Grape

The grape is one of the oldest fruits to be cultivated going back as far as biblical times. Spanish explorers introduced the fruit to America approximately 300 years ago. Some of the most popular ways in which the fruit is used, is eaten fresh, in preserves or canned in jellies, dried into raisins, and crushed for juice or wine. Although, machines have taken the place of much handwork, table grapes are still harvested by hand in many places. (Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition, 1992).

Grapes are about 80 percent water, making them a delectable low-calorie snack or dessert; a cup of Concord or Catawba grapes contains only about 60 calories Grapes also add fiber to the diet and are naturally low in sodium. Raisins, or dried grapes, contain only about 15 percent water. For this reason, nutrients and calories are more concentrated in raisins-one cup contains 464 calories! Like other dried fruit, raisins are a good source of iron. Serving Size 1-1/2 cups (138g/14.9oz)

Varieties

Grapes come in more than 50 varieties in black, blue, blue-black, golden, red, green, purple, and white colors with a juicy pulp inside. The two main types of grapes are the American and European. They both come in seeded and seedless varieties. Common varieties include Thompson, Flame, Ruby, Perlette and Tokay grapes. Most U.S. grapes are grown in California

How to Prune an Old Plum Tree

Locate and cut out dead and diseased branches. Disinfect the tools after each branch to avoid spreading the disease.

Trim broken branches or cut them out completely, depending on the importance of the branch to the structure of the tree. Trim a scaffolding branch (main branch), if necessary, to a point where it will be able to recover. Remove small or side branches.

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Cut out branches that have grown across each other so they do not become damaged and provide an entrance for silver leaf disease.

Trim new growth back by one-third on branches that you want to keep intact. Cut off the new growth, such as suckers and water sprouts, if it does not promote fruit production.

Apply the protective sealer to the pruning cuts, if desired, especially those larger than 2 inches in diameter.

Apple Trees – Narrowing Down Your Choices of Varieties

Apple trees are one of the most widely planted fruit trees. The home garden with an apple tree has long been a staple for home grown fruit. Apple trees can be grown in a wide variety of areas in the United States. Choosing an apple variety for a particular zone is easy. Narrowing the choices of an apple variety is the difficult part.

Apple trees originated in Asia and there are more than 7,500 cultivars growing around the world. They are fast growing, and their growth per year is measured in feet and not inches. These trees are not real picky when it comes to soil types, so they easily fit into many home garden locations.

The growth of the home garden movement of the past few years has fueled the nursery industry for apple tree production. Heirloom apples, such as the Ashmead’s Kernel variety, are also more popular today than they were several years ago. The appearance of some of the heirloom apples may not be as appealing as a Golden Delicious apple, but the taste is extraordinary and delicious.

Apple varieties are sometimes divided into three categories. The first, and largest category, are those apples bred for fresh eating. The next category is the cooking apple, and finally the cider apples. Cider apples are typically too tart for fresh eating but they give cider a rich taste that dessert apples, such as a Golden Delicious apple, cannot.

Apples are mostly bred for skin color, long storage capacity, high yields, disease resistance, and taste. Examples of red skinned apples are Red Delicious, Akane, Cortland, Mollies, Delicious, and the Spartan. Golden or yellow skinned examples are Golden Delicious, Yellow Newton Pippen, Yellow Transparent, Mutsu, Calville Blanc, and Granny Smith. Striped or multi-colored apple examples are Braeburn, Cox Orange Pippin, Gravenstein, and Honeycrisp. The color of the apple’s skin does not determine whether it is sweet, tart, crisp or soft. Apples vary in tastes, textures, and some have very subtle variances.

Garden and yard size, along with soil types, do have a bearing on selecting an apple tree. Rootstocks are used to control tree sizes, so if a small apple tree is needed to fit in a small garden or yard, a dwarfing rootstock is used. Rootstocks are also used to assist in disease resistance and soil condition variables. An apple variety such as the Golden Delicious, can be selected in three tree sizes.

Dwarf varieties will grow between 5 and 8 feet tall, semi-dwarf varieties are usually 12 to 16 feet tall, and standard varieties get between 20 and 30 feet tall. Rootstock selection will control the tree size in feet and inches. Rootstocks can also be selected to produce healthy, high producing apple trees in sandy or heavy soil types. Some rootstocks can help a fruit tree resist diseases in heavier water logged soils.

To insure apple production on any variety of apple tree depends on pollination. Pollination is needed for a fruit flower to produce an apple, and assisting in pollination of the fruit tree can substantially increase production.

Watering fruit trees

Water is the first requirement of the young tree and it will be used up rapidly by trees with a good head of foliage, which container-grown trees should have. If a garden hose reaches the trees easily, let it run in each basin for ten or fifteen minutes twice each week, long enough to fill the basin, for the first month. Thereafter, watering can be less frequent, but whenever new growth is observed to wilt in mid-afternoon, fill the basins again. If a hose cannot be used, supply about eight to ten gallons at each watering. Need for irrigation will be less as the trees increase their root systems each year, but sorne occasions for watering may be expected through the life of the tree.

Planting

Vigorous nursery trees should be planted, preferably those that have been container grown. Container trees can be planted any time of year and they will be more likely to live and thrive. For the person planting only a few trees, this assurance and relief from care is usually worth the difference in cost. These trees may be set out at any time of the year. They should be set at the same soil line as they grew in the nursery row or container and be provided with a basin to hold water around each tree. This basin should hold five to ten gallons of water and should be filled to soak the root area of the young tree as described below. Some of the soil should be removed from the root mass when the tree is planted. This will expose many of the outer roots and allow them to grow quickly into the sand/soil new planting area provided. This soil removal is also important since the difference in soil between the potting mix and the planting site can make a drastic soil interface difference. This can result in difficulty in watering and subsequent root growth.

Growing a Plum Tree From a Branch

Growing a plum tree from the pit requires cleaning the pit thoroughly and planting it outside in cold-weather climates, or planting it in moss, placing it in a zip-lock bag and keeping it in the refrigerator for six to eight weeks. Begin a plum tree from the pit, which takes about two years to develop into a small plant.

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Most commercial plums are done by budding, or propagated by budding, but it's quite possible to grow a plum from a branch, and essentially the way that you do it is this; during the winter, and it's important that the branch be taken during a dormant period of the plum, you take a branch from the tree that's about pencil sized.

About fifteen inches in length, ten to fifteen inches in length and about a pencil size in diameter. You take that branch, you sever it at a diagonal with a grafting knife, and then you dip it quickly into rooting hormone. Then you place it in a planting medium composted of sphagnum moss and a sand mixture. And this should be kept very damp. Eventually the plant should take hold, the roots should grow, and you will have a plum tree from a branch. So, that's how to grow a plum tree from a branch.

Growing a plum tree from the pit requires cleaning the pit thoroughly and planting it outside in cold-weather climates, or planting it in moss, placing it in a zip-lock bag and keeping it in the refrigerator for six to eight weeks. Begin a plum tree from the pit, which takes about two years to develop into a small plant.

Dual-purpose fruits

Dual-purpose fruits are those which combine unusual ornamental value with useful fruit. The kumquats, calamondin, and Meyer lemon are notable examples. Conversational fruits might cover such items as Ponderosa lemon, Ruby blood orange, or purnmelo. These fruits often excite the horticultural interests of guests.