The blueberry is easy to plant and grow. The blueberry plant is best planted and grown where summers are cool and the soil is acidic. There are varieties that will grow in warm, dry summer regions. Blueberries are long-lived. Plant them where they can grow undisturbed for 10 or more years. Blueberries flower in the […] More
Loquats are easy to grow. They produce plum-sized fruits that are sweet and tangy. Loquats are large evergreen shrubs or small trees. They can grow 20 to 30 feet tall but are usually about 10 feet tall or slightly larger. Loquat fruits are round, oval, or pear-shaped, 1 to 2 inches long with smooth, downy […] More
Feijo, also called pineapple guava, is a small oval fruit with smooth, gray-green skin and creamy white flesh that is juicy and pearlike. The flavor of feijoa is sweet and reminiscent of pineapple, pear, and banana. Feijo fruit resembles unripe medium-sized guava from a distance. The fruit is 2½ inches long and 2 inches in […] More
Gooseberries are small, round thin-skinned fruits that look a lot like grapes. Ripe gooseberries can be green, pink, yellow, or white. Some gooseberry varieties are for fresh-eating and desserts; others are for cooking—pies, tarts, jam, jellies, and sauces; and some varieties can be used both fresh and cooked. The gooseberry is a hardy, deciduous, perennial […] More
Currants are small, round berry-like fruits that can be eaten fresh or cooked with sugar and made into pie fillings, puddings, dessert sauces, jams, and jellies. There are red, white–actually yellowish-white, and black-fruited currants. Currants grow as bushes to about 6 feet tall. They grow best in cool-summer regions and seldom thrive in warm-summer regions […] More
Plums are a diverse group of fruiting trees. Plums can be found in most temperate regions of the world. There is a wide range of tree sizes, forms, colors, and flavors. European plums are blue and widely grown. Japanese plums are red and very popular. Native American plums are small and tart. Damson plums are […] More
Avocados have a nutlike flavor and flesh that is buttery in its consistency. Avocados are eaten raw in salads, dips, and sandwiches. They are richer in fat than any other fruit except the olive—20 to 30 percent fat—93 percent unsaturated. There are more than 500 avocado varieties. Some can be grown in warm winter temperate […] More
Growing backyard grapes is not difficult, but success depends upon choosing the right variety for your climate, training the vine, and pruning regularly. Grapes require a cold spell during the winter (but not a killing freeze), warmth in spring for flowering and fruit set, and heat and sunshine in summer to ripen the fruit. Dessert […] More
Diospyros–commonly called persimmon–is grown for its attractive, symmetrical habit, fall foliage color, and heart-shaped fleshy fruit. There are two main Diospyros varieties commonly grown in gardens, Japanese or Chinese persimmons (Asian persimmons), also called kaki, and American persimmons. Asian persimmons grow to 30 feet tall with a wide-spreading branch pattern. They are one of the […] More
Planning the home fruit garden requires a bit more future-thinking than the vegetable garden. Most vegetables are annuals or biennials and spend just one or two seasons in the garden. Most fruits are trees or shrubs and live for 10 to 50 years or more. The first consideration in planning an edible garden—either fruit or […] More
Chill hours are the number of cold hours or days that a deciduous fruit tree (or nut tree) requires for flowering and fruit production each year. Every fruit tree variety has its own number of hours of chill needed for fruit production. Some fruit trees need as few as 100 chill hours, others need as […] More
Stephen Albert