Subject: Fruit Tree Newbie

From: [email-masked] (Alan Walendowski)
Date: 12 Sep 1996 23:36:10 GMT

Hi folks!  (hey look! a fruit-related message!)

 I'm moving to a few acres in Santa Cruz mountains of California
 and I'd love to plant some fruit trees now that I'll have room
 for 'em. Unfortunately, I don't have the foggiest
 idea what will grow in that climate (lots of sun, heavy rain 
 in winter - *none* the rest of the year , "shale" soil (quick
 draining), ~800 meters altitude, etc...)

 Does anyone have any pointers on how I should go about
 learning more?  Any recommendations for good books, catalogs,
 nurseries, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

 Thanks! 

   -w

---

From: Mike Zauzig <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 15 Sep 1996 21:35:20 -0400

Jose' M. Gallego wrote:
> 
> FIrst thing you need to do it get the Bible of the Gardeners of the
> West :^), that is the Western Garden Book by Sunset and find out your
> Area.
>
> Jose

Is there an equivalent version of this so-called bible for the hot and
humid southeast?

---

From: [email-masked] (Alan Walendowski)
Date: 16 Sep 1996 19:40:21 GMT

Jose' M. Gallego ([email-masked]) wrote:
: On 12 Sep 1996 23:36:10 GMT, [email-masked] (Alan Walendowski)
: wrote:

: FIrst thing you need to do it get the Bible of the Gardeners of the
: West :^), that is the Western Garden Book by Sunset and find out your
: Area.

 I just found this in my local Home Depot. Seems like an excellent
 reference. 

: Next, go to a local Nursery (Hey, don't buy anything yet!) and find
: out what they have available.  This will tell you what can be grown in
: your area.  Start your wish list.  But, be warned that some nursery
: get 'test' plants and may not grow at all.  

: Then, go back to the Bible and look at the information for those fruit
: that you liked, confirm that they can be grown in your area.  At the
: same time learn about those fruit, learn about their soils
: requirements, their pests, their temperature requirements, etc.

: Next, be sure that you really like that fruit.  You may be surprised
: to learn that not all peaches are a like and some you may not like at
: all.  This will be your fruit,  not because someone recomend Bacock
: Peaches will mean that you like them.  

  Hmm. Good point. Going to be difficult to taste all the types of
  fruit that seem to be 'growable' in my area. It would be kind of
  silly to plant a tree with fruit I couldn't stand, though. :-)

: Continue building your wish list by either scanning the Bible or
: getting books from the local library.

: Next, carefully plan where you are going to plant them.  What should
: go on your south end of your lot?  What should go on the North end of
: you lot?  How are you going to lay down your irrigation?

: Next, do you have the right type of soil for that fruit? Would you
: need to 'correct it'?

  Yup, lots of reading for me to do here. All of these issues are new
  to me.

: Next, prepare your own Gardeners calendar.  This should include the
: right time of the year to plant them, when to fertilize them, when to
: prune it, when to harvast them, etc.

: Now you are ready to go an purchase your trees or seeds.

: The bottom line is you need to know what are you commiting to and
: understand that you and that tree are going to be friends for a long,
: long time.

 Thanks for the info!