permaculture

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The Fruit Tree Handbook - Reviews - The Ecologist
http://www.theecologist.org/reviews/books/1116060/the_fruit_tree_handbook.html

The Fruit Tree Handbook

Andy McKee

3rd November, 2011
Packed with helpful hints and detailed explanation, The Fruit Tree
Handbook is a must-read for ‘top fruit’ enthusiasts, says Andy McKee

If you’ve ever thought about turning an unproductive grassy area into
an orchard and then quietly filed it away under 'wouldn't know where
to start', it may be time for a rethink. The Fruit Tree Handbook is
fairly hefty for a paperback but fruit growing is a big topic and
deserves the space. All too often 'top fruit' [apples, pears, plums
etc] is relegated to a couple of chapters in a general fruit book,
losing out to the easy virtues of strawberries and other soft fruit.
Given such cramped conditions, it's small wonder that people get
confused about pollination so a well-written specialist book like this
one is a welcome addition to my bookshelf.

The author, Ben Pike, is the head gardener of Sharpham Estate in
Devon, which contains 150 fruit trees. This is a man who clearly knows
his subject inside out, and isn't afraid to take a pragmatic approach.
As such, he advocates eco-friendly but effective measures rather than
trying to be strictly organic. He keeps his tone light and friendly,
especially in the more technical sections. In the pruning chapter for
instance, he reassures the reader that it is very likely that their
trees will not look like the ones ‘in the book’ (and for that one
statement, Mr. Pike, I am almost pathetically grateful). The aim of
the book is to be useful for novice growers as well as more
experienced types, and on the whole, Pike pulls it off admirably.

The Fruit Tree Handbook covers everything you'd hope to find in a
dedicated top fruit book, with chapters on choosing, buying and
planting trees as well as a dedicated section for each type of fruit.
Pollination groups are explained clearly, and there are some welcome
surprises too, such as a chapter covering much neglected quinces,
medlars and mulberries in reasonable depth. There's also a chapter on
dealing with rootstocks (often a source of mystification to new
growers) but I was particularly impressed with the chapters on
planning new orchards, renovating old ones and starting a community
orchard. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised to find them, given
that the author runs Orchard Link - an organisation dedicated to
saving and promoting small orchards.