Fruit Trees!!!!!

[Wifezilla]

Even though I have a small yard, I have 3 fruit trees. One pear and 2 apples. All 3 of them were "Charlie Brown" trees left at the end of the season and marked down several times. I think I paid $5 for the most expensive one.

The pear has been giving us fruit for a couple of years now and the apple trees should give us fruit this year.

 

[mikeksfarmer]

I am glad to see a fruit tree thread. I have a small farm and about 30 peach trees, 10 apples, 4 pear, aprocots, plums, cherrys, and more. I want to plant even more. I think every house hold should have a fruit tree in the yard weather they rent or own. I think it would be a fantastic economic stimulus if the government would provide every one with a "victory Garden" fruit tree to plant. I encourage you all to plant now! Standard apples may take 5 years to produce, semi dwarf and dwarf may take 2 years to procuce fruit. Cherries plums peaches usually procuce in 2 years. Let nothing grow below the graft. You will see the graft just above the roots about 2 to 4 inches. When you get your tree take about 40% of the top out. leaving a main lead and a couple of balanced side branches. Great hole lots of organics. I have a freezer full of apples, peaches and cherries. I love to share with friends. Plant Plant Plant.

 

[ametauss]

I'd love to run across a deal like that!!! It seems I'm always a week late for the sale.....

I want to plant my front acre with a fruit orchard.... Thinking about 20 trees should fill it up nicely....

Anyone got any seedlings??? I'm looking at white peaches, red apples, pears, cherries, and figs... I already have some strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries but need more.... I'd like some pecan trees eventhough shelling them is a pain....

I have a nasty crab apple that I feed the apples to the goats.... I'd take it down but the goats love the apples....

 

[greyfields]

If you need to learn patience, then plant an orchard. Coming up on year 3 for ours.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Wow! Great deal!

As for how far apart to plant them, it depends on how much effort you want to put in for maintaining them and how many more trees you'd like to plant for your space requirements.

I help run a community garden on a quarter acre plot. We dedicated 1/3 of that to fruit trees. Since a portion of our proceeds go to feed the poor, we wanted to provide enough fruit for year round production.

To make that possible, we decided our best option was to use the Wilson method of Backyard Orchard Culture:
http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/BOC_explained.html
http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/all_tom/multi_plantings.html

Since some trees need pollinators, you might want to check your individual trees to see whether you need to buy some buddies for them.

 

[Rosalind]

Quote:

But Mike, what would Knott's Berry Farm, Sunkist, Blue Diamond et al. do if we all grew our own fruit? Why, they might lose market share, and then it would be the end of civilization! It would mean the end of migrant labor! The end of using indentured servants to do stuff! Wall Street executives could die of touching an actual apple leaf! </sarcasm>

Just kidding. I (heart) local food and have a 30-tree orchard myself--apples, pears, cherries, peaches, plums, pawpaws, nectarines, apricots, lotsa berries. There's also a few very big hickory trees on the property, and this year I'm hopefully gonna put in some hazelnuts. Fruit trees are sooo easy to care for compared to veggies...

 

[smom1976]

Quote:
that is a neat website.. I think I am going to space mine a little farther then 2 feet apart..

I was thinking about 7

ok we got 3 apple.. and 2 peach.. Anna and granny smith and peach.. (my husband is driving back with them now, and they are in the back of the truck)

 

[nightshade]

boy I would love to get my hands on more peaches, certainly for that price. I love home canned peaches, but every peach tree I have planted has died. All 6

 

[Lunachick]

I would be happy with one of those gorgeous Hudson Valley Apple trees ..but I don't think I have room enough for just one.

But if I came across one, I would plant it right in the middle of my front lawn! ha ! to all my neighbors who need to have a green postage stamp out front - boring...

 

[smom1976]

like chickens apple trees are flock trees and you would need at least two.. sooooo

go right ahead and plant two !