Fruit and Nut trees

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 23 May 2008, 20:29

Michelle In Ga wrote: the worst souther US drought in a hundred years.

I noticed a report yesterday that electricity generation from renewables in the USA had dropped, despite the expansion of wind and solar, because lack of rain had reduced hydro generation significantly. How bad is this drought and how widespread is it, Michelle? I don't think we've heard much about it this side o' t'pond.

snow hope · Post by **snow hope** » 23 May 2008, 22:13

We have only recorded 3.5mm of rain in my garden in May so far. Even drier than April 2007!

By the way, thanks for all the feedback on the fruit and nut trees. Great thread and lots of good ideas.

Michelle In Ga · Post by **Michelle In Ga** » 23 May 2008, 22:29

Thanks for the welcome. You could try
mulching with old hay or straw. Hubby
can't figure out why I put hay in my garden.
It's a weed barrier of sorts and helps
keep moisture in.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » 23 May 2008, 22:57

Michelle In Ga wrote:...and a kiwi vine in need of a mate.

Hi Michelle. I just bought a couple of Kiwi vines, one female & one male, more out of curiosity than a craving for kiwis. Each is about 50 cm tall, and I was going to replant them in a big long pot to let them creep up a SW facing wall. Not certain how well they'll get through the scorching summer and freezing winter here though!

contadino · Post by **contadino** » 24 May 2008, 05:39

They'll love the scorching summer (just give them plenty of water) but hate the freezing winter (fleece them up really well and cross your fingers)

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 25 May 2008, 04:03

mikepepler wrote:Though I've been told chestnut needs a warm summer to give good nuts. Ours certainly bore this out last summer, when it wasn't very warm - we had plenty of nuts but they were all small.

Could you reduce the number of flowers on the tree to increase the nut yield? It would be difficult with the size of our trees but not impossible. We find with our trees that you get one good sized nut per pod and two small ones but only in a small percentage of pods. We pinch the large nut and leave the rest for any animals and birds that want them.

Brad · Post by **Brad** » 25 May 2008, 09:08

[quote="Sally"]
I too have planted Elderberry - there are some great rumours that it is wonderful for counteracting 'flu...... So I hope to make some Elderberry juice or wine (or both) this autumn.

Sally,

Did you buy the elder trees locally?
Cheers,
Brad

Keela · Post by **Keela** » 25 May 2008, 09:41

Elderberries seed themselves all around. I took these plantlets from my parent's place where they always grew well (so the gene pool I hope is good!). They had self-seeded in the shade of some other trees, so I just moved them.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » 25 May 2008, 15:05

contadino wrote:They'll love the scorching summer (just give them plenty of water) but hate the freezing winter (fleece them up really well and cross your fingers)

Thanks for that. I reckon fleecing them up in the winter might be difficult though once they've crept all over a wall. Hmm, I'll just hope for the best.

snow hope · Post by **snow hope** » 12 Nov 2009, 08:39

Just planted 4 x Hazel bushes/trees amd a sweet chesnut. My mother has just planted an oak in her garden.

It's great to plant trees - we should all do it.

PS. This is the perfect time of year to plant trees - do it on a day when there is no frost in the ground. November through to February is best.

When spring comes around, water them every day it doesn't rain a decent amount. 30% of freshly planted trees die from not having enough water.

snow hope · Post by **snow hope** » 04 Sep 2011, 21:39

Just put a James Grieve 5ft apple tree in the back garden - the start of my back garden orchard.

It was a container tree and has one large apple, that I will leave until near the end of the month before I pick.

My front garden orchard is not doing so well. From research and discussions it appears that the fact it is quite rocky underneath is holding back the fruit trees.

I did get a few nice cherries and plums, but the emphasis is on 'a few'. They may yet fruit more.

In the meantime my back garden does not have this rocky problem to the same degree, so here we go. Keela, planning on getting a Worcester Pearmain apple tree from Beechwood Trees in Newtownards, so thanks for the link.

Lots of other stuff to choose from too.

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 05 Sep 2011, 13:55

Plums, damsons, crab apples - 2001 is a really good year.

Apples and pears, not so.

One apple tree, simply grown from a pip, has loads of apples but they're anly the size of a very large plum and don't have a strong flavour. Lovely texture, though. It's not in our 'orchard' area so it's not a serious tree; it was planted at the grave of a much-loved cat.

Next year we're planning on putting down a few more apple trees - a local seed saving centre has lots of Irish heritage varieties. You should think about trying to make it down on their apple day, snow - a great day out and you get to taste loads of old varieties of apples.

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 05 Sep 2011, 15:01

We've had masses of apples, especially bramley, and pears. The only apple which hasn't done well is the russet.

MrG · Post by **MrG** » 05 Sep 2011, 15:28

kenneal wrote:We've had masses of apples, especially bramley, and pears. The only apple which hasn't done well is the russet.

Funnily enough they've been my best actually.

Keela · Post by **Keela** » 05 Sep 2011, 15:49

emordnilap wrote:apple day, .

Ummmm I'm tempted

Edit: Except it's a blooming long way away!