Chris and I received the Fall 2007 catalog from Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply this week, and after massive planning and drawings made by me this week when Chris was out of town, we sat at the kitchen table tonight, garden, fruit, orchard books strewn about, consulted each item in tandem with the catalog and reference books and ordered our orchard.
It is becoming a reality. More than just plans on paper. We are going to be getting our hands dirty!
I'm usually bored stiff when folks start talking about varities of things, but after the research we did tonight, I have a newfound appreciation for the folks that know their stuff.
Note: If you have experience with any of the varieties I list below, I'd love to hear from you about your experience(s)!
And so our list reads like this:
Pomegranate 'Ambrosia'
Better than 'Wonderful' - extremely large fruit with juicy berries. Shrub to 10-12' high.
Purpose: Grow well in Northern California. I had one in the backyard growing up. And where we're locating ours will serve as a screen from the neighbor's house.
Use: Pomegranate juice (crossing fingers) and fruit to eat. Baking?
Currant 'Wilder' (2 plants)
Ideal for home gardens in zones 3-7. We're on the border of 7/8, so we might luck out if we plant them in dappled shade like we plan.
Purpose: Sounds interesting - have never eaten currants.
Use: Jelly
Ripens Nov-Dec and remains juicy/ripe on tree for long period. Grows to 12'. Better flavor than 'Dancy'.
Reason: We love Clementines. We buy them as soon as they arrive in the stores before Thanksgiving, and the large mesh bag full of fruit lasts a very short time in our house. Why not grow our own? I hear El Dorado County/Placerville just East of here up in the Sierra foothills supplies nearly 100% of the Clementines grown in our area, and they're zone 7! We certainly have a great chance being on the 7 side of 8.
Use: To "unzip" and enjoy, of course!Mandarin 'Pixie' <-- Not available; substitute Mandarin 'Dancy'
Reason: 'Pixie' was touted as a great pollinators for 'Clementine' -- but when I went to order...not available! So we settled with 'Dancy', which is cold hardy, but highly seedy.
Use: To pollinate 'Clementine' I suppose.
Blueberry 'Jubilee'
Blueberry 'Misty'
Blueberry O'Neal'
Blueberry 'Sharpblue'
All varieties listed here are Southern Highbush blueberries, mostly productive from zones 5-9. Sacramento (25 miles West of here towards San Francisco) averages about 600-900 chill hours per winter (number of hours under 45o between Nov 1 and Feb 28), and we seem to be slightly colder, but don't have the socked-in fog for months like in the Sacramento Valley. These blueberries ought to do well here.
Reason: Growing our own (where the photinia bushes once stood) will easily pay for themselves in a couple seasons since we won't be buying them at the store at retail prices!
Use: Baking, smoothies, eating, freezing
::4-in-1 trees: 4 varieties of fruit tree on same rootstock. Great for smaller families (2 of us), smaller spaces (backyard), urban gardening (duh!). Each pollinated by other types on same tree. Can't beat that!::
Sweet Cherry 4-in-1 tree: 'Rainier', 'Bing', 'Utah Giant', 'Van' cherries
1 yellow w/ red blush, 2 dark red, 1 bright red. All superb sweet flavor. Tree "includes one particularly cold hardy, a heavy producer, everyone's favorite, and one almost as well-loved."
Reason: Cherries are beautiful when blooming, and produce heavy fruit here.
Use: Pies, tarts, other baked goods. Smoothies, frozen, jam.
Fruit Salad 4-in-1 tree (4/5 of these varities): 'Gold Dust' Peach, 'Independence' Nectarine, 'July Elberta' Peach, 'Santa Rosa' Plum, 'Blenheim' Apricot
Dave Wilson Nursery (fruit/nut tree supplier to Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply) has taste tested these varieties and finds them delicious. "Reliable producers, yellow freestone peaches, red-purple skinned plum, bright red skinned nectarine with firm yellow freestone, CA's favorite apricot."
Reason: We love all these fruits and don't have room for or need a separate tree for each variety.
Use: Canning, baking, freezing, eating, drying (some).
Low Chill Peach 4-in-1 tree: 'Flordaprince', 'Zaigers May Pride Desert Gold', 'Eva's pride', 'Mid Pride'
They sold me when they said all freestone tree, because there's nothing worse than having to cut a pit out and waste previous fruit. And the taste tests proved excellent.
Reason: One peach on the previous Fruit Salad 4-in-1 tree wasn't enough. Especially given these are entirely different varieties.
Use: Canning, baking, drying, eating.
Constant Apple Harvest 4-in-1 tree: 'Gala', 'Red Delicious', 'Golden Delicious', 'Fuji'
Taste-test approved. Good/common apple varieties.
Reason: We love apples.
Use: Baking, drying, eating.
Strawberry 'Fern' (25 plants)
Strawberry 'Sequoia' (25 plants)
Using CA Master Gardener Reference Book, found that 'Fern' is Day-Neutral (everbearing), meaning they produce fruit and flowers all year long. I liked 'Fern' because I hate obscenely large flavorless strawberries, and prefer petite flavorful varieties. Also freezes well.
'Sequoia' is Short-Day (June bearing) meaning it performs well in the cooler early summer, but stops as soon as temps rise above 75o. Sweetest fruit, with exceptional disease resistance, not widely grown commercially because it doesn't ship well. That means it must be delicious!
Reason: We wanted one of each type: everbearing and June bearing for longest season. 50 seems like a ton of plants though...
Use: How CAN'T you use strawberries?!
Clover 'Berseem' (1 lb.)
Clover 'Red Kenland' (1 lb.)
We ordered some annual cool season cover crops to use for "green matter" in the compost bin. The grass is absolutely infested with weeds, and the daunting overload of "carbon matter" in the form of leaves that is soon to arrive means the compost bin needs some green stuff.
Do you have experience with any of the varieties listed above?
Chris and I are totally spent from doing all this research tonight, so I believe we are going to bed. Goodnight!
Sep 22, 2007
Backyard Orchard: Becoming a Reality
