If you’re yearning to grow your own fruit, you’re in good company -- this is the time of the year when our Master Gardener office receives numerous phone calls with questions from people about growing and caring for fruit trees. I suspect it coincides with our local nurseries getting in their supply of various bareroot stock, but whatever the reason, if you’re going to become a backyard orchardist, following these guidelines will greatly increase your chance of success.
Do you have enough room? You certainly don’t need acres of land for a backyard orchard, but many houses built today are spacious on the inside, but contain miniscule yards. However, most fruit trees can be planted 6 to 12 feet apart. Also, you will find it much more convenient to prune them short enough not to require a ladder; look for dwarf or semi-dwarf varieties when buying.
Do you have the right location/exposure? Fruit trees are perennials in the sense that they are long-lived, so choose the variety and location in your landscape with an eye to the long term. Even though your property may have the generalized characteristics of one particular climate zone, it may also contain several different micro-climates and it is very important that you know these. For example, apples usually do best on north slopes and cool bottom lands.
Can I plant one tree or do I need several? Cross-pollination is a requirement for some varieties of fruit trees and in addition, you will need two different varieties in these circumstances. Ask the employees at the nursery where you do your buying for help in determining this; they should know the answer, but if they don’t, go elsewhere or call our office.
How do I take care of my fruit trees? Practicing good management techniques will really pay off for you in tree health and fruit yield, so it’s important to familiarize yourself with these. Annual pruning is important for tree size control as well as shaping to give good sun exposure throughout the tree. This is done on mature trees, as those 2 to 3 years old need only very minimal pruning. If you want larger fruit, thinning of flowers or immature fruit in early spring is done. This practice also keeps branch breakage to a minimum due to too much fruit. I know that most home gardeners find this practice gut-wrenching, but trust me, it will only take a couple of seasons of small fruit to overcome your reluctance. Irrigation for the home gardener is best done by drip – it limits weed growth, directs water to the root zone more effectively and doesn’t contribute to the tree trunk problems seen with overhead sprinkling. Fertilizing with nitrogen will be the most important nutrient your tree will need. Young fruit trees will need nitrogen 2 to 3 times per year to promote good growth; the most efficient time to fertilize mature trees is in late August or early September. As far as pest and disease control is concerned, you will be required to do some dormant season spraying with horticultural oils to decrease the population of overwintering eggs and larvae of various critters, plus sometimes fungicides to combat fungus problems. However, the best prevention is cleanliness – debris and fallen leaves around your trees should be raked up and discarded.
There’s so much more I could add on fruit tree planting and care, but space doesn’t allow it, so I recommend you go to one of the University of California’s web sites at http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu which gives much more detailed information. In addition, plan to attend the free Master Gardener public education classes on "Fruit Tree Pruning & Training" on Saturday, January 14th at 9 a.m. in the Ag Extension Building, 311 Fair Lane in Placerville as well as "Selecting & Planting Bareroot Trees" on Friday, January 20th at 6:30 p.m. in the Raley’s Supermarket Event Center (inside the store in the back) in El Dorado Hills. You can also call our office at 621-5512 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon if you have any questions or come on in to talk to us; we’re located at 311 Fair Lane.