PlanterTomato Vegetable Gardening

Awesome Apples: Cox's Orange Pippin

In this posting, I report success growing Cox's Orange Pippin apples and provide some tips on how to protect your dwarf fruit trees from squirrels.

Two seasons ago, I did some cursory research on the internet to determine the best apples.  Based on some tantalizing descriptions, I purchased a number of heirloom apple trees and planted them in my garden.  Regular readers may remember a prior posting regarding two potential mistakes I made in selecting these trees and my fear that I would never harvest a single apple.  (Apples In Bloom: Tips for New Fruit Growers)

Fortunately, the fates were good to us, and we harvested our first Cox's Orange Pippin apples this week.  This variety of apple comes from England and it is considered one of the best desert apples on the planet. However, it is notoriously hard to grow, and can produce spotty results...like the "little girl who had a little curl," when Cox's Orange Pippins are good, they are very good and when they are bad, they are horrid.  Well, maybe not horrid, but certainly nothing to get too excited about.

Maybe it is our cool Pacific Northwest evenings, but the Cox's Orange Pippin tree in my garden produced fruit and the apples lived up to their reputation.  Cox's Orange Pippins are beautiful apples with blush color, thin skin, crisp flesh and a delightfully complex flavor.  Adam's Apples, a blog dedicated entirely to apples, describes the Cox's Orange Pippin as follows:

"This is a wonderfully well-balanced apple with a complex bouquet of tastes: cider, a hint of cinnamon and hazelnut, and strong orange and mango notes. The even sweet-tart balance is the perfect backdrop against which these flavors gracefully unfold."

I heartily concur with Adam's description.  These apples leave supermarket apples in the dust and are better than most varieties brought to farmers markets.  

Later this season, I hope to harvest additional heirloom varieties including Ashmead's Kernel, Foxwhelp, Kingston Black and Orleans Reinette.  I let you know more about these in the future.

Tips on Thwarting Squirrels

One thing that frustrates me, is when critter decide to eat up my garden. I wouldn't care if they took some here or there, but squirrels are just gluttons.  They don't just take a share, they take everything.

This Spring my young Blenheim apricot produced some really outstanding fruit.  We enjoyed the first few fruit that ripened, but just as the main crop reached maturity, squirrels swooped in and ate all the remaining fruit in one evening. The bushy tailed devils then stripped a young peach tree of all it's still unripe fruit, denying us even a single fruit from this tree this season.

Looking at the tiny apples that had just formed on my dwarf trees, I feared the worst and moved to protect them. I tried using plastic bird netting, but had difficulty making this work -- I found it nearly impossible to get the netting over the crown of the tree,  the netting tangled up in the wind, and had a tendency to rip up the leaves on the tree.  Internet research suggested that alternative squirrel proofing techniques such as spraying trees with nasty smelling liquids or using plastic models of owls (squirrel predator) were not effective.  

Since my trees are very young and didn't really have lots of fruit on them, I decided to try a different strategy.  Rather than covering the whole tree with bird netting, I opted to cover just the fruit. To do this, I purchased some small nylon mesh bags.  These bags measure 10 x 6 inches and are made of the same plastic material that is used to bag up onions and shallots for sale in the supermarket. (see below) To protect the young apples, I placed these bags over individual clusters of fruit and then tied them off with the little drawstrings at the top of the bag.  

So far, the bags seem to be effective. I suspect that squirrels identify fruit by it's shape and the bags work because they camouflage the apples so they don't look like fruit. Whatever, the mechanism, it seems to be working.  Another nice benefit I've discovered is that any apples that fall off the tree, are caught by the bag so they never hit the ground.

Photo: Foxwhelp apples covered in mesh bags

Obviously, covering individual fruit clusters only makes sense for dwarf trees or relatively young semi-dwarf trees.  As my trees get bigger, I'll have to come up with some other solutions, but for the next season or two, this method should work reasonably well.  

Apples In Bloom: Tips for New Fruit Tree Growers

Over the last few weeks, the apple trees I purchased in January, 2010 began blooming.  I'm a newbie when it comes fruit trees and made a number of mistakes.  In this posting, I'll let you know the mistakes to avoid, guidelines on growing apples and tips on how to select apple and other fruit trees for your garden.

How To Mess Up Your Apple Orchard

In late 2009, I decided to add apples and other fruit to my garden.  So I cruised the internet searching for advice on the best apples using Google and search terms such as "Best heirloom apples," "Best tasting apples," "Top apple varieties" etc.  The search yielded plenty of exotic apple varieties of which I had never heard.  The descriptions were incredibly tantalizing; for example here's a description of the Spitzenburg apple taken from the Trees of Antiquity web site:

Thomas Jefferson's favorite apple. Un-excelled in flavor or quality, the fruit is great off the tree, but flavor radically improves in storage. Medium apple with crisp, yellow skin covered with inconspicuous red stripes and russet freckles. Flesh is tinged yellow, firm, aromatic, and complex in flavor; a perfect balance between sharp and sweet.

The internet research opened up a whole world of apples of which I was completely ignorant and I went on an apple buying binge, ordering a variety of sweet dessert apples and and ones that are either sharp or bitter-sharp tasting that are used for making cider.

As it turns out, most of the apples I purchased are heirloom varieties with English or French origins.  The varieties I wanted were grafted onto root stock that would make them semi-dwarf trees.  I reasoned that placing them in pots would further stunt their growth, making them easier to maintain in a home garden and they would probably yield more fruit than the patio sized trees you typically see pictured in pots.

When the fruit trees arrived in January of 2010,  I planted them in 25 gallon smart pots. These are fabric pots that drain well, keep roots cooler than traditional clay pots, and allow more oxygen to circulate into the soil.  Smart pots can be purchased in a variety of sizes.  I started my bare root trees in 25 gallon pots and moved them up to 35 gallon pots this spring before they went into bloom.

So Where's the Problem?

Only after my initial burst of enthusiasm and tree ordering binge did I do more detailed research on creating a home apple orchard.  And there was a nasty surprise waiting for me....There's an old saying among carpenters - Measure twice and cut once.  Well I should have done a little more "measuring" before I ordered my trees.  Here are the issues:   

Chill Hours:  Apple tree varieties have specific "chill hour" requirements -- the number of hours each year when the temperature is below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Trees that don't get the proper number of chill hours don't have enough of a dormant period to produce fruit. Some apple varieties such as "Anna" have minimal (200 hours) chill hour requirements, while others such as "Northern Spy" require more than 1,000 chill hours.  Most of the trees that I purchased (Ashmead's Kernel, Cox's Orange Pippin, Orlean Reinette, etc.) have high chill hour requirements. (+800 hours)

Problem #1: I barely have the proper chill hours to grow the high chill hour apple trees that I purchased.   I would have been better off selecting apples with far fewer chill hours - 200-600. 

Root Stock:  Fruit trees are sold on a variety of root stocks that effect their growth habit.  You can buy standard sized trees, dwarf, semi-dwarf and ultra dwarf varieties.  Ultra dwarf trees grow to about 6 feet high and can produce 30-40 apples, Dwarf and semi-dwarf trees grow between 8 and 18 feet in height respectively and produce about 3-4 bushels of fruit.  Standard sized trees grow to 25 feet and can produce 20 bushels.  The terminology is not really standardized and made more complex by the fact that there are many different root stock and scion (fruit bearing part of the graft) combinations that yield different sized trees.  I've even seen some some trees referred to as "semi standard," where the writer described a tree size category that fits between dwarf and standard.  The bottom line is that you need to be careful about what you purchasing.  When I placed my apple tree order I was under the impression that I was buying trees that would grow to about 8 feet in height.  The reality is that semi-dwarf treed under normal conditions should grow to 12 feet or higher.

Problem #2:  The trees I purchased are grown on a semi-dwarf root stock called M111.  In the ground, apple trees on this rootstock normally will grow 12-15 feet in height.  I really should have purchased trees on a dwarf root stock or ultra dwarf root stock.  It's difficult to asses what the height and yield of my trees, but I fear a double whammy - trees too big yielding paltry amounts of fruit.

The bottom line -- it is really difficult to predict whether the trees I planted  in pots will be decent producers of fruit.  There are just too many variables -- varieties with too little chill hours, offset by a maritime climate in Northern California that has very cool nights, semi-dwarf trees that are technically too large to be put in pots, offset against the use of unusual pots that are supposed to provide better oxygenation of the soil and drainage. 

Results So Far

After a rainy cool winter the weather has finally turned.  My apple trees did bloom this year and I can tell that some have set fruit.  The variety that bloomed first and most profusely for me is Cox's Orange Pippin (see photo of immature fruit set on my tree).  Cox's Orange Pippin is reputed to produce one of the best desert apples available.  It is also known to be very difficult to grow, even for experienced orchardists.  Yet this is my best tree so far. Go figure.  Over the next few years, the trees will come into maturity and I'll know whether my first foray into fruit trees will truly be a success or a bust.

Recommendations for Newbie Fruit Growers

• Planning:  Buy a book or do internet research on fruit trees before you purchase.  Learn which root stock are used to make dwarf varieties.  If you are growing other types of fruit you should also determine whether these trees need pollinators and the timing of their bloom.  For example, most cherry trees need to be pollinated by another cherry variety.  That means you'll need to purchase two trees that bloom at the same time in order to get a crop of cherries. (For example, Bing cherries are often pollinated by a variety called Ranier)
•  Chill Hours:  Chill hour requirements exist for apples and many other types of fruit; just do your home work before you buy.  Do a Google search for the name of your community plus "chill hours."  Alternatively, seek guidance from your local garden center or a master gardener, or agricultural extension agent in your area.  Incidentally, there is some disagreement among experts as to how to best measure chill hours, the tolerance of various fruit trees to warmer conditions, and whether published data on chill hours is out dated due to the influence of global warming. Because of all this uncertainty, I would recommend that you select varieties that have chill hour requirements that are are at least 200 hours less than the published chill hour statistic for your local community.
• Tree Height:  In my opinion, the terms used to describe tree height in nursery and gardening catalogs are confusing and not terribly helpful.  In some catalogs a "dwarf" tree is an ultra dwarf patio plant while in others it could mean 25-35% of the height of a standard tree.  The ultimate size of the tree depends both on the root stock and the variety that is grafted to it.  In my opinion, it would be better for suppliers to specify the height range for each tree in their catalog.  Since they don't, check out this tree height calculator at OrangePippin.com.  Just enter the root stock (this is usually mentioned in nursery catalogs), variety vigor (available at OrangePippin.com) and your soil quality (take a guess or play around with various combinations to see how it impacts the size of your tree). The calculator will estimate the height of your mature tree.  Even if you have lots of space, you may want to limit your purchases to dwarf or ultra dwarf trees.  Their smaller size makes harvesting fruity much easier.

I welcome comments from experience fruit tree growers. 

Photo of Cox's Orange Pippin

Winter: Time to Tend To Your Fruit Trees

Last Winter, I purchased a variety of bare root fruit trees. In this posting, I'll cover what needs to be done to prepare your fruit trees for Spring.

Transplanting Into Larger Pots

I'm growing a variety of dwarf and semi-dwarf fruit trees.  I planted these in 15 gallon Smart Pots; these are fabric pots that keep the soil cooler and provide better drainage than traditional clay pots.  They also make it easier to do root pruning which is believed to extend the life of the tree when potted. 

My first task was to transplant all the trees into larger pots.  So each plant got a new 25 gallon smart pot.  Removing the tree from the old pot was easy;  I just rolled the fabric down to expose the roots and soil until it became easy to just lift the tree out of the old fabric pot.  It's a process that's very similar to creating cuffs on the legs of your pants.  This process also "prunes" the roots since any roots that have grown into the fabric of the pot are cut during the process of transplanting the tree.  Next year, or the year after that, I'll transplant them again into a 45 gallon Smart Pot.  This will be their final home.

Pruning

Fruit trees should be pruned to keep them healthy, pleasingly shaped, and productive.  I'm new to growing fruit trees, so I took a 3 hour course on the subject at our local garden store, Common Ground of Palo Alto.  Kevin Raferty, an Arborist shown below, taught the basics of pruning and he took us into the garden to demonstrate how to prune various fruit trees such as apples and peaches.  If you too are new to fruit trees, I really recommend taking a course like this.  It's well worth the $30 I spent.

Here are some tips on pruning trees:

• Under certain conditions, it's fine to prune trees in other seasons, but for beginners, it's best to prune in the Winter when the plant is dormant and insect activity is low.
• There are two basic kinds of pruning cuts.  Thinning cuts are done to shape the tree and are done at branch points.  The object is to create an overall structure and shape by reducing the number of new shoots and directing their growth.  For example you might thin a new branch that is growing too close to another, or one that is growing towards the center of the tree etc.  Heading cuts on the other hand, are done to remove a part of the shoot or branch.  This is done just above a bud and not at a branch point as is the case in thinning cuts.  Heading is done to stimulate growth by forcing the tree to form new shoots.  Heading makes the tree more compact, and, for trees that grow fruit on "new wood," heading creates sites for fruit production.
• To effectively prune your trees, you should have a pruning shears and a pruning saw.  Two really excellent brands are Felco (Swiss) and ARS (Japanese).  I have a pair of the Felco shears and love them.  You can remove the blade to sharpen a Felco. You also have the option to buy a new blade and thereby extend the life of the tool.  Good tools are 2 to 3 times the cost of cheaper ones on the market but they are worth the money.  You buy a good pruning shears once and then have it forever.
• It's important to know where to prune so you don't eliminate the sites on which your trees will bear fruit.  Unfortunately, pruning varies by tree specie.  Below is a list of commonly grown fruits and their fruiting habit:
  • Current season's shoots - most citrus, persimmons, grapes and raspberries produce fruit only on new growth. (see photo A)
  • Long lived spurs - spurs look like shall branches with pointed ends.  Apples, apricots, cherries, pears and plums all bear on spurs.  These sites produce fruit year after year. (see photo B)
  • Previous seasons shoots - avocados, figs, filberts, nectarines, olives and peaches all bear fruit on last years growth.  These trees need to be managed so that they are constantly forced to create new growth from which you will harvest. (see photo C)

The above photo comes from the book, The Home Orchard published by the University of California.  The book is designed for home gardeners and covers is a very good resource for beginners.  If you would like to buy a copy of the book from Amazon.com for $25.

Dealing with Pests

After pruning  your trees, you have an opportunity to use a dormant tree oil to protect them from pests such as aphids, mites, white fly and other nasties.  Bonide makes a dormant oil that environmentally friendly.  Its essentially an oil and wax mixture that suffocates bugs and their eggs.  This needs to be applied before the tree leafs out.

If you are an experienced fruit grower, please feel free to to comment to this post.

Above is a photo of granny smith apples still on the tree in Winter.  Granny Smith apples are frequently sold under-ripe in the grocery store.  Ripe they are yellow, not green.

Apple Genome Decoded

Earlier this year, an international team of scientist decoded the genome of the apple. It's big news for apple growers and apple lovers.  And while we're on the subject, presented here is the apple in popular culture.

The research is important because the apple is the most important fruit grown in temperate climates and because, until now, creating new varieties of apples was particularly difficult; unlike other fruits and vegetables where crossing two parents with advantageous traits (flavor, texture, disease resistance etc.) had a reasonably high success rate, apples have proven very difficult to cross with predictable results.  Unlocking their genetic code, opens the way toward more successful breeding programs.

Here are some of the key findings of the research:

• The apple has 17 chromosomes and 57,000 genes.  It is the most genetically complex plant known.
• Apples were domesticated 3,000-4,000 years ago.
• And the real news...unlocking the genetic code may help growers create new varieties of more nutritious, diesease resistent apples.

Below is a video news report on the topic:

 

The Apple In Popular Culture

New York is the "Big Apple."  According to About.com, the city got this nickname in the 1920's because there were a large number of horse racing tracks around the city that gave away large prizes.  One journalist, John Fitzgerald, began referring to these races as "around the big apple" and the rest is history.

The Beetles and Apple Records - founded by the Beetles in 1968, the Apple label produced Beetles albums till the group dissolved in 1974. The company is owned by the Beetles and their heirs to this day. 

Apple Inc.  -When Apple, Inc. the manufacturer of computers, cell phones and other nifty digital devices launched the iTunes store all hell broke loose.  Now Apple the device manufacturer and Apple records were both in the music business and this created a stink over trademark rights. Well both sides settled the issue recently, so you can now download Beetles songs to your iPod.

For Mom & Apple Pie - This expression supposedly is the stock answer given by soldiers when explaining why they were joining the war effort during World War II.  By this point, the apple had come to symbolize things that are typically American.

Adam & Eve -And then there was that little problem of the snake.  The tree of knowledge is generally depicted as an apple tree in Western art, but there is no consensus among scholars as to the actual type of  fruit tree mentioned in the bible.

 

A Fine Article On Heirloom Apples From Hobby Farms Magazine

Fall is apple season.  On the heals of my interview with Apple orchardist, Matthew Sutton is an excellent article on antique apples by Hobby Farms, a magazine for homesteaders and committed gardeners. 

 I'm providing a link to Hobby Farms for those interested in the magazine: Hobby Farms.  The article, written by author Sue Weaver covers the history of apples, folk lore, famous varieties and provides some growing information.  If you're interested in learning more about antique apples, the article is a good place to begin.

Growing Heirloom Apples: An Interview with Matthew Sutton, Orchardist

Learn more about growing heirloom apples in this interview with a professional orchardist.

This past Saturday, I attended an heirloom apple tasting at Garden for the Environment in San Francisco.  Garden for the Environment is a one-acre urban demonstration garden that offers environmental education programs about organic gardening and sustainable food systems. 

The apple tasting featured 18 dessert apples including varieties such as Cox's Orange Pippin, Cherry Cox, Freyberg, Pink Pearl, Arlet, Greensleeves, Fiesta, Chehalis, and Elstar. The tasting was led by Matthew Sutton, a professional orchardist and owner of Orchard Keepers, a company located in Santa Cruz, California that specializes in orchard design, installation and maintenance. 

I caught Matthew after the tasting to ask him about growing heirloom apples.

PlanterTomato (PT): Tell me a little about Orchard Keepers and how the company got started?

Matthew Sutton (MS):  Orchard Keepers installs, maintains, designs, renovates, and restores backyard and home orchards.  By home orchard, I mean anything from just a few trees to 80 trees it really just depends on the size of your backyard.  We are moving increasingly into full installations of backyard food forests that include trees and also perennial crop systems such as berries and artichokes and even some vegetable beds.  Finally, we are planting native plants to provide habitat for beneficial insects. 

I started Orchard Keepers after completing a number of different training programs where I discovered fruit trees.  With land prices as high as they are in Santa Cruz, I didn't think I would be starting my own orchard any time soon, so I created this business that lets me work in the tree world immediately. 

People in Santa Cruz are interested in growing their own food; they are looking for better tasting food and also are seeking more food security.  Orchard Keepers helps them with this.

PT: Who is the typical customer for Orchard Keepers?

MS: For installations, our typical customer is a young family that knows they are going to be feeding a group of kids for years to come.  They also want to teach their kids where food comes from.  Fruit trees take 3-8 years to produce good crops, so it's a good idea to start when your family is young. 

For restorations, I'm hired by people who have owned property for a while but need help putting their trees back into production again.  I'm also hired by schools that have gardens that need similar help.

PT: Most consumers are aware of 6 or 8 apple varieties.  These are the ones they can buy in a typical grocery store.  At Orchard Keepers, you specialize in heirloom apple varieties.  What's the difference between an heirloom apple and one I get at the supermarket?

MS: A lot of the varieties you buy in the supermarket these days are bred more for storability and shippability, not flavor.  There's nothing like eating an apple straight off the tree, or for that matter any piece of fruit off the tree or cane. 

Even some of the more mainstream varieties that you find in the grocery store, if you grow them in the backyard and you're eating them fresh when they are ripe, it's going to be a different eating experience. 

That said, if you are open to, and have access to, heritage heirloom varieties, you have almost endless flavor options.  If you do your homework and know what flavors you want you can grow varieties you like and harvest them from mid-July through December.

PT: OK, if I have 6 or 8 options in the supermarket, about how many options do I have with heirloom apples?

MS: There are a number of nurseries that are storing and protecting our genetic heritage. (Trees of Antiquity is a good one) At these nurseries, there are at least a few hundred varieties available and at seed saving sites there are probably several thousand.

PT: Let's say I'm a home gardener thinking about putting some apple trees into my garden or possibly into containers, what sorts of things should I take into consideration when choosing a specific variety?

MS: Choosing the right varieties has a lot to do with climate.  All fruit trees need a certain number of chill hours.  A chill hour is an hour where the temperature is between 32 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit and each type a tree needs a specific number of those hours in the winter time to break out of its dormancy. 

In coastal climates, southern California or in the Southern Eastern states, you may not get many chill hours, so you need to be careful to choose a variety that will work in your climate.  If not, the tree may not bloom all at ounce (spotty bloom) and you won't get a very good fruit set.  The trees also may not grow very well.  That can be very discouraging after you've done all the work to planning and planting and then not have the tree respond properly.

It's also important to know what you want in terms of the flavors you prefer.

Finally, its important to know the ripeness dates.  Where I live in central California, I can be picking something from the tree or bush every day of the year. 

PT: So let's say I decide to take the plunge and put some trees into my backyard, what kind of basic care and maintenance do I need to do?

MS: Growing fruit trees is great because it's not like a lettuce crop where you have to water the plants every day and do constant weeding.  With fruit trees you have 4-6 pulses of work during the course of any given year.

Pruning is very important.  For good information on pruning, you might want to purchase a book published by the University of California called The Home Orchard.  It contains lots of great illustrations and instruction on how to prune.  You can also take a class on pruning from your local agricultural extension agency.  You'll need to do winter pruning and potentially some summer pruning.  Winter pruning has a very stimulating effect on your fruit trees and summer pruning is going to slow down growth. 

You will also need to thin fruit.  Hopefully, all your trees will set fruit, but you can sometimes get way too much fruit and you'll need to thin it.  Each type of fruit has a different thinning requirement; you can find out how much thinning to do in the Home Orchard book I just mentioned.

During the course of the year, you should be aware of any diseases and pests.  A lot of times, if you catch things like aphids and white flies early, you can treat them organically using insecticidal soap or neem oil.

The other tasks you need to do are harvesting and soil care. 

Soil care is of the utmost importance.  You can do all the training and pruning, but if you don't have biologically active soil, rich in organic matter, the tree won't perform well.  An annual application of compost is important and I would also recommend using 4-6 inches of a wood chip mulch, applying this every 2-3 years.  This will help conserve moisture and help build soil structure. 

When the tree is young, you should apply a high nitrogen organic fertilizer.  But once the tree has filled the space you want it to occupy, there's really no need to apply fertilizer, compost will be adequate.

PT:  You brought up the issue of space, so I wanted to ask you about containers.  Is it possible to grow heirloom apples in pots or containers?

MS: If you can plant in a 1/2 wine barrel container, you can plant a dwarf rootstock apple.  All apples are grown on a rootstock. If for example, you wanted to grow a dwarf Fuji apple, you look for a Fuji apple that's grown on an M27 or B9 dwarf rootstock.  If you do you research, you'll find the varieties that are on dwarf stock and I recommend that you plant only those varieties in containers.  If you try to put a semi-dwarf apple into a container it's not going to work.

PT: Will any scion, or apple variety, work on a dwarf stock?

MS: Yes, once the scion is on the rootstock you're going to get the same variety of apple even if it's a dwarf rootstock. 

That said, the relationship between the scion and the rootstock will be different with each variety.  If you put a Honey Crisp apple on a dwarf rootstock, it's going to be a super punky tree.  The honey crisp scion is a weak grower.  But if you had a Jonagold or Chehalis scion on a dwarf rootstock you're going to get a nice tree because both of these apples are strong growers.  

PT: What other advice would you give someone putting apples into their home garden?

MS: If you are going to put in several trees, do your research first.  If you choose the right varieties, you can extend your harvest season and be able to eat apples from mid-Summer through the Fall.

I would also recommend doing good soil preparation, maybe doing a cover crop the year before, apply the compost the year before, and really just preparing that soil well before you plant. 

And when you plant, don't go to the nursery and buy a potted tree.  You'll do much better if you buy a bare root tree and planting it in the Winter time.

PT:  Matthew, if someone wanted to hire you to help them with their home orchard, how would they contact you?

MS: You can e-mail me at [email protected].  I am also in the process of updating my web site http://www.OrchardKeepers.com and plan to add a lot of the information we discussed today on.  The new site should be online after the first of the year.

PT: Thanks for your time and for your advice.

MS: Thank you.

Best Apples To Grow In the San Francisco Bay Area

For those living in the San Francisco Bay Area, I'm attaching a list of Apples that grow well in our area that was created by Garden for the Environment and given to those that participated in the apple tasting. 

Download Bay Area Apple Varieties

Special thanks to Blair Randall, Executive Director at Garden for the Environment, and his team for hosting the apple tasting. 

Tomato & Fruit Tree Labels: Keeping Things Organized

Tips for Keeping Your Tomatoes And Fruit Trees Labeled So You Can Remember What's What.

When I start my tomato seeds each year, I label the starter trays with plastic tabs on which I write the name of each tomato variety using a Sharpie brand marker. 

For many veggie varieties, I tend to use this same label when I plant the seedling in its final container, transferring the plant and its label at the same time. 

However, tomato plants tend to create dense branch structures which eventually cover these little plastic labels and I'm left to trying to remember what variety is in each pot.  Not a good idea with my memory.

Labeling Tomato Cages

Here's a tip for creating a label that gets mounted on the top of the tomato cage where it will be above the plant and easily seen.

• Buy some wooden garden labels (generally about $.10 each)
• Drill a small hole into the top
• Label with a Sharpie brand marker
• Affix the label to the top of the cage using a twist tie (see below photo)

   

Labeling Fruit Trees

The wooden labels used above are fine for annuals like tomatoes, but fruit trees are going to be around for many seasons and the elements would destroy these wooden labels over time. 

For more permanent labels, I use metal plant identification stakes.  These are widely available in garden centers and cost about $1 each.  They work by scratching the name of the plant into a metal plate on the stake using a sharp tool or a Dremel tool and an engraving tip.

These metal labels hold up very well under the elements, but I don't like writing the name onto the plate free hand because my handwriting just isn't that good.  This is my approach to making these labels neater:

• I first print the name of the fruit tree variety onto an adhesive backed file folder label using my computer.  (You can buy these labels for ink jet and laser jet printers at office supply stores.  In my case, I have a dedicated Dymo label printer which does the job extremely well.) 
• I then stick the label onto the metal plant stake.
• Using the Dremel tool and the engraving tip, I engrave the name onto the metal stake by tracing over the letters on the label.  The engraving tool cuts through the label and into the metal. This results in a label that is better than what I could do freehand.
• I then remove the label, and clean off any label residue with Goo Gone or WD40 (See below photo of an adhesive label affixed to a metal stake for a Sweetheart Cherry and the final product, a label for a Cox's Orange Pippin Apple)

Apples To Apples

Don't eat boring, mealy apples.  In this post, you'll learn about efforts to bring better tasting apples to our local market and some interesting varieties you can grow at home

If you read my posts regularly, you know I don't care very much for supermarket varieties of vegetables and fruits.

There are lots of reasons to dislike produce at the typical supermarket, ranging from the issues of biodiversity to nutritional loss in transit, to the carbon foot print of shipping items from far places of origin like Chile. 

All these are legitimate issues, but my main gripe with supermarket produce is that is just don't taste very good.   Tomatoes are a prime example, but an equally sad situation exists with apples.

How Do You Like Them Apples

The most common apple in the U.S. is the Red Delicious (accounts for about 40% of production).  The shiny, deep red color of the Red Delicious makes it look good, but it's beauty is truly skin deep.  It's a mealy, nasty apple -- and anything but delicious in my opinion. 

Better and more interesting varieties such as Honey Crisp, Braeburn and Granny Smith can be found at the store, but the potential range of options available to us is much broader than most people realize.

Upsetting The Apple Cart

The sad truth is that over 15,000 different varieties of apples have been documented in the U.S. alone.  Of these about 3,000 remain.   

R.A.F.T. is an organization dedicated to upsetting the supermarket apple cart; the group is an alliance of food, farming and culinary advocates managed by Slow Food USA.  The  organization's name stands for "Renewing America's Food Traditions" and they are actively promoting certain "forgotten" fruits, foremost of which are apples.

They've published an Apple Manifesto that makes for some interesting reading.  You can download a 32-page PDF describing the efforts from their web site.

The Apple of My Eye

While RAFT is attacking some of the bigger issues, I'm doing a little apple cart upsetting as well.  Earlier this year, I added 5 heirloom apple trees to my garden.  These are semi-dwarf trees that I'm growing in pots.

One is a very old American variety called Spitzenburg.  This was Thomas Jefferson's favorite apple.  The others are heritage European apples, some of which are eating apples and a some of which are apples used specifically to make cider.

Below is the list of apples I've chosen for my garden, but I encourage you to do an online search to find varieties that are interesting to you.  You might want to begin your search at Trees of Antiquity where I purchased my trees.

• Ashmead's Kernel - a medium sized apple with a golden-brown skin.  It is a classic English desert apple and is reputed to have an aromatic, almost orange-like finish.
• Cox's Orange Pippin -Another English desert apple with crisp flesh and a rich spicy flavor.
• Spitzenburg - American desert apple developed in New York State in the 1800's.  A medium sized apple with reddish stripes, It is generally considered one of America's best apples.
• Orleans Reinette- A very juicy, sweet dessert apple from France
• Foxwehlp -a dusky red, bitter-sharp apple.  You don't eat this one - use it to make cider.
• Kingston Black - A bitter-sharp apple also used for cider.

I'll post more about these Apples in future posts. 

Till then....  An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

 
 

Dwarf Citrus Trees For Your Backyard Garden

 

In this edition of PlanterTomato, I interview Aaron Dillon, a fourth generation grower with Four Winds Growers, a nursery specializing in dwarf citrus trees.

PlanterTomato: Hello Aaron, thank you for joining us today.  If you wouldn't mind, why don't you begin by telling us a little about Four Winds Growers.

Aaron Dillon: Happy to do so. Four Winds Growers was started by my great grandfather, Floyd Dillon in the late 1940's.  He moved to California from the Midwest and purchased some dwarf pear and apple tress for his garden.   He was amazed that you could get full-sized fruit production in a small space using dwarf varieties.

Floyd was a visionary.  He realized that after World War II, all the guys who shipped out to the Pacific from California would get a taste of the beautiful weather and lifestyle here and want to return after the war. 

At this point, the citrus industry was dominated by growers who used standard-sized trees that are 20-25 feet tall and about as wide.  These types of trees would not be appropriate for backyards that were being created in the post-war suburban housing boom.  But Floyd believed that if he could make citrus trees smaller, he would have something that people would really appreciate. 

He correctly predicted that the new suburban homeowners of the post-war era would want to walk out into their backyard and pick a fresh orange off the tree.  So he set about figuring out how to do this and that's how the company began.

PlanterTomato: That's a terrific story Aaron.  We are seeing even more interest today in growing fruit and vegetables at home.  Your great grandfather really was a visionary. 

If I'm a first time grower, what would be the best type of citrus to add to my garden?

Aaron Dillon: That's a good question.  It's certainly going to depend on where you're located.  If you're living in California, with our mild climate, you have great flexibility.  If you live on the East Coast or in the Midwest, you still can grow citrus, but it's going to be more challenging because of frost issues.  Our best selling tree is the Meyer Lemon.  We sell three to every one of anything else.

PlanterTomato: So is the Meyer Lemon well suited to colder climates?

Aaron Dillon: The Meyer is probably the most appropriate to grow in any conditions. It's very prolific.  Year-round it will be in either bloom or in fruit, and it lends itself well to being an indoor plant. This variety, in particular, can be grown strictly as a house plant.  That notwithstanding, it's better to grow it in a container and transfer it from the garden to your home and vice versa with the change of seasons.

PlanterTomato: Can you do this with any citrus tree, or just the Meyer?

Aaron Dillon: You can do this with just about any tree, but because the Meyer Lemon is so prolific, it is the best suited for indoor and outdoor environments.

PlanterTomato:  While we're on the topic of containers, tell us a little about how to be successful using containers. Specifically, what size container is best?

Aaron Dillon: Citrus, in general, like good drainage -- they do not like to have alot of water held up next to their roots.  The most important thing in container selection is to make sure there ample drainage at the bottom.  Next, you want to select a container that's appropriate to the size of the plant. If you're starting with a small plant, you want to use a small pot.  Our most popular size is a plant sold in a 5-gallon plant which the gardener should transplant into a 12"-14" container.

PlanterTomato: I think that would be about 7 gallons.  

Aaron Dillon: Yes, that's about right. And you want to select a really well drained media.  Generally, most potting soils will work well.  Keep the root ball high and be careful with the watering. Typically, with containers, this means watering just once per week.

PlanterTomato: I believe citrus trees needs alot of fertilizer.  What should the feeding schedule be?  Let's assume, I've got my plants in a pot.

Aaron Dillon: Citrus are heavy feeders.  We recommend you feed as much as once per month. You also want to use a type of fertilizer that is specific for citrus.  If you use general purpose or general fruit tree fertilizer, many times these don't have the right ratios of phosphorous and potassium that are conducive to citrus fruit production. Many of these brand recommend feeding every 3-4 months.  In California, we recommend feeding more often - as much as once a month.

If you live in areas with cold winters, you want to reduce feeding as you approach winter because you don't want to encourage soft new growth that will be damaged by the cold.

PlanterTomato:  Thanks, that's great advice.  Now tell us about the range of citrus trees you sell at Four Winds Growers?

Aaron Dillon:  As you mentioned, we specialize sell a variety of fruit trees with a specialty in citrus and sell to retail nurseries in California as well as online to those outside the state. We sell about 65 varieties at this point and it's constantly evolving.  We have about 40 other varieties in our greenhouses right now that we are evaluating.  

PlanterTomato: Can you hint at which ones you think you will be selling in the near future?

Aaron Dillon:  Right now there's demand for seedless mandarin oranges, and that's where much research attention is focused.  Some mandarins are susceptible to cross pollination so if you grow it near an orange tree it's likely that it will develop seeds. The University of California is trying to develop varieties that are seedless under all conditions. 

One that we really like is called the Gold Nugget Mandarin. It's only been available for about 5 years.  It's a late ripening mandarin.  In northern California that means you can start picking them beginning in April and throughout the summer.  It's easy to peel and has great flavor.

We are also seeing alot of interest in Italian lemons, things people can use to make Limoncello.

PlanterTomato:  I'm laughing because on February 8th., I posted an article on how to make your own limoncello in the "Food & Drink" section of PlanterTomato.  Most Americans don't know about this delicious Italian after-dinner drink and it's hard to find at your local liquor store, but it's very easy to make at home.  All you need is lemons, vodka and sugar.

Aaron Dillon: Absolutely, but people are becoming more aware of limoncello as they travel to Italy and try the limoncello in the various regions in the country that produce it.  These regions do a tremendous job trying to market their version as distinct, but I think at the end of the day, they are all pretty similar.  You can use Eureka lemon or a Lisbon lemon and make fantastic limoncello. But there are some cultivars that come from Italy and we are looking at these.

PlanterTomato: So thinking about your citrus, what do you think is the most unusual variety?

Aaron Dillon: Well one thing we sell is called Buddha's hand.  It's a form of citron that has long finger-like projections.  It's got a great aroma, but there's no real juice.  It is quite stunning in appearance.

PlanterTomato:  Is it purely ornamental or could you candy the skin?

Aaron Dillon: You can candy the skin.  You can also use it for anything where you want to incorporate a citrus aroma. 

PlanterTomato:  I'm hoping that we've convince those reading this posting to add citrus to their backyard garden collections.  Where can you buy Four Winds citrus trees?

Aaron Dillon:  I would encourage everyone to look at our web site which is www.FourWindsGrowers.com.  There a ton of useful information there on plant selection and care.  We also do direct sales from the web site for people outside the State of California.  Inside the State, we encourage you to go to your local garden center.

PlanterTomato: Thank you for helping my readers learn about citrus.

Aaron Dillon: Thank you for sharing the information with them.

Four Winds Growers variety and planting information is attached below.

Download Four Winds Growers Varieties & Growing Instructions

Winston Churchill's Apricots

A few weeks ago, I planted a semi-dwarf Blenheim apricot tree in my garden.  Today, as I was beetling about outside, I noticed that the first few buds have opened and the delicate white and pink flowers are open.  This struck me as the right occasion to introduce you to the marvelous Blenheim.

This variety of apricot originates in England at Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill. It was brought to the U.S. in the 1880's, and along with almost other varieties, grown almost exclusively in the State of California.

Since apricots in general, and the Blenheim in particular, are very delicate, they can't be easily transported.  Therefore, they were never widely available as a fresh fruit outside of the Golden State and most consumers have only tried them as dried fruit, if they could find them at all.

As I've mentioned before, most commercial growers are more concerned about getting products to the store looking good, then tasting good.  As a result, the Blenheim has fallen out of favor with growers and now accounts for only 2% of U.S. production according to the Apricot Producers of California trade association.

This is truly unfortunate because the Blenheim is a dilly of a fruit.  I've purchased them from our local farmers market for several years and a kind neighbor who owns a tree gives me a small supply as well.  Blenheim apricots ripen in early July and have a sweet, honey-like flavor that everyone in my house loves.

Anything that's good enough for Winston Churchill is good enough for me, but if you need more convincing evidence consider this.... Slow Food, an organization that recognizes and promotes excellence in food and cooking, lists the Blenheim in their "Arc of Taste," a hall of fame for great foods.

If you live outside of California, and you want to enjoy Blenheims, you're going to have to grow them for yourself.  Good news -- they grow in hardiness zones from 5 to 9, which means that most gardeners in the U.S. can join the party (The exceptions being folks that live in Maine, Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, the northern part of Wisconsin and southern Florida)

The variety is available as a semi-dwarf tree. I have mine planted in a container and will root prune and transplant the tree as it grows.

I'll keep you posted.

Kumquat Trees

Here's a really good article from Fruit Gardener Magazine describing the various varieties of kumquat.  Based on the article, I purchased a Nordmann Kumquat because it is seedless and therefore easy to eat and cook with.

Download Kumquats

Heirloom Fruit Trees In Containers

After a over a week of rain, I had the opportunity this morning to plant some of my new fruit trees: sweet and sour cherry, a Blenheim apricot, 7 varieties of heirloom apples and 4 citrus.  All of these are dwarf or semi-dwarf so they can be planted in containers.  I’m also testing a new type of container for these trees.  The container (Smartpot) is made of fabric and the manufacturer claims that they are superior to plastic and ceramic pots because they provide more oxygen to the roots, drain better and don’t get as hot in the summer sun.   Smartpots come in a variety of sizes from 1 to 200 gallons.  I’m starting my trees in a 7 gallon container (about 15” diameter) and will transplant them to a larger containers in about 2 years.  I’ll post updates on how the SmartPots are performing in coming months.

 

Today tip is to plant citrus tress in cactus mix rather than garden soil.  Citrus trees need good drainage and the cactus mix works well for this.