there and we have so many pickers over here that the birds prefer to raid her berries. I put manure or composted manure around them after I prune them in the spring (I prefer to spring prune, but you can fall prune). This strengthens the plant but can sometimes result in lots of leaves and not much fruit, so you probably don't want to do this to all your plants every year. Here in Oregon I don't even bother watering them. If the summer is especially hot and dry, I might water them once during the fruit bearing season and that is plenty.
The last four years we have planted or grown apple, pear, and cherry trees. We hand picked worms the first year, then we got chickens. They do a nice job of organically keeping the pests down. Actually hand-picking and burning pests did fine. We ended up with very nice almost completely worm-free apples. This is the first year the the cherries and pears will be tall enough to escape the deer chewing the buds. The trees look fine, buds look nice and big and are high off the ground. We shall see...
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Christine
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We have cherries and strawberries, but the squirrels and the crows usually eat all of them, before we get a chance to do so. The strawberries are planted among some rocks, get very little sun and yet do very well.
We have a grapevine, but it is in the backyard and will most likely never produce fruit, due to the lack of sun.
We had a little fig tree, until my youngest picked it. I replanted it and I am hoping that it will stay alive.
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Cay Gibson
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I sadly do not have a greenthumb. 
We have a fig tree, two pear trees, an orange tree, a kumquat tree, and two pecan trees (lost two other pecan trees during Hurricane Rita).
The children just help themselves to the produce as it comes into season.
I do can my figs though. A popular syrupy dessert for Cajuns is bread spread lightly (or thickly) with butter and topped with canned figs. Served after every meal until the jar runs empty.
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rose gardens
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Does trying to grow fruit count? Our home is just five years old, so the gardens are relatively new and haven't much yielded fruit yet. Last year we all tasted the raspberries, (including the birds.) Raspberries look wild this spring now, but half my blueberry shrubs didn't come back. 
We planted a number of fruit trees, including an apple tree on the first day of homeschool kindergarten. My 1st grader know which is his tree.  I reserved spots to plant my other children's apple trees when they enter kindergarten too. Hopefully some year we can start homeschooling September with Apple crisp from their trees.
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MacBeth
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I have black walnut and mulberry. Both are weed trees, but they do produce! I also have an apple tree (Royal Gala) but the apples are often wormy. I trimmed it way back this year to see if I can handle a smaller crop.
In the past, I have had strawberries. I had heard they do well, but I think it was a dry year, so they did not thrive.
As an expert forager  , I know where to find blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, prickly pears, cherries, mulberries, and beach plumbs. I don't have to grow them at all!
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lapazfarm
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rose gardens wrote:
We planted a number of fruit trees, including an apple tree on the first day of homeschool kindergarten. My 1st grader know which is his tree. I reserved spots to plant my other children's apple trees when they enter kindergarten too. Hopefully some year we can start homeschooling September with Apple crisp from their trees. |
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What a sweet idea! I had planted a tree for each of my children as they were born on the farm we used to live on. Sadly, we had to move from there and leave them behind. But it was a nice tradition while it lasted.
And MacBeth, I am with you on the foraging! That's one thing we look forward to when we move to Alaska in a few years-the foraging opportunities are endless!
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Cay Gibson
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Speaking of fruit:
my girls came inside today with an Easter basket full of fresh kumquat's wanting to know if they could bake a cake or something with them. 
I was at such a loss I answered, "Are you serious?"
Evidently they were. Later I found a pile of my cookbooks stacked on the kitchen table. Chelsea said she couldn't find anything for kumquats.
If anyone knows of making anything with these little orange balls, please share. If nothing else, I'll let them squeeze the juice and make kumquat juice. 
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JennGM
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Cay Gibson wrote:
Speaking of fruit:
my girls came inside today with an Easter basket full of fresh kumquat's wanting to know if they could bake a cake or something with them.
I was at such a loss I answered, "Are you serious?"
Evidently they were. Later I found a pile of my cookbooks stacked on the kitchen table. Chelsea said she couldn't find anything for kumquats.
If anyone knows of making anything with these little orange balls, please share. If nothing else, I'll let them squeeze the juice and make kumquat juice. |
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Cay, I'm  I don't think my cookbooks have anything, but, I found kumquat Growers Website. See the Tropical KumQuat Cake?
Kumquat....say that 5 times fast.
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Cay Gibson
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Oh, thank you, Jenn !
My eye is on that Kumquat Refrigerator Pie. I have all the ingredients (even some pie crusts that I didn't use for Easter) and it looks so cool and refreshing...perfect for a beautiful spring day.
Who would have thought there is a whole Kumquat website complete with recipes. Growing up we just popped one into our mouth and chewed the juice out then spit them on the ground.
Thank you! And my girls thank you. 
I knew the answer would be found here.
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
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mary
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MichelleW wrote:
The last four years we have planted or grown apple, pear, and cherry trees. We hand picked worms the first year, then we got chickens. They do a nice job of organically keeping the pests down. Actually hand-picking and burning pests did fine. We ended up with very nice almost completely worm-free apples. This is the first year the the cherries and pears will be tall enough to escape the deer chewing the buds. The trees look fine, buds look nice and big and are high off the ground. We shall see... |
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we are not allowed to have chickens because of our homeowner's association rules. (we could have a horse though; go figure.)
how much effort is involved in handpicking pests? is this a weekly endeavor? something you do daily for a few weeks? i always wanted a bit of an orchid but had given up on the idea because it didn't seem possible to get decent fruit without spraying. maybe i should reconsider.
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Dawn
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I am just sitting down to read all the replies since I posted this morning! So many great ideas and advice. I'm printing this out to read through.
p.s. I would *love* to keep chickens but I don't think my neighbors would love it. I do know someone on the other side of town keeps chickens and I believe he's been taken to court once or twice! 
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stefoodie
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i had to leave my strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries that i planted just last year
my long-term plan has always been to grow every vegetable and fruit we like. one day i'd like to grow apples and espalier them. first i have to get rid of the 30 trees or so in our "backyard park". the previous owner put in a lovely garden, and even left us the swing, the hammock and 2 benches. but i'm more into edible landscaping.
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MichelleW
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Cay Gibson wrote:
If anyone knows of making anything with these little orange balls, please share. If nothing else, I'll let them squeeze the juice and make kumquat juice. |
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We slice these and put them in the bottom of our tea cups with a lump of sugar and then pour tea over them. They are very sour, but they are members of the citrus family, and so they do add a little something to our tea. Actually, I think the kids just like to do this because kumquats are so cute and not because they add that much to a cup of Constant Comment...
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MichelleW
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mary wrote:
how much effort is involved in handpicking pests? is this a weekly endeavor? something you do daily for a few weeks? i always wanted a bit of an orchid but had given up on the idea because it didn't seem possible to get decent fruit without spraying. maybe i should reconsider. |
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This really depends on how many trees you have and how big they are. Our apple pie trees are dwarf varieties, so I can reach all the fruit without a ladder. Really, the way this started was that I noticed worms weaving some kind of structure furiously on some branches. I called our extension service and was told that they were "tent worms" that would cause quite a bit of devastation if I didn't spray. I watched the worms for a few days and when there were several rather full "tents" of them we removed the tents and all the worms we could find and burned them. We have never had tent worms again. After that I just inspect the trees when I am out there (maybe every few days, maybe once a week) and knock any pests into a paper bag and burn. It doesn't take me very long.
I also handpick from all our vegetables in the garden. The vegetables get way more attention from me. I am in the veggie garden every day. The only pests that have beaten me were the ones that grow in brussle sprouts (can't remember what they are called, moths lay the eggs and then the worms eat the brussel sprouts). This has also been very easy to do while I am inspecting the plants. Maybe we have just been very lucky, but we have had no problems with major infestations of any kind.
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Dawn
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MichelleW wrote:
| We slice these and put them in the bottom of our tea cups with a lump of sugar and then pour tea over them. They are very sour, but they are members of the citrus family, and so they do add a little something to our tea. Actually, I think the kids just like to do this because kumquats are so cute and not because they add that much to a cup of Constant Comment... |
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What a cute idea! I have loved Constant Comment since I was little. I'll have to try this!
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Dawn
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I'm just getting around to reading the Sunday papers this morning and I came across this recipe using dried figs. Since a few of you mentioned you have fig trees *and* we seem to talking about tea lately, I thought I'd post it here:
Poached Figs in Tea
Serves 4
1 cup sugar
4 cups water
2 tea bags
Pared rind of 1 navel orange
1 pound dried figs
2 T. chopped crystallized ginger
In a heavy-based saucepan, heat the sugar and water, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Add the tea bags and steep for 5 minutes. Remove and discard the bags.
Add the orange rind, figs and ginger. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat to medium low, cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes or until the figs are tender. Let cool to room temperature before serving. To store, place the figs and their liquid in a tightly covered container and refrigerator.
*The recipe notes say they can be used as a garnish for roasted or broiled meats, serve them with brunch or snip them and sprinkle them onto a bowl of yogurt.
And speaking of dried fruit ... how do you preserve any fruit you grow or buy (maybe this should be a new thread?)
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lilac hill
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Dawn wrote:
p.s. I would *love* to keep chickens but I don't think my neighbors would love it. I do know someone on the other side of town keeps chickens and I believe he's been taken to court once or twice!
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If you do not have any restrictive covenants, you may be able to keep 3 or 4.With small space , 3 may be better and no roosters.
We keep our laying hens in a chicken tractor too keep them off the porch and out of the veggies and to keep the landscape mulch in place.
Pictue a triangular prism.
The rectangular base is open and on the ground.
One side of the triangular part is framed with lumber and covered with poultry netting--I prefer the plastic, not the chicken wire. I use stainless steel staples to hold this on.
The other side is enclosed to act as the coop. Inside the coop there is a roost pole for the chickens to sleep on at night and there is a nesting box. The nesting box is against the outside wall so we can access the eggs through a small door.
On one end , at the base we have wheels so the chicken tractor can be moved. The opposite side has handles.
Adaptations: If you are not able to move the tractor often, handles on both ends would be enough.Jusst lift, and be careful not to squish a hen.
We hang a waterer from a hook on the ridge pole, a ground level waterer gets full of dirt.
The door, framed wiht wood and covered with poultry netting is on the coop side.
As your chickens work an area you can add compost greens, hay, wood shavings, weeds. They will work it up. They will kill the grass underneath, but you could strategically place them where you would like your next garden bed.You could also just plant grass once they work an area.
In the winter you can place hay bales around the outside for insulation and you can add a coop door between the "run" and "coop". You may need an extension cord for light (egg production is triggered by day length so out girls are on lights at 3 AM). The light is on a timer. I do not heat my water, just replace it a few times a day.
If I can find the camera, I will try to post a picture of ours.
Presently the hens are preparing my lettuce bed. My tractor is as wide as my garden beds. In a few days I will move them down the row, add last fall's leaves and garden trimmings . The they can work up the carrot bed, then the rest of the garden. They usually spend most of the summer working through the side yard, but they do clean up after a crop is finished.
Caution: be careful if you do a computer search, the work chicken brings up some terribel sites.
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Do you grow fruit?
