Friday, January 24, 2014

And Yet More Fruit

I've been thinking a lot about what to do about next year in several areas. The major two being fruit related. I've slowly added fruits to my garden over the years. The majority came in 2011 when the yard was finished. But last year I looked sadly at my Green Gage plum and wondered if it would ever bloom. It is a poor, sad tree. The aphids like to take it over and it hasn't been healthy. I do spray it with insecticidal soap when it gets bad. But after reading about it I found that the European plums tend to have more trouble. I know I love the Japanese plums as that is what they sell in the farmers markets. I should have taken that as a hint about what grows well around here. I'm not quite at the point of giving up on the Green Gage, but I really wanted to see if a Japanese variety would grow better.

So I thought about what spot I could tuck a tree into. Plums typically are about 20 feet tall and our yard is totally planned and planted. So it had to be in the vegetable garden. I've grown less fond of the sunflowers over the years, but I like to have something tall along the southwest wall of the house. It at least pretends to keep us cooler since we lack shade (the flaw of having a vegetable garden against the southern part of the house). I've thought about growing vines up the wall. But that is bad for the longevity of the house. So maybe a tree would work.

The area in question is only 3' across and right against the foundation. The path goes right next to this. I really don't want a standard sized tree as it wouldn't grow correctly. So I finally decided on a shorter plum. A Weeping Santa Rosa. It doesn't produce the prodigious quantities of fruit a real Santa Rosa can produce, but the fruit is supposed to be even better. And it is self pollinating. It only gets 8'-10' high naturally, so I can probably keep it pruned to 7'-8' easily enough. I thought about pruning it to an espalier, but I honestly think contorting the plum to a linear shape would be easier than that. Instead of 3-4 main branches, I'll have two that go along the line of the house. I might need some support early on to get the main branches to go where they need to go, but once the main branches are set, the tree ought to be easy to keep pruned. At least that is my hope.

Another problem is my strawberries. I have some disease that is killing off my strawberry plants. Earliglow seems much less affected though its production has lowered a lot. Whatever it is doesn't seem to affect the figs, pears, or apples. The plum is a poor sick thing, but doesn't seem to show signs of verticillium (lower branches dying - I tend to have more trouble with the newer growth where the aphids love to be). So maybe it is red stele. Or maybe not. I'm going to replace Sparkle with Surecrop. Not as tasty maybe, but more reliable. I'll probably remove all plants from the plum section just in case it is verticillium as the stone fruits are so susceptible. At my last house I never had disease problems in anything really. The soil was so clean. But it was also clay with its inherent problems. This sandy loam we have here grows things so well, but I swear there are so many diseases. I don't know if it is from the soil itself or the warmer area with everyone and their gardens so close.

And since I had spent yet more money on fruit I decided I needed to update my tally for 2014. It is the new year after all. It really seems every year I spend more and more money on fruit, but still haven't seen the payback. I have in the little fruits. Even the dying strawberries more than paid for themselves. At some point I'm going to have to quit buying fruit trees. Though I'd still love a persimmon. And I so wish I could have two paw paw trees, but there are certainly no spots for two large trees (a very under used tree that is so delicious). The persimmon might happen though. I'm sure there are small persimmons out there. Maybe if my Paradisio fig never ripens any fruit or if I give up on the Green Gage plum a persimmon could go there.

9 comments:

  1. I would love to get more fruit going in my garden also, but the soil here is so poor and what I've got going is struggling already so I'm not motivated to add much of anything new. Strawberries are great because I can put them in the vegetable garden. Around here the advice is to replace strawberry plants every 2 to 3 years because they are so prone to getting diseases and the plants decline. Perhaps that's because of our mild winters. Good luck with your plum tree!

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  2. I think fruit trees take longer to start producing but have longer production after they're established and can last for decades so I definitely look forward to my apples, peach, nectarine, persimmon, mulberry and figs as they're about to start. We already have cherries and plum producing, in addition to blackberries, strawberries (my favorite is Cabot), blueberries, raspberries. New are red currant, lingonberry and gooseberry that I got last year. I think they are all definitely worth the investment in the long run comparing to the expense of the market prices ($4 for a tiny carton is not worth it). Hope your plum will survive.

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  3. If it makes you feel any better, I also had big difficulties with plums. I planted a "Victoria", the classic British plum, but it never did well and suffered from every disease imaginable. I gave up after 4 years and removed it. I think it produced about 10 plums in total!

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  4. Every year I plant a couple fruit trees and every year I learn I know very little about the nature a fruit trees! My grandchildren will benefit from my ignorance!

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  5. I bought 2 paw paw trees. (I think you know I like to garden for butterflies. Well, they are a host plant for one of the swallowtail butterflies.) I had wanted them for years, and just couldn't figure out how to get them in my small yard. My husband finally agreed to let me take out 2 of his azaleas to plant them.

    I don't know if it helps you, but they do fine in mostly shady areas, because in the wild they are understory plants. They don't produce as much there, and stay shorter, but they will produce and they will survive. Maybe you could find a place in the shadier part of the yard?

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    1. I keep thinking about it. The only place is where the maple tree is and I think even an understory plant would have trouble with a maple tree. Those roots suck the life out of things. I have thought about it though. If I did I'd have to pull the witch hazel. I'm not sure my townhouse mates would like that. One of them loves that plant.

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  6. All your fruit ideas are wonderful. I have just started growing more fruit in the last three years. Growing a plum tree did flit through my mind but that is as far as it got. Good luck to you. Nancy

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  7. How about dwarf Asian pears? I got rid of my plum tree, just was not worth the effort.

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    1. I don't know why but I've never been drawn to Asian pears. I know that so many love them. Even regular pears are not a big fresh eating treat to me (at least the ones I find here), but I do love the canned and why I put one in.

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