Cherry Trees

 The cherry tree is one of the kingpins of the fruit tree family. The cherry is the fruit of the plant genus Prunus. Like some of the other members of the fruit tree family, cherry trees originated in Asia and have spread over the world. There are hundreds of varieties of cherry trees, and they are usually classified into two groups, the sweet cherry and the tart cherry. Depending on the consumers taste, a garden might contain a sweet cherry for fresh eating, or a tart cherry for baking a pie.

Cherry fruit trees are also grown for their lovely blossoms. There are certain varieties of cherry trees that are grown specifically for their blossoms. The cherry fruit tree allows the garden to produce both delicious fruit and gorgeous blossoms. The spring blooming cherry tree varieties put on an awesome display of blossoms.

Cherry trees produce a hard wood that is used commercially and for its slow burning, aromatic firewood characteristics. Historically, fresh leaves from cherry trees have been used to make medicinal teas. On some early blooming cherry trees, fresh leaves do not appear until after the tree is in full bloom. Not all cherry trees have similar colored fresh leaves as the color of the fresh leaves will differ between varieties. Most fresh leaves are shades of green, copper colored, or tints and shades of a combination of those colors.

 Sweet cherry trees tend to be larger than sour or tart cherry trees. A smaller garden may dictate or influence the cherry grower to consider the tree size before putting a larger cherry tree in a small garden. Keep in mind that most rootstocks allow for severe pruning, if the pruning is begun at a young age. Allow room for the wider branches of sweet cherry trees. Sweet cherry trees produce larger cherries that vary in color from reds to nearly black fruit, such the Sweetheart cherry. As the term sweet cherry indicates, they contain more sugars and more calories that sour cherry varieties.
 Sour cherries are usually smaller in size and are bright red to yellow in color. The Montmorency sour cherry, for instance, is being advertised for the benefits they are said to produce. Montmorency cherries are considered to be high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory anthocyanins. Both sweet and sour cherries are high in vitamin C, carbohydrates, fiber, and other vitamins such vitamin A, B1, and B2. Cherries, both sour and sweet, contain anthocyanins.

Sour cherries are mostly self-fertile, so they do not need a companion sour cherry tree to produce fruit. The majority of sweet cherries do need a pollinator in order to produce fruit. The pollinator fruit tree must be compatible with the other sweet cherry tree for fruit production.

 Almost all varieties of cherry trees found in the garden will have to be pruned. Pruning and thinning of branches can be done while the tree is quite young. The cherry tree will grow so fast and produce so much foliage they stress themselves by their own unfettered growth. Cherry trees may be pruned in late summer or late winter for best results. Late summer pruning is recommended for the ease of spotting dead or diseased branches, and also assisting in prevention of a disease named silver leaf, that strikes with early winter pruning. When pruning, cut the selected branches at an angle about 1/8 of an inch above the bud. The angled cut will keep water and moisture from collecting that may harbor a disease. Cherry trees should be pruned so the tree branches will have a scaffold shape. There should be about 2 feet between the scaffolded branches so light can reach the lower leaves and fruit.

Planting a Blueberry Tree

Blueberries are rich in vitamin C,iron, potassium and delicious ! However, they can be expensive to purchase, growing them in your own garden is a good idea. You'll get some exercise and have tasty fruits to enjoy as a bonus. They require an acidic soil, so it's a good idea to have your soil tested before planting.

 

Select a site for planting a blueberry bush. When looking for a site, keep in mind that blueberries need full sun and will not grow well in an area populated by trees. Blueberries also have specific soil needs. They grow in acidic soils, with optimal pH ranging from 4.5 to 5.5.

Dig a hole 18-inches deep and 18-inches wide using a shovel or small trowel.

Mix in 1-cubic foot of peat moss within the surrounding soil. Once it is well blended, fill the hole with the new soil mixture until the hole is 4-inches deep.

Place the blueberry bush in the hole, setting it down gently but firmly. Allow the roots to spread naturally careful not to break or damage them.

Fill in the hole with the remaining soil mixture. Tap it down firmly with your hands or feet to remove air pockets.

Water the bush well immediately after planting. Blueberries need 1 inch to 2 inches of water a week, so they will need regular waterings during dry spells.

Spread a layer of mulch 2-inches deep around the bush. Use either wood chips or sawdust for mulching.

Prune back the bush's branches by 30 percent after planting.Remove older wood leaving the new wood at the bottom behind.

Prune off any flower buds at planting time and continue to remove buds throughout the first growing season.

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Papayas

The exact origination of papaya is unknown but it is believed to be native to southern Mexico and neighboring Central America. The papaya is a melon like fruit with yellow-orange flesh enclosed in a thin skin that varies in color from green to orange to rose. Papayas are a good source of vitamin A and C.

Today papaya can be found all year long with the peak season being early summer and fall. Most of the papayas imported come from Hawaii, but smaller quantities from Florida, California, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Central and South American countries are becoming more available.

The papaya enzyme called papain, is used as a meat tenderizer. It breaks down tough meat fibers. Its use is nothing new. South American cooks have been using papaya to tenderize meat for ages. It is sold as a component in powdered meat tenderizer available in most supermarkets

Varieties

There are two types of papayas, the Hawaiian and Mexican. The Hawaiian varieties also known as Solo papayas, are found most often in supermarkets. These fruits are pear shaped, weigh about a pound each, and have yellow skin when ripe. The flesh is bright orange or pinkish, depending on the variety. The Mexican varieties are not as common but can be found in Latino supermarkets. Mexican papayas are much larger then the Hawaiian types and can weigh up to 20 pounds and be more than 15 inches long. Although the flavor is less intense than the Hawaiian varieties, they are still delicious and enjoyable.

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.