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  • From: "William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Novice grower report
  • Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:37:29 -0500


I've been planting fruit for about 7 years now and this is the first year we've gotten some real production!


I'm much more of a novice than you are, Deb, since most of my fruit is two-years old at most (the Concord grapes and the Northstar cherry - the latter which seems to have died - are one year older, and I've had black raspberries for a few years). I did get some fruit from the cherry, but not much. There were almost no bees around earlier this spring (almost none of my mason bees emerged, for some reason). And I was a little late with the netting, so the birds got some of the few cherries I had.


Pluots

Had 3 fruit set which later disappeared (wind? critters?) I think this tree bloomed just at a bit of a spring cold snap, so that could be the problem. It's a 3 in one tree with three varieties (will have to look them up.)


I planted three pluots last year, and they were full of blooms this spring, but I had almost no fruit set on. I've heard that they're shy bearers, but again, there were hardly any bees around then, either. And those few fruits have disappeared here, too. I did find one with squirrel teeth on it (these trees are outside my electric fence).


Pears

We love pears, pears hate us.


I planted a couple of Asian pears (New Century and Starking Hardy Giant) two years ago, and they almost died in that April freeze last year. But they did bloom this year, and I've got a whopping total of 6 pears set on. They look like they're doing really well, though. I completely ignore them, but they must like that. :-)

I planted a couple of European pears this spring (Seckel and Ubileen) and, well, they're still alive, anyway. UPS broke the Seckel completely in half during shipment, but it had one low branch, so I bent that up as a new trunk. And that's actually the best-looking one right now. We'll see.


Gooseberries

Got a great gooseberry harvest (Poormans, Pixwell, Invicta, Hinnomaki Red) all produced a bumper crop this year. Plants are doing well, even with the summer heat now that harvest is over. Anyone ever try the Black Velvet variety of gooseberry? I might add that one next.


I've got a Black Velvet, but it's in a terrible location. I couldn't even get in there to pick the few berries, so I don't know what they taste like. I'm going to move it next year. Of the rest of mine (Poorman, Hinnonmaki Red and Yellow, Jewel, and Red George), all of which are two years old, the Hinnonmaki Yellow has been the most incredible producer. It's a smaller plant than the others, with a really prone posture, so it's a complete pain to pick. But it was absolutely loaded with gooseberries last year (most of the others didn't have berries at all at one year of age) and again this year. I thinned them twice for pie - wonderful pie! - and I still had tons on the plant.

But for flavor, eating fresh, I've got to say that Poorman was easily the best. The berries were larger than on any of the others, too, and the thorns fewer. Plus, it's more upright in growth (though the branches got weighed down considerably with the fruit). It didn't produce anywhere near as much as the Hinnonmaki Yellow, but this one is still a keeper. The others were OK, but the Poorman was one I *really* enjoyed fresh (I'd rather eat the others in pie).


Red currants were annoying. Berries seemed to ripen one at a time and didn't get a great harvest. Will have to look up the variety and replace with something that ripens all together.


I've got a two-year-old Rovada red currant that was loaded with berries, and they all came ripe at the same time. It seemed to be struggling a bit last year, and was still small this spring, but it's really taken off now. I've also got a Pink Champagne currant, which was loaded with pink berries, all of which ripened in a bunch, and a Primus white currant, which looks good, but hasn't produced many berries yet. (All of these are two years old.)

My biggest problem is... what do I do with the fruit? They're a bit too sour to eat fresh, and I don't eat jam or jelly. I had my Mom make a pie out of the pink currants, but that wasn't particularly good (and it had an ugly color - the red currants would have been better for that). I don't think currants would be especially good on my oatmeal in the morning, either, would they? So for now, they're just sitting in the freezer. It was probably a mistake to plant them, but I was curious.


Peaches

Peaches started strong, and then PFFFT. Have a four in one tree with 3 peaches and a nectarine variety (Frost, hardired, Mary Jane and one other variety).


Instead of a four-in-one tree, I've got four trees (Intrepid, Redhaven, and Reliance peaches, and Hardired Giant nectarine) planted in the same hole (well, in square 18" apart). Again, these are just two years old, and I probably wouldn't do that again (too hard to prune). But the basic idea is working, since they've been coming ripe one variety at a time.

I've had trouble keeping the squirrels out of them (I'll post more on that later), and I'm really struggling with the Oriental Fruit Moths, but they've still been delicious. Most of the nectarines dropped off the tree when very young, due to bugs (my plums had the same problem, but apparently the peach fuzz must keep some things away - though not the OFM). And I had a hard time deciding when they should be picked (the squirrels finally convinced me), since the fruit still seemed so hard. But they were very good.

The Reliance peach came ripe next, and this one really set on the fruit! I had to thin them like crazy (and then I knocked a bunch off the tree by accident). And the squirrels and birds got rid of some more. But the rest were really big and really good! I'm picking Redhaven peaches now. There weren't nearly as many set on, and they're a bit smaller, but still good. The Intrepid seems to be really late, but I had very few blossoms or fruit on that one (it's such a vigorous tree, too). I've got just a few small (very small) green peaches on that tree right now.

I did have a little brown rot (I think), since three or four peaches rotted on the tree, so I imagine I'll have to get to work on my spraying (and I know I will for OFM - those little moths are everywhere, and my pheromone trap didn't seem to help at all).


Rhubarb

I cannot get rhubarb to grow well for me. I've tried it in several locations. It just remains puny despite dressing with composted manure and keeping it weeded. Sigh.


There was rhubarb at the NE corner of my house when I moved in 22 years ago. I've never done anything except pick all the rhubarb I could give away, and it still looks just as big and just a great as ever (although it doesn't like the heat this time of year). My house was built in 1906, and while I doubt the rhubarb patch is that old, it wouldn't surprise me to hear that it's 50 years old or more.

I keep wondering why rhubarb is so expensive in the grocery store. Rhubarb? It seems to grow like a weed here, and it's certainly not difficult to pick. It even shades out other weeds. And it's a perennial. It would be perfect if only I could eat it raw (I can, but only in tiny amounts, with a big bowl of sugar). I can only get my Mom to make so many pies,... and I shouldn't be eating that much pie, anyway. :-)


Raspberries

I had about decided to yank all the raspberries as they died to the ground last year in the freeze.


I had a great year for black raspberries. The birds planted mine, a number of years ago, and I just let them spread. Some of the canes died in last year's freeze, and the robins ate ever berry before they even got ripe, so I didn't get ANY raspberries last year. But this year was great! Still, I think I need to thin the rows a bit. They were so crowded that the inner plants - the ones in the center of the row, died from lack of light. They just spread so fast,... and I hate to rip them up and throw them away. In fact, I hate to throw anything away. I ripped up some day lilies, and I even hated to kill them!


Melons

Once again I attempt melons.


I'm not much of a gardener either, but I did plant some watermelons (Crimson Sweet) this year. So far, so good. The plants have nearly taken over my backyard, and there are watermelons everywhere. Hmm,... I wonder if squirrels like watermelon? :-)

Two years ago, I planted cantaloupe - two different kinds. But they all came ripe in the same week in August,... and it happened to be a week when all my family was out of town. I ate cantaloupe until I thought I'd burst, and the rest rotted as I tried to save it. After that week, I didn't get a single other good cantaloupe. They all seemed to split in the garden, before they even got completely ripe, at which point the ants would get them.


So that's it for fruit. Next year I will be spraying for brown rot and cherry fruit fly and plum curculio and bagging apples again if the weather cooperates like this year :)


Yeah, I'm going to do all that, too,... just like I was going to do THIS year! I was gung-ho this spring, and I swear I worked in the yard every day for MONTHS, but I just got further and further behind. I didn't do nearly the spraying I needed to do. And I just decided that it's getting too late for summer pruning, despite the fact that I haven't done anywhere near as much as I wanted to do. Hey, I'm just tired...

I don't know how you folks do it, those of you who do this for a living. I thought I'd plant fruit so I wouldn't have to work at it all the time! Heh, heh. I thought it would be easy, compared to a vegetable garden, for example. After all, you just plant a tree once, right? And then sit back and wait for the fruit?

:-)

I really enjoyed your report, Deb. I hope more people will chime in.

Bill
Lincoln, NE (zone 5)

--
Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without any proof. - Ashley Montague




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