Grow Your Own, Nevada! Fall 2011: Growing Fruits and Berries

2003 Orchard View

michael@michaelsapples.com

• ISA Certified Arborist– Pruning– Consults and Pruning Lessons

• NV Nursery License– Retail bare root fruit tree sales– Grafting classes

• Gardening in Nevada since 1983• Master Gardener Volunteer since 1996• Monthly Fruit Tree and Gardening

Newsletter

Growing Fruit Trees and Berries in Northern Nevada

Michael G. Janik

www.michaelsapples.com

Sources of Information

• Handouts• UNR Cooperative Extension Master

Gardeners Reno 775-784-4848 Winnemucca 775-623-6304

• Clubs, Organizations, Botanical Gardens• Internet• Books

Reference Books

Sources for Trees

• Local nurseries

• Chain Discount Stores

• Mail order nurseries

• www.gardenwatchdog.com

• www.davesgarden.com

Selection Criteria

• What you need and want

• What the tree needs and wants

Personal Needs and Likes

• What type of fruit do you like?-Apples, Pears, Cherries, Berries

• Continuous supply-Early, Autumn, Over winter keepers

-Redhaven, Veteran, Contender

• Needs—Tastes—Uses -Fresh

-Baking/Cooking

-Sauce/Juice

-Preserves, Jams, Jellies

Preserves, jams, jelly, pies

Other ways to preserve apples and grapes

Fruit Tree Needs and Likes

• Climate—Hardy to USDA zones 2-6

• Chill Hours—hrs 32-45°F +800 hrs

• Soil—pH 6.5 Northern NV pH 8.5

• Water• Nutrition—No need to fertilize, except

• Location—Sunshine > 8 hrs/day

Varieties for Northern Nevada

• UNR Cooperative Extension (handout)

• Other varieties for our area

• Farm trails and fruit tastings

• My varietal recommendations (handout)

• Late Blooming, Early Ripening Varieties on Dwarfing Rootstocks

Farm Trails—Stabile’s Hillview Farm Watsonville, CANAFEX.org

Apples

• Choose an early ripening, a late, & a keeper (or 2)

• Handout varieties plus:– Granny Smith,

Arkansas Black– Honeycrisp,

Fuji – Smokehouse,

Newtown Pippin

• Apple Hill, Placerville, CA

Pears

• Red Bartlett

• Seckel

• Bosc

• d’Anjou

• Flemish Beauty

• Pick, store, ripen, consume

Stone Fruits

• Cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines

• Late blooming, early ripening!

Apricots• Why don’t they

produce here????

• Extension handout

• Tomcot, Manchurian

• Harrow series: Harogem, Hargrand, Har* Ontario

• University of Minnesota, Utah State University, etc

Cherries • Sweet

• Attika (Kordia)• Kristin• Gold

• ‘Sour’ or “Pie” or “Tart”

• Montmorency• Morello• Northstar

Plums

• European and Asian

• Green gage, Reine Claude

• Italian prune, Castleton Stanley, Empress, President

• Burbank Hybrids: Satsuma, Santa Rosa

Peaches/Nectarines

• PEACHES>850 chill hours

-Redhaven-Early Elberta-Elberta-Veteran-Contender

NECTARINES

-Red Gold-Sunglow

Miniatures

BERRIESRASPBERRIES

Heritage

Autumn Bliss

Anna (yellow)

Caroline

Rosana

BLACKBERRIES (Thornless)

Triple Crown

Chester

Loganberry

BLUEBERRIES

• Blueberries– 5.0 pH– Elliot, Norsky, Patriot, check northern

catalogs

BLUEBERRIES

• Blueberries– 5.0 pH– Elliot, Norsky,

Patriot, check northern catalogs

• Table Grapes– “Grapes in Your Backyard”– Suffolk Red, Einset, seedless Concord, Glenora,

Candice, Neptune, and many more

STRAWBERRIES• HYBRIDS

– Tristar– Tribute– Everest– Apache

• ALPINE– Fragissimo (white)– Baron– Capron

– Mara des Bois

Currants and GooseberriesRed Lake

White ImperialMinaj Smyriou

Ben Lomond

NutsPecans (native northern)

Walnuts (Black)

Almond (Hall’s Hardy)

How Fruit Trees and Berries Are Propagated

• Rhizomes (raspberries)

• Stolons or runners (strawberries)

• Seeds (colonial times)

• Grafting (Clones of fruit trees with desired characteristics)

• Scions, Buds and Rootstocks

Natural Graft

Rootstocks

Ready to Graft

First cut showing cambial ring

Second cut on rootstock and scion

Whip and tongue graft

Secure graft with grafting rubber

Graft Secured

Wrap with grafting tape; wax top

Planting in Nursery Rows

Sprout on graft

Bare Root Apple Whip

More Choices

• Bare root vs. potted trees

• Do you need pollenizers?

• Spring or Fall planting

• Tree size

My Preferences

• Plant Bare Root Trees in the Spring

• Grow Late Blooming, Early Ripening Varieties

• on Dwarfing Rootstocks

Size control using rootstocks

Standard Semi-dwarf Dwarf

Tree sizes

Standard Tree Semi Dwarf

Dwarf apple orchard

Dwarf Apple Tree (must be supported)

Easy access to harvest

Getting Started

Take a Soil Sample!

Enhancing Soils

• Agricultural sulfur (Tiger 90) to lower pH

• Green cover crop: winter (annual) rye, winter wheat

• Mulch and Manure

Soil prep

M & M

Mulch and Manure (composted horse)

Mineral Deficiencies

• Calcium deficiency--Bitter Pit

• Iron deficiency—Chlorosis

• Zinc deficiency

Bitter pit—Ca deficiency

Zinc Deficiency

Chlorosis (Fe deficiency)

Chlorosison

Cucumber

Causes of mineral deficiencies

• Soil deficient of particular mineral

Causes of mineral deficiencies

• Soil deficient of particular mineral

• OVERWATERING!!!!

Treatment for mineral deficiencies

• Stop Overwatering!

• Analyze soil adjust pH

• Apply Agricultural Sulphur

• Mulch, Mulch, Mulch

My Preference

• Plant Bare Root Trees in the Spring

• Late Blooming, Early Ripening Varieties

• on Dwarfing Rootstocks.

Planting

Planting

Training Young Trees

ApicalDominance

Note the near horizontal limb

angles

Bare Root Treenote the branch angles

Training Horizontal Limbs--Before

Training horizontal limbs--after

Forked growth

Note the pale leaves

Spring: Begin Spray Program

READ and FOLLOW PRODUCT LABEL INSTRUCTIONS

Use protective gear!

Read and follow label instructions!

Know the Pest and Pesticide

• Identify the pest you want to control (kill).

• Read the label on the pesticide product.

• Make sure the pest and the fruit you need to spray are both listed on the label.

“ALTERNATIVE PEST CONTROLS”

Fruit Tree Spray Program

• Dormant Oil—aphids, mites, scale

• Fungicide—scale, p. mildew, rust

• Insecticide—codling moth larvae

Dormant buds on apple

Delayed dormant buds on pear and cherry

¼ inch green tippear and cherry

Dormant oil spray Aphids

Aphid

Ladybug (ladybird beetle)

Aphids with Lacewing

Ladybug larvae

Beneficial Insects

• Lady Bugs

• Lacewings

• Mantis

Half-inch Green Tipfungicide spray for powdery mildew

Powdery mildew

First Pink—Apple NO PESTICIDES!!!

Full Bloom

Full Bloom--Peach

Apple blossoms

Nectarine blossoms

Orchard blossoms

Pollenizers (other fruit variety), Pollinators (bees)

Bumble bee

Fruit Set on Peach—thinning time

Peach after thinning

Fruit Cluster—close up

Apple after thinning

Well-thinned Cortland apples

Codling Moth—first evening at 62 degrees

Codling moths damage apples, pears, and …

Codling moth frass

One rotten apple will spoil the barrel

Know your

enemy

Life CycleCodling

Moth

3 hatches per year

UC Davis Codling Moth Factsheet

Monitoring: Codling moth pheromone trap

Catch moths on 3 consecutive days--Biofix

Degree Day Table or Calculator

Determine when to spray

• Monitor traps determine biofix

• Google “codling moth degree days”

• Use chart max/min temperatures

• Add up hours

• At 200-250 hours from biofix

• SPRAY

Coming

Going

‘No Spray’ Option Bagging Fruit

Thinning time is Bagging time

Bagging option

• Thin fruit

• Spray

• Bag

Bagged FujiPhoto courtesy of Ed Franks, hobby orchardist, Illinois, NAFEX

Fruit Tree Spray Program

• Dormant Oil—aphids, mites, scales– Winter (optional)– ¼” green tip

• Fungicide—scale, p. mildew, rust– Half inch green to pink

• Insecticide—codling moth larvae– Pheromone traps at full bloom– Determine biofix– Count degree days– Spray insecticide– Repeat for 3 hatches per year

Fall

Good Cultural Practices In Autumn

• Pick up fruit as it falls

• Do not leave fruit on trees over winter

• Paint trunks or use tree wraps

• Clear leaves and mulch away from tree trunks

• Water as needed during winter months; check moisture on holidays.

Earwig eggs in apple mummy

Earwigs

Protect Tree Trunks

Sunscald on Peach

Install Tree Guards

or

Paint Trunks

50/50 white latex paint and water

Clear area around trunk

Enjoy and Learn• Weekly tours

• Buy the book and use it!

• Google: The answer to all questions is there

• University of Nevada, Reno

Cooperative Extension 784-4848

A Master Gardener is waiting for your call!

michael@michaelsapples.com Newsletter

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