Harvest to Table

Fruits are ripening by mid-summer. Keep fruit trees and vines thoroughly watered; avoid letting plants dry out, especially newly planted fruits and fruits growing in containers. Scavenging birds and insects will be looking for an opening as fruits ripen. Use bird netting or reflective tape to scare birds away; spray away insects with a strong [...]

Young fruit trees require early training. It is best to begin training a fruit tree as soon as it is planted. Young tree training is best continued for the first three or four years of the tree’s life. Training a fruit tree includes staking, pruning, and branch spreading. All of these will help create a [...]

Pears will grow almost everywhere apples grow and are nearly as cold tolerant. A standard pear tree requires about the same space as an apple tree and can be pruned to about 20 feet tall. Semi-dwarf pear trees grow to about 12 feet tall. There are two types of pears: European pears–with their classic pear [...]

Before you buy and plant an apple tree consider the following: ■ Space to grow and form of tree. How much space do you have? This will determine the form of the tree you choose. ■ Size of tree and type of rootstock. What size tree will fit the space? The ultimate size of an [...]

Bare-root fruit trees and vines can be planted at any time during their dormant season between leaf-fall and bud-burst–late fall to early spring–as long as the soil conditions are right and the ground is not too wet or frozen. Frosty weather and freezes need not stop fruit planting as long as the soil surface is [...]