North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Ed Fackler <ed.fackler@gmail.com>]

Greg:

     Given your criteria for annual care (esp. no spraying) I think you should stick to only pears (on OF x F 513 or 333) and possibly blueberries.  I'll leave varietial selection to others on the list.  However Magnus requires a pollinator (it is self unfertile).

Ed

On Fri, Dec 4, 2009 at 11:20 AM, Gregory Strella <gregory.strella@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello friends,

I was recently contacted by several new and long serving leaders in Baltimore's parks and horticultural divisions who are interesting in the idea of incorporating fruit into their municipal tree planting and maintenance regiment.  This would be an impressive expansion on the successful and ongoing effort to establish schoolyard and community orchards throughout the Baltimore and other cities. 

The central question is this:  Are there two or three cultivars that we could direct these authorities to in order to insure their early success and further investment in this important opportunity?  The main criteria for "success" would be these:

1. Species/cultivars that performed fairly (note that performing fairly does not mean peak performance) with minimal management (e.g. annual pruning, annual harvesting, no spraying).  That is to say, the priority here is disease/pest resistance, hardiness and longevity rather than production and even flavor.
2. Trees that are able to be harvested without specialized equipment (dwarf or semi-dwarf)

Below are a few recommendations agreed upon by two local orchards:

Apples: Enterprise, Liberty, Pristine, Red Free, or Goldrush
    Apple Rootstock: Geneva, M7
Pears: Kefir, Sickle, Liberty, Magnus
    Pear Rootstock:  Homewood or Quince
Apricots: Anything from the “Harrow series” of apricots such as Harcot, Harglow, Hargrand, Harlayne, Harogem, Harval
Any species will be considered

Thank you in advance for any advice you can lend to this important effort.

Greg
--
Greg Strella
Farm Manager
Baltimore City Public Schools
Great Kids Farm at the Bragg Nature Center
6601 Baltimore National Pike
Catonsville, MD 21228
717 350.3730 (cell)
Support us at www.bcf.org/farm

ps - I'm sure many of you will be considerate enough to express concern about fruit drop and corresponding rodent pressure that may be associated with urban fruit plantings.  This has been well considered over many years of food production in our city and we are confident regarding how this is to be handled.

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