fruit
Connoisseur Fruits!
Willow Glen Library, 1157 Minnesota Ave, San Jose, 95125
Join Master Gardener Nancy Garrision for her fabulous introduction to the best tasting deciduous fruit trees that grow well in Willow Glen. Nancy has decades of experience growing almost every fruit tree imaginable, from the apples and oranges that come immediately to mind, to exotic subtropicals and also unusual varieties of more common fruit trees that have special properties -- particularly great taste, or long-lasting on the tree or in storage, or other special characteristics. You will be inspired to start or add to your own home orchard! And check out http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu!
The Master Gardeners also have these upcoming talks about fruit trees:
1. Getting Started to Plant Bare-Root Fruit Trees in January, Tuesday, November 25
2. Pruning Dormant Ornamental and Fruit Trees, Saturday, December 6, 2008
3. Grafting Fruit Trees, Saturday, December 13, 2008
4. Fruit Tree Pruning, Saturday, January 10, 2009
Fruits & Nuts
We have an assortment of information on fruits and nuts, including the following links:
- Recommended Fruits and Nuts
- Fruit Tree and Vine Care Calendar
- Apples
- Blackberries and Raspberries
- Blueberries
- Cherries
- Citrus Year Round
- Melons
- Strawberries
- Sunflower Propagation
There's also a lot of information from the University of California including caring for fruit trees, creating your own backyard orchard, and publications available for sale on-line.
Year Around Food for Your Family
by Nancy Garrison
Former Urban Horticulture and Master Gardener Program Coordinator
How much food can be produced in a typical 6,000 sq. ft. yard versus a full blown serious urban farm?
After thinking about your family's food preferences, consider the primary factors below to determine what to grow.
Factors Affecting Choosing What to Grow
Minimum effort for maximum production -- easy to grow: apples, figs, kiwi, pears, squash
- Nutritionally superior: Broccoli, chard, collard greens, kale, edamame
- Space efficient: Broccoli, tomatoes, peppers
- Well adapted to this area: Apples, apricots, feijoas, figs, pears, paw paws, peaches, just to name a few
- High value: Avocados, asian pears, white nectarines
- High yielding: Asian pears, apples, broccoli
- Hard-to-find items: Feijoas, fresh figs, passionfruit, strawberry guavas
- Hard-to-find varieties that are especially flavorful or hard to find vine-ripened: Apricots, lettuces, peaches, pluots
- Items hard to find consistently fresh: Sprouts, lettuce, figs, fresh herbs
If I was only going to grow a limited number of vegetables, based on the criteria above, it would be:
- Broccoli
- Chard
- Collards
- Edamame (fresh shelled soybeans)
- Kale
- Lettuce- can't buy this kind of homeo-grown freshness
- Garden herbs like chives, basil, arugula, mints, lemon verbena and cilantro
- Tomatoes
Six broccoli plants will yield 4-6 lbs. per week for 6 months. Two plantings will provide year around production and only require a 4 foot by 6 foot planting area.
Local Resources
The following links are to websites outside of the UC domain. No endorsement is intended of products, services or information nor is criticism implied of similar sites that are not mentioned.
Gardening Information
- California Landscape Contractors Association - tips for hiring a landscape professional
- Certified Arborist Lookup - find a certified arborist in your area and learn about basic tree care.
- Farmers' Markets - find Santa Clara County farmers' markets on the County of Santa Clara website or the Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Accociation website.
- Find a Green Gardener - Santa Clara Valley "Green Gardeners" are trained to maintain your garden using sustainable landscape maintenance practices.
- Master Composters of Santa Clara County - Recycling and composting info and classes
- Soil Testing Laboratories (PDF) Note: there's only one lab in Santa Clara County: Soil & Plant Laboratory in Santa Clara
Gardens and Parks
- Emma Prusch Farm Park - Gardens and farm animals
- Filoli Gardens - Magnificent gardens at an early 20th century country estate in San Mateo County
