What fruit trees?

[RalphVa]

I had peach, plum, apple, pear, apricot, fig and none fuzzy peach (senior moment; can't think of name of it).

They're all gone but one pear and one cherry that was put in after the others were removed. All the plum, peach and that one I can't think the name of got brown rot. It's very nasty here.

Apples never bore hardly at all.

Pear finally bore last year, but the squirrels got all of them. Cherry hasn't born yet.

Pears get fire blight badly; so do apples.

Frost gets apricot blossoms every year.

It was much easier growing these in NJ.

You're better off with small fruit, e.g. raspberries, wineberries, strawberries, blueberries. Much easier to deal with. Lot less pruning. Everybearing raspberry stalks can just be cut to the ground about now for a single crop, which is the strongest anyway.

Figs are good, but get Chicago hardy. My LSU Purple have gotten bitten back by hard freezes the last two years. Was getting more and more off them until the winters got colder these last 2 years.

Ralph

 

[DFB]

You're better off with small fruit, e.g. raspberries, wineberries, strawberries, blueberries.

That's what my boss at the orchard says too Ralph. After 45 years and thousands of trees the future is small fruit :laughing:

 

[forgeblast]

Buxus appreciate that link, Going to check it out!!! thanks

 

[forgeblast]

Larry There is a place near me Pie in the Sky orchard, and they do espalier spacing, easiest you pick place to go to. If I was going to go commercial I would do espalier. (With a deer fence)

 

[teejk]

I had peach, plum, apple, pear, apricot, fig and none fuzzy peach (senior moment; can't think of name of it).

They're all gone but one pear and one cherry that was put in after the others were removed. All the plum, peach and that one I can't think the name of got brown rot. It's very nasty here.

Apples never bore hardly at all.

Pear finally bore last year, but the squirrels got all of them. Cherry hasn't born yet.

Pears get fire blight badly; so do apples.

Frost gets apricot blossoms every year.

It was much easier growing these in NJ.

You're better off with small fruit, e.g. raspberries, wineberries, strawberries, blueberries. Much easier to deal with. Lot less pruning. Everybearing raspberry stalks can just be cut to the ground about now for a single crop, which is the strongest anyway.

Figs are good, but get Chicago hardy. My LSU Purple have gotten bitten back by hard freezes the last two years. Was getting more and more off them until the winters got colder these last 2 years.

Ralph

Guess that goes back to the suggestion about consulting with your local "Mr. Kimble" (Green Acres...loved that show...ahead of it's time humor wise I think). In our cold climate we are somewhat limited on species but don't have to worry about "brown rot" and other things. Soil, moisture and bugs are also local considerations.

 

[RalphVa]

Like I said, in NJ I had no fruit tree problems. Had apple (about 3 different kinds), pear, plum. No brown rot. No fire blight.

Only fruit tree that's fairly good without a whole lot of trouble (other than probably cutting back branches that get killed in winter) is fig in Virginia.

Lots of commercial peach and apple in the area, but they're forever fighting fire blight and spraying for brown rot. In NJ, I only did dormant oil sprays. Nothing else. Worked here in Virginia on my plum and peach for 3 or 4 years of getting fruit (fighting the squirrels for it) before brown rot came along. Then ALL the pitted fruit got brown rot.

Ralph

 

[oosik]

The USDA says my area is planting hardiness zone 6. Whatever, I know I've always had problems with 1) soft fruit blooming too early with the blossoms freezing and 2) the never ending battle with pocket gophers. I've always planted semi-dwarf trees. Apples do well - everything else, not so well. To fend off the gophers, I line the dug hole, wall to wall, with a two inch thick layer of broken glass. Seems they don't like that. Gives the trees time to establish their root system.

What with our semi-arid conditions I plant at least three trees to get one to maturity. Its the ultra dry summer, the winter winds causing "South-West" damage, the pocket gophers and just those that do not thrive. Right now I have four apple trees that are 25+ years old and I will be planting new ones this spring. At first I sprayed the trees with just about everything. I soon found that so many die from other causes that spraying was a waste of time.

I've also found that I must share any fruit with the deer and the coons. We each, kind of, get a third of the crop.

 

[lostcreekranch]

I suggest you check with your local county extension agent (may be called something else in VA?). They will know what works well in your specific area. Also see if you have a local Master Gardeners Group. They can be very helpful.

 

[newbury]

Like I said, in NJ I had no fruit tree problems. Had apple (about 3 different kinds), pear, plum. No brown rot. No fire blight.

Only fruit tree that's fairly good without a whole lot of trouble (other than probably cutting back branches that get killed in winter) is fig in Virginia.

Lots of commercial peach and apple in the area, but they're forever fighting fire blight and spraying for brown rot. In NJ, I only did dormant oil sprays. Nothing else. Worked here in Virginia on my plum and peach for 3 or 4 years of getting fruit (fighting the squirrels for it) before brown rot came along. Then ALL the pitted fruit got brown rot.

Ralph

Take this advice.

Things may have changed. When I moved from Vermont to Virginia about 40 years ago I tried planting some of my half acre with about two dozen carefully chosen apples and pears. In Vermont we had about a 1/4 acre apple orchard and I knew how to raise good apples. I'm a biologist and researched the varieties and strove for disease resistance. Despite oil spray and state of art poisons all the trees succumbed to rot and blight within 4 years.

 

[teejk]

Take this advice.

Things may have changed. When I moved from Vermont to Virginia about 40 years ago I tried planting some of my half acre with about two dozen carefully chosen apples and pears. In Vermont we had about a 1/4 acre apple orchard and I knew how to raise good apples. I'm a biologist and researched the varieties and strove for disease resistance. Despite oil spray and state of art poisons all the trees succumbed to rot and blight within 4 years.

Probably explains why the northern climates (NY, WA, CO, etc.) produce the big fruit...a hardy freeze probably kills much of the stuff that wrecks the crop elsewhere. But makes me wonder why Georgia can grow peaches.

 

[RalphVa]

I work at the local extension agency, called Virginia Cooperative Extension, as a master gardener.

What I just told him is what we know.

Ralph

 

[kidr]

In Va. cedar rust is a problem with apple trees. If there are any cedar trees near the apple trees forget it.

 

[DFB]

Commercial orchards and other growers succeed because they take a systematic approach to disease control and pest pressure. And it can be huge expense that some growers aren't willing to make especially with tree fruit. Plus it could also be very time consuming depending on the size of the operation.

Smaller bush fruit can sometimes be less demanding depending on local growing conditions. Organic no spray/low spray fruit production is okay especially for private production I'm certainly in favor of it. But if your looking to profit from your endeavors it might make marketing products difficult depending on peoples expectations.

My boss..."Hey I have a sore throat from eating all this fresh fruit". Me..."No Boss that's just from all the pesticide." :confused2:

Along with access to chemicals not generally available without a pesticide applicators license the use of specialized equipment helps considerably, such blast sprayers where a thick leaf canopy is difficult to penetrate.

Much of it is preemptive too starting in the earliest parts of the growing season. It's an on going battle for the most part (not if problems are going to come but when) and usually by the time a casual observer notices any problem it is sometimes hard to eradicate and the best you can hope for is to keep it in check at that point (think tomato blight...you don't spray ahead of time and then boom one day its there and usually only gets worse )

Warmer temperatures can certainly exacerbate disease problems as does dampness...rains and/or high humidity. The Northeast growers often experience increase disease problems with those conditions.

I watch too many growers/budding farmers learn stuff the hard way, like it aint hard enough already. :laughing:
but then of course experience can be the best teacher (however costly that may be)

Truly some of best you things can do is to utilize all the experience that extension agents and university research programs can provide. And avail yourself to industry oriented publications that relate to what your doing or want to do.

Here is the link to Virginia Tech's latest online commercial spray bulletin

2015 Spray Bulletin for Commercial Tree Fruit Growers | Publications and Educational Resources | Virginia Tech


I was going to recommend this link earlier in this thread Growing. You can get hard copy or E subscription if your serious, otherwise limited magazine access is up online. Used to be strictly a Northeast publication but has a expanded range now.

The January issue has on overview to apple orchard production by U Minn extension with links to commercial tree fruit production guides offered by Penn State. Dec archive has Expanding your Fruit Inventory...Finding a new crop.

My boss must have read that somewhere...he decided on a new vineyard for red seedless grapes and also espalier production on top of the thousands of trees and the 26 varieties of apples we already grow along with the peaches, pears, apricots, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries we have too.

Obviously not intended for southern growers but here in the Northeast U Mass has extensive fruit growing resource information available online. Look under publications.

And there's always Cornell Fruit resources

I'm sure there are others too.

I want to see guys succeed at what they do

I really like that cider orchard plan of woodchuckdads

 

[widefat]

Thanks all for the advice - I am looking for a relaxing hobby -not a constant fight.
Ralph, I live about 35 miles northeast, as the crow flies, from Charlottesville. Your sage advice is heard loud and clear.

 

[RalphVa]

We had a guy come into the extension office one day. Seems he was following the commercial recommendations to grow a peach tree. He'd already put on a few pesticides and had a big container under his arm. His problem was he couldn't find one on the list. I more or less told him to forget it. Should have told him that if he wanted a big peach loaded with pesticides to just buy one at the store. This is pretty much what you have to do to grow large fruit here in Virginia.

Ralph

 

[WoodChuckDad]

Ralph, I'd like to talk to you at length about some of the things the extension office can offer. My orchard will be in Albemarle County.

 

[DFB]

The link to this video was in a MOFGA email I received last week.

Inspirational

Maine Heritage Orchard

 

[DFB]

There is an orchard quite local to me and is an amazing work in progress, and really only going into its 8th year now under the current management.

A lot of unique old varieties can be found there. I hear folks talk and many believe its strictly an organic operation (which is extremely difficult at least in this part of the country with any commercial orchard venture) but I also see that is not how it is describe either.

Ecologically Grown is the current term used.


It is less than an hours drive for me but because our season's work schedules conflict, I have never had a chance to get there yet.

But it is high on my to do list.

This one orchard is in process of growing many different apples varieties. Some in common to the business I'm with and others very unique.

heirloom-apples-review


Old is new in many places these days, flavors outside of the mainstream varieties is what a lot of people want to experience these days.

And cider making is definitely in a resurgence right now, new businesses for both hard or sweet are growing fast.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

DFB, that was a great video. It put a smile on my face at several different points. Tomorrow, I plan to show it to my wife. She will love it.

 

[teejk]

Ralph, I'd like to talk to you at length about some of the things the extension office can offer. My orchard will be in Albemarle County.

Since we are now in "seed catalog" season, interesting to see how hybrids are being developed to overcome regional problems. Whether you subscribe to the GMO "frankenfruit" theory or not I think it's kinda interesting. Shoot...we might once again see the majestic elm back on our streets before long. And given a few more years we might get emerald ash borer resistant trees.