A Backyard Orchard for Everyone

Grow good fruit!

I’m excited to give talks on creating a Backyard Orchard this month at Disney Parks ‘Food and Wine Festival’.  There’s nothing like the taste of fruit that you have grown yourself ripened to the peak of flavor .  Follow these tips to create your own backyard orchard, even if you don’t have a yard!  A sunny balcony, patio, or entryway will work too!

WHAT IS A BACKYARD ORCHARD?

• Fruit trees, shrubs, vines, bedding plants that produce fruit in a home environment.
• Size of yard needed? ANY size: suburban backyard, condo/townhouse patio, or apartment balcony.

WHY HAVE A BACKYARD ORCHARD?

• TASTE! Impossible to get tree ripened taste unless you grow it yourself.
• CHOICE! Have a favorite peach? Love to cook with Meyer lemons, but can’t find them in the store?
• WORTHWHILE USE OF WATER! Instead of using precious water to irrigate decorative plants, get some food for the investment.
• BETTER HEALTH! If you grow it, you (and your kids!) will eat it!

HOW TO CREATE A BACKYARD ORCHARD

• SUN: Find a spot with at least 6 hours of sun.
• SPACE: What kind of space can you devote to your orchard?
  • Apartment: 1 or 2 potted dwarf trees in a half wine barrel, strawberries in a strawberry pot.
  • Condo/Townhouse: Espaliered fruit trees along building or property walls, blueberry shrubs in pots, grapevines on patio cover.
  • Suburban size garden: same as condo/townhouse but plant trees in ground, consider planting multiple trees of same family in one hole for extended harvests.
• CHOOSE PLANTS:
  • Plant what you like to eat:  apples, oranges, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, so many choices!
  • Plant for your zone.
  • Plant for size of your space: dwarf, semi dwarf, standard.

• PLANT
  • In containers
    • LARGE containers for dwarf fruit trees: half wine barrel size 24” wide x 18” deep
    • Use good quality potting mix
    • Certain plants prefer certain soils. Blueberries – acidic soil, citrus – more mineral content like cactus mix.
  • In the ground
    • Dig hole twice the diameter of the nursery pot and same depth.
    • If soil is not ideal, add compost to excavated soil.
  • Both containers and in ground:
    • Add fertilizer according to package directions to soil at time of planting.
    • Remove plant from nursery pot, loosen the roots, cut off any broken roots.
    • Plant root ball at same level it was in the pot (do not plant deeper).
    • Water well after planting.

CARING FOR YOUR BACKYARD ORCHARD

• WATER
  • In pots – frequently, check moisture with finger
  • In ground
    • less frequently, but deeply
    • water coverage 2 feet beyond drip line
  • Consider automatic timers
• FEEDING
  • At beginning of growth season, check for each type of plant/tree.
  • Type of Fertilizer
    • Organic vs. synthetic
    • NPK – choose one not too high in nitrogen
    • FOLLOW PACKAGE DIRECTIONS
    • Containers need more frequent feeding than in ground
    • In ground, apply at drip line to one foot past drip line

• PESTS/DISEASES
  • Keep clean, squirt with hose early in the day
  • Visit the University of California’s Integrated Pest Management website: www.ipm.ucdavis.edu, search by plant

• HARVEST
  • When fully ripe, taste test!
  • Early in the day.
  • Gently place in basket or harvest bag.
  • Avoid ladders, keep tree pruned short.

• STORAGE/PRESERVING
  • On counter for some fruits for few days, citrus for week+
  • In refrigerator for weeks.
  • In freezer, up to a year.
  • Make jam or can. Visit UC Master Food Preserver website: mfp.ucanr.edu.