Fruits & Berries

 
In the past, nearly every yard had a fruit tree or two, filling the springtime with the scent of flowers and the buzzing of bees. Proper selection, planting and pruning can bring this tradition back to your property. Nut trees, fruiting bushes and ground covers provide shade, beauty and wildlife habitat and increase the yields from your real estate investment. Family Farms can provide pruning and spraying within a geographic limit.
 
Caring for fruit trees and using clean tools will improve your yields. Even organic fanatics can benefit from well-timed sprays of dormant oil, Bt, Rotenone or Pyrethrin. You don't always need a lot of space to grow food. These black raspberries trained over a fence are a tamed wild species, producing bowls of fruit. Blueberries are a favorite of backyard farmers, but you need acidic soil and more than one variety of blueberry. Always conduct a soil test before investing time and money on your land. Many a tangled mess of vines would benefit from proper pruning. Correctly removing 80-90% of the growth annually produces more fruit with less disease problems. Pawpaws are a native species of banana. The fruits have astonishing nutritional value, and the trees are not only pest and disease free but grow in shade. The pawpaw (Asimina triloba) was Better Homes & Gardens Landscape Tree of the Year in 2004.
         
The flowers of eating cherries are less showy than ornamental cherries, but you get to do the eating. Come September, you either start canning, freezing, pickling or feeding your friends. Here's a new grape trellis behind some filbert trees. Pointing the PT posts makes them last much longer. Strawberries live happily in the terraces beneath the grapes. Research first, take your time, and plant early for better results. A Meyer dwarf lemon can be brought inside for a December harvest.
         
 
Pick cherries daily or the birds will. A peach tree in bloom, as early as Forsythia. Golden Delicious is an excellent pollinator due to it's long bloom period.    
 
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