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 July 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.
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.
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