Five Months of Apples Out of Your Back Yard

The north coast of California, and in particular Humboldt County, has an excellent climate for growing fruit. Albert Etter, one of the greatest apple breeders in North America, produced and grew hundreds of varieties on his farm near Ettersburg. His strawberries are grown word wide. He left a long legacy. So now that we have the ideal climate here, how do we go about taking advantage of it?

A Solution to the Orchard Feast or Famine

You come across many a big old apple tree bearing hundreds of little apples, and in the fall those little apples are all piled underneath them. What a waste. But that's because fruit trees are not designed for the back yard; after all, they are orchard trees. A fifteen-foot-high apple tree provides a truckload of fruit in a space of a few weeks. This is great for the farmer and good for the market, but how many families can use that much all at once? Wouldn't it be better if you got a little bit of fruit every week instead?

Here's a solution, how you can grow up to a half-dozen different trees that mature at different times, in the same space as one full-size apple tree, and enjoy fruit from late summer until Christmas. And as a benefit, your orchard work is spread out in little chunks and you can do all the pruning and picking from the ground. But we're not planting dwarf trees, stay away from those. They bring a lot of drawbacks into the picture, including slow growth, weak roots that are susceptible to diseases, and a need to be permanently staked. And even dwarf trees are going to need pruning and the same amount of care. All orchards need proper and timely care. If you are unwilling to dedicate some time to maintain the trees and fruit, then you shouldn't waste your time and money planting them.

We're going to be following an orchard planted in Fortuna. The trees were planted in February 2005. There are six varieties and the orchard uses 180 square feet of space, about the same as one average sized apple tree. They are planted in a hedgerow about six feet wide and five feet apart. The trees are kept pruned to no higher than a tall person can reach.

And if you're not in Northern California? You can still use this technique but you'll have to choose varieties that do well in your area. Contact your local Agriculture Department for free information or seek advice at a professional nursery.

Keeping it Manageable

By now you've figured out that the whole secret is in keeping the trees small and also growing different varieties to stagger the ripening period. The first apples are ready the end of summer and the last ripen around Christmas. Instead of bushels of fruit all at once in mid-September, you'll be able to harvest a few pounds every week for five months.

September 2008, the orchard is three years old. The 2007 harvest was about three dozen apples. The 2008 crop adds up to about 160 apples. They ripened from late August until New Years - more on this later.

It's easy to plant a tree—dig a hole, put the root part in, cover it up. But that's not where it begins. So where do we begin? Well, let's choose some varieties first.