The Fruit Gardener's Bible: A Complete Guide to Growing Fruits and Nuts in the Home Garden

596 Pages·2011·16.46 MB·English

by  Lewis Hill

The Fruit Gardener’s Bible
The Fruit Gardener’s Bible
A Complete Guide to Growing Fruits and Nuts in the Home Garden
Lewis Hill and Leonard Perry
The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by publishing
practical information that encourages personal independence in
harmony with the environment.
Edited by Elizabeth P. Stell and Carleen Madigan Art direction and book
design by Dan O. Williams and Carolyn Eckert Text production by
Liseann Karandisecky and Jennifer Jepson Smith Front cover
photography: from top left: gooseberries © Joshua McCullough;
strawberries © bravo1954/iStockphoto.com; grapes © Mark Bolton/GAP
Photos Ltd.; blueberries © Ewa Brozek/iStockphoto.com; cherry trio ©
Red Helga/iStockphoto. com; pear © craftvision/iStockphoto.com;
blackberries © Jonathan Buckley; currants © Valentyn
Volkov/iStockphoto. com; apricots © house_red/iStockphoto.com;
cherries © John Glover/GAP Photos Ltd.; almonds © Alexandr
Tovstenko/iStockphoto.com; plums © Jonathan Buckley; raspberries ©
Floortje/iStockphoto.com; peaches © Kutay Tanir/iStockphoto. com;
loganberries © Zara Napier/GAP Photos Ltd.; walnuts © Kevin
Dyer/iStockphoto.com; apples © Jerry Pavia Back cover and spine
photography: pruning © Friedrich Strauss/GAP Photos Ltd.; blueberries ©
Tim Gainey/GAP Photos Ltd.; pear © Nickos/iStockphoto.com;
raspberries © Ewa Brozek/iStockphoto.com
Interior photography credits appear on pages 310 and 311
Illustrations by Beverly Duncan
Indexed by Christine R. Lindemer, Boston Road Communications © 2011
by Nancy Hill
Portions of this text were originally published under the title Fruits &
Berries for the Home Garden, 1992.
Editorial revision by Leonard Perry All rights reserved. No part of this
book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher,
except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce
illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of
this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or other — without written permission from the publisher.
The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our
knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the
part of the author or Storey Publishing. The author and publisher
disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information.
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Storey Publishing
210 MASS MoCA Way
North Adams, MA 01247
www.storey.com
Printed in the United States by R.R. Donnelley 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hill, Lewis, 1924–
The fruit gardener’s bible / Lewis Hill and Leonard Perry.
p. cm.
Includes index.
Previous eds. published as: Fruits and berries for the home garden.
ISBN 978-1-60342-567-4 (pbk.: alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-60342-984-9
(hardcover: alk. paper) 1. Fruit-culture. I. Perry, Leonard P. II. Title. III.
Title: Fruits and berries for the home garden.
SB355.H655 2012
634—dc23
2011024870
Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface to the New Edition
Part One
Getting Started with Fruits and Nuts
CHAPTER 1
Fruits and Nuts in the Home Garden
Including Fruits in Your Yard
Learning to Grow Good Fruit
CHAPTER 2
What to Grow and Where
Choosing Hardy Fruits
How Much Room Do You Need?
Selecting Plants
CHAPTER 3
Seasonal Care of Fruits and Nuts
Winter Care
Spring Care
Summer Care
Harvest Time
What to Do with All Your Fruit
Part Two
The Small Fruits: Berries, Bushes, and Brambles
CHAPTER 4
Strawberries
June-Bearing or Day-Neutral?
Two Ways to Grow
Preparing the Soil
Planting and Care
Harvesting Strawberries
CHAPTER 5
Raspberries and Blackberries
Getting to Know the Brambles
Plant and Site Selection
Planting and Care
Harvesting Bramble Fruits
CHAPTER 6
Blueberries
Different Types for Different Regions
Meeting Soil Requirements
Planting and Care
Harvesting Blueberries
CHAPTER 7
Ribes, Elderberries, and Other Bush Fruits
Getting to Know the Bush Fruits
Planting and Care
Harvesting Bush Fruits
Unusual Bush Fruits
CHAPTER 8
Grapes for Every Region
Getting to Know Grapes
Choices for Cold and Hot Climates
Grapes Need Support
Planting and Care
Harvesting Grapes
Unusual Vine Fruits
Part Three
Tree Fruits & Nuts
CHAPTER 9
Apples and Crab Apples
Apples for Every Climate
Standard, Semidwarf, or Dwarf?
Planting and Care
Harvesting and Storing Apples
Choosing Apple Cultivars
Crab Apples for Eating
CHAPTER 10
Pears
Two Distinct Types of Pears
Planting and Care
Harvesting Pears
Unusual Tree Fruit: Quince
CHAPTER 11
Peaches, Nectarines, and Apricots
Choosy about Climate
Selecting Plants
Planting and Care
Harvesting
Choosing Cultivars
CHAPTER 12
Plums for Every Region
Lots of Colors, Shapes, and Uses
Climate Considerations
Pollination Matters
Planting and Care
Harvesting Plums
Pluots and Plumcots
Wild Plums
CHAPTER 13
Cherries, Sweet and Sour
Sweet, Sour, and Bush Cherries
Picky about Pollination
Planting and Care
Harvesting Cherries
Gallery of Unusual Tree Fruits
CHAPTER 14
Nuts
Getting to Know the Nuts
Planting and Care
Harvesting Nuts
Part Four
Growing Healthy Fruits, Nuts, and Berries
CHAPTER 15
Improving Your Soil
What Is Soil?
Preparing Soil for Fruiting Plants
Mulches Are Labor-Savers
Make Your Own Compost
CHAPTER 16
Getting Plants off to a Good Start
Care Starts before Planting
Planting Well Pays Off
Pamper after Planting
Don’t Harvest Too Soon
CHAPTER 17
Pruning: Not Just for Trees
Why Prune?
When to Prune
Pruning Bush Fruits and Grapes