Bare Root Fruit Trees: Choosing and Planting

What is a bare root fruit tree? A young fruit or nut-bearing deciduous tree, offered for sale in the winter. “A stick with roots”. Fruits include apples, apricots, apriums, cherries, figs, mulberries, peaches, pears, persimmons, plums, pluots, nectarines and pomegranates. Nut varieties are also available bare root in the winter, including walnuts, almonds, pistachios, filberts, chestnuts and pecans. Vine and bush fruits are also for sale in the winter, including blueberries, grapes and kiwi. Citrus is an evergreen plant, available year round.

 

Why grow your own fruit? For better health and better taste. Nothing beats the taste of home grown fruit! What follows are some tips for

turning this...

 Into this!                                                                                                Or this!

 

Shop local. Your local nurseryperson knows your soil and growing conditions, and will carry fruit tree varieties that will do well in your area. Of those, choose fruit trees that you enjoy! Wondering which ones taste the best? Master fruit tasters have their favorites listed online, at davewilson.com, a wholesale grower of fruit and nut trees. Consider getting several trees that will ripen at different times.

Before You Buy, Plan Ahead. Fruit trees do best in a sunny location with good drainage. They need eight or more hours of sun. Six hours of sun is pushing your luck. Wet soils are a major cause of fruit tree failure. 

 

If that hole you dug doesn’t drain within 24 hours, build a raised bed, at least 4’ x 4’x 12-16” high. Cherries and apricots need the best drainage for success. The fruit trees most tolerant of slow-draining soils are apples and pears.

Don’t be too concerned about a crooked top. After you plant a three to five foot tall bare root fruit tree, you can cut it off at knee-height. That way, the fruit-bearing branches will be lower, within easy reach. If you don’t let the tree get taller than seven feet, that fruit will ALWAYS be easy to reach.

Pay attention to the bud union. This is the spot where the tree variety is attached to the rootstock. It should be straight, not bent.

Look at the roots. They should not be brittle, damaged or cracked.

Walk away from bare root trees that:
• Have tunneling around the bud union (they might be borers).
• Oozing, dark colored bark (might be bacterial canker).
• Have been at the nursery for more than two years, if they are in containers. If in doubt, ask the nurseryperson.

When you get the tree home: Treat it nice, immediately. Don’t let the roots dry out. If you are going to plant later that day or the next day, place the tree in a bucket of water or cover with a wet blanket. If it is going to be several days before you plant, bury the roots into soil (“heeling in”). This can be in your garden soil, compost, potting soil, or even a pile of wet leaves.

Dig a $50 Hole for that $20 Tree.
The hole should be wide, not deep. About four feet wide and as deep as the rootstock portion of the tree. Loosen the six feet of surrounding soil outside the hole to that depth. Feeder roots travel outward, not downward.

Plant the Tree Correctly. Set the tree on a slight mound in the middle of the hole, and gently coax the roots to face outward. Look for  a color change on the tree below the bud union; the tree should be planted no deeper than that. Ideally, plant the tree with that mark about an inch above the existing soil line to allow for settling. Set your shovel handle across the hole to determine that point. Use only the soil that came with the hole.

Top With Mulch. After planting, surround the tree with three or four inches of organic mulch; the mulch should extend out several feet. Mulch feeds the soil, suppresses weeds, cools the soil in the summer and helps maintain even moisture, too. Don’t let mulch touch the trunk, though. That can lead to rot problems.

Fertilize? Wait until the tree is actively growing, choosing a fertilizer that lists fruit trees on the label. Whichever fertilizer you use, read and follow label directions.

Add Water. Carefully. The primary cause of fruit tree failure is poor irrigation: either too much or too little water. Use a moisture meter or a soil auger to determine how wet or dry the soil is at root level. Or, grab a handful of the soil at a depth of 8 to 10 inches to determine how wet the soil is. Start doing this when that new fruit tree begins to flower. And, do it before you water.

  

Give the tree some sunburn protection. Paint that bare stick with a 50-50 mix of interior white latex paint and water; or, purchase tree whitewash at a nursery. That new tree is very susceptible to sunburn, which can lead to a cracked trunk…an entry point for insect and disease problems. 

In a few years, with a little bit of care, your kitchen counter will be overflowing with homegrown, healthy fruit.

It's Crop Rotation Time! Do You Have Room?

    August is a confusing time for many California gardeners. The tomatoes, peppers, beans, melons, etc. are just reaching their harvesting peak. And yet, August is the best time for starting the winter vegetable garden! 

     Among the vegetable seeds that can be sown during August and September here in California's Central Valley: beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, collards, endive, fennel, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, head lettuce, mustard, onion seed, white potatoes, radish, rutabaga and brussels sprouts. In September, many of those same crops can be planted in the garden from transplants from the nursery, including leaf lettuce (leaf lettuce seed goes dormant in warm soil this time of year).

     The problem is, where are you going to plant them?

     With a crop rotation plan, the problem is solved. By having a series of garden planting areas, one or more areas can lay dormant (fallow) from late spring through mid-summer. Then, in August-September, you'll have the room for the winter veggies, while still harvesting your summer bounty from the other beds. For best results, any fallow bed, including any bare beds in the winter, should have a cover crop or compost, to replenish the soil with nutrients.

Rotate Crops Clockwise

      

     Another advantage of having a series of garden beds in the same area: each crop can be irrigated according to its specific needs. For example, as onions and garlic mature in May, watering should be reduced. But that is also the time that summer crops such as tomato and pepper plants need regular watering. An automatic irrigation system, such as battery operated timers that attach to outdoor water faucets, can customize the amount of water for each bed. In the circular garden, the water faucets can be centrally located in the middle for ease of operation.

     Why rotate your backyard garden crops? Many of the plants that are in the same "family group" have diseases in common. Many of these diseases are difficult, or impossible, to control using chemicals. The best solution for disease control is crop rotation. 


     Also, choose resistant varieties of vegetables to help thwart diseases. For example, tomatoes with a "V" "F" and/or "N" after their names indicates resistance to verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt and nematodes. 


     For crops with no resistant varieties, choose those varieties that are meant to grow in the area you live. And, it helps to spread an inch or two of compost over all your garden beds before you plant each year.

CROP ROTATION FOR THE HOME GARDEN

YEAR 1

BED 1	BED 2	BED 3	BED 4	BED 5	BED 6
Spread compost. Plant a cover crop.	Tomato Pepper Okra Potato Eggplant	Onions Garlic Beets Carrots	Peas Beans	Squash Pumpkins Melons Cucumbers Corn	Cabbage, Lettuce Spinach, Radish Turnip, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts Kale, Cauliflower, Mustard

YEAR 2

BED 1	BED 2	BED 3	BED 4	BED 5	BED 6
Cabbage, Lettuce Spinach, Radish Turnip, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts Kale, Cauliflower, Mustard	Spread compost. Plant a cover crop.	Tomato Pepper Okra Potato Eggplant	Onions Garlic Beets Carrots	Peas Beans	Squash Pumpkins Melons Cucumbers Corn

YEAR 3

BED 1	BED 2	BED 3	BED 4	BED 5	BED 6
Squash Pumpkins Melons Cucumbers Corn	Cabbage, Lettuce Spinach, Radish Turnip, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts Kale, Cauliflower, Mustard	Spread compost. Plant a cover crop.	Tomato Pepper Okra Potato Eggplant	Onions Garlic Beets Carrots	Peas Beans

YEAR 4

BED 1	BED 2	BED 3	BED 4	BED 5	BED 6
Peas Beans	Squash Pumpkins Melons Cucumbers Corn	Cabbage, Lettuce Spinach, Radish Turnip, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts Kale, Cauliflower, Mustard	Spread compost. Plant a cover crop.	Tomato Pepper Okra Potato Eggplant	Onions Garlic Beets Carrots

YEAR 5

BED 1	BED 2	BED 3	BED 4	BED 5	BED 6
Onions Garlic Beets Carrots	Peas Beans	Squash Pumpkins Melons Cucumbers Corn	Cabbage, Lettuce Spinach, Radish Turnip, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts Kale, Cauliflower, Mustard	Spread compost. Plant a cover crop.	Tomato Pepper Okra Potato Eggplant

YEAR 6

BED 1	BED 2	BED 3	BED 4	BED 5	BED 6
Tomato Pepper Okra Potato Eggplant	Onions Garlic Beets Carrots	Peas Beans	Squash Pumpkins Melons Cucumbers Corn	Cabbage, Lettuce Spinach, Radish Turnip, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts Kale, Cauliflower, Mustard	Spread compost. Plant a cover crop.

ANNUAL COVER CROPS FOR CALIFORNIA

Warm Weather: Buckwheat, cowpeas, soybeans, black eye peas.

Cool Weather: bell or fava beans, winter peas, vetch, clover.

A Great Year for Tomato Blossom End Rot

2010 is shaping up as a great year for backyard tomatoes...with blossom end rot. During tomato planting time here (late April-early May), the weather was cooler than normal, and much wetter. That pattern continued through the rest of May; our typical valley heat didn't arrive until late June. Tomatoes took their time. There are still gardeners waiting patiently for their beefsteaks and other main season tomatoes to turn red (true here, too).

For those tomatoes that are ripening, many gardeners are now contending with a major outbreak of blossom end rot. Tomato plants with blossom end rot show small, light brown spots at the blossom end of immature fruit. The affected area gradually expands into a sunken, leathery, brown or black lesion as the fruit ripens. Hard, brown areas may develop inside the fruit, either with or without external symptoms.
 
According to the tomato heads at UC Davis, the problem occurs when tomato plants have grown rapidly during the early part of the season and are then subjected to hot dry weather when the fruits are in an early stage of development. You know, sort of like the weather in late June.



Some tomato varieties are more susceptible to blossom end rot, including plum and pear-shaped tomatoes.

Although the weather and the variety of tomato sets the table for blossom end rot, many other factors are major contributors. 

Mainly, you. 

Yes, blossom end rot is related to a deficiency of calcium in the tomato fruit, but that occurs for several reasons that can be classified as “operator error”. Among them:

• Too much water.
• Not enough water.
• Irregular soil moisture, brought on by, um, irregular watering.
• Too much nitrogen fertilizer.
• Planting in soil whose pH is not conducive to calcium uptake by the plant (below 5.5 or above 8).
• Planting in poorly drained soil.
• Planting in too sandy of a soil.
• Improper planting (spreading out the roots when planting helps the plant adapt better)
• Excessive levels of potassium.
• Excessive pruning.
• Lack of an organic mulch. (organic mulch helps moderate soil temperature and moisture fluctuations)
• Using a plastic mulch which might raise the soil temperature too high.
• Planting certain tomato varieties that are prone to blossom end rot, especially narrow paste tomatoes.

The most critical mistake gardeners contribute to blossom end rot: not monitoring the soil moisture at root level.  
Although the surface of the soil may appear dry, the moisture level a few inches down may be correct. If more water is added at that time, then the soil becomes so moist that oxygen is unavailable for root growth and calcium will not be absorbed. Why? Excess soil moisture, combined with a lack of soil oxygen, speeds the formation of Casparian strips, deposits on the young root tips that have become suberized, waxy substances through which water and nutrients cannot move.

If the soil in the root zone is too dry, then the calcium will not move to the roots. Dry soil and hot, dry, windy days create a water and calcium deficiency in the plant. Even a brief soil water deficit can disrupt water and nutrient flow in the plant. If this occurs while fruits are developing, blossom-end rot will likely develop.

Automatic irrigation timers may save you time, but it may not save your tomato plants from blossom end rot. Watering schedules need to be adjusted to the weather to maintain even soil moisture.

And when it comes to garden problems, many folks think the answer is, “buy something and put it on the plant”.  

Buying stuff won’t necessarily end blossom end rot.
 
Among the “store-bought remedies” that are frequently suggested that have been proven to be of little or no value to ending blossom end rot:

• Applying a foliar calcium spray to the tomato leaves. In University tests, studies showed that calcium does not move from leaves to the fruits. Thus, foliar sprays of calcium won't correct blossom end rot. Tomato fruits do not have openings in the epidermis (skin) through which calcium can be absorbed. Contrary to past belief, the direct application of calcium as a spray is ineffective.

• Adding a calcium supplement, such as gypsum, limestone, or eggshells. Perhaps. But it depends on your soil. 

• Limestone can raise the pH in soil to a range more favorable to tomatoes and calcium uptake, around 7.0. But if your soil is already in that range, adding limestone may raise the pH to the point where calcium uptake is again, slowed.

• Adding crushed eggshells to the soil well before transplanting time may help overcome any calcium deficiency already in the soil. But it ain’t gonna help your tomatoes if they are already in the ground.

• And gypsum (calcium sulfate)? Dr. Linda Chalker Scott of Washington State University's Horticulture Department, and author of the award winning book, “The Informed Gardener”, says home gardeners are wasting their money. “Most urban soils are not improved by adding gypsum,” she states in her on-line newsletter, “Horticultural Myths”. “Adding gypsum to sandy or non-salty soils is a waste of money, natural resources, and can have negative impacts on on plant, soil and ecosystem health.” However, she points out, gypsum can improve the structure and fertility of heavy clay soils; but consider another undesirable result to adding gypsum: Gypsum can have negative effects on mycorrhizal inoculation of roots.

Maintaining the proper balance of potassium, phosphorus and other soil nutrients and avoiding excessive growth due to over-fertilization with nitrogen is recommended. Some university studies, including a study from Cornell University, suggest that a low nitrogen, high phosphorus, low potassium fertilizer (such as a 4-12-4) may help control blossom end rot.

Excess levels of ammonium (NH4-N), magnesium, potassium and sodium have been reported to reduce the availability of calcium, according to the journal "Agronomy". That same study reported that the use of nitrate nitrogen (NO3) might stimulate Calcium uptake.

Their best advice: A soil test should be conducted to help determine what needs to be added and what should not be added to your garden soil.
 

And, use a moisture meter. 

 

Golden Years Gardening

     As we age, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weaker...when it comes to gardening. 

     Our enjoyment of growing fruit, flowers and vegetables seems to increase as the years fly by. Maybe it's because we've come to better appreciate how nature works; maybe it's because we enjoy doing things closer to home; or, maybe it's because plants don't talk back. 

     Whatever the reason, one thing is for certain: we don't bend down into a flower bed, lift bags of fertilizer and pull weeds as easily as we used to. As a result, we know that a few hours working briskly in the yard may result in an evening of moving slower.
   
    Here are some tips for implementing an easy-care garden for the Golden Years, advice that can be summed up in three words: automate, elevate and eliminate.

• Automate. Provide your garden with an automatic watering system. The efficiency of an automated sprinkler or drip irrigation system protects your plants from the summertime heat when you're away from home. And, a good drip system reduces water usage, unwanted weed growth and plant diseases. Install low-voltage night lighting, equipped with sensors, to automatically come on at sunset throughout the yard.

• Elevate. Build raised planters for your flowering plants and vegetables. Not only do raised beds reduce the amount of stooping and kneeling that are a necessary part of gardening, raised beds provide better drainage for plants that don't like "wet feet". Built of wood, concrete or brick, a raised bed, 18-24 inches high, gives you a place to sit while weeding, pruning or harvesting. Make the raised beds any length you desire; but keep the width less than four feet across for ease of reaching into the middle of the bed. And lining the bottom of these beds with quarter-inch mesh hardware cloth will keep gophers from sampling the fruits of your labor.

• Eliminate. Why waste time fretting over a habitually under performing perennial, shrub or tree? If it is growing awkwardly or is consistently pest infested despite your best efforts, bring out the chipper/shredder. Dig it out, chop it up and get another plant that will do better. Better yet, have someone else do the digging and chopping. 

Although the attempt to totally eradicate weeds is an exercise in futility, adding three or four inches of mulch, such as a walk-on bark, can dramatically reduce the amount of time you spend pulling weeds.