Ian has gotten very excited about planting fruit trees. When 2/3 of the trees we planted last year survived, he started thinking in terms of a whole grove of them. I dug a bunch of holes at his request, and we hauled a bunch of wood and manure, and we’re doing the hugelculture thing in a big way.
Of course he’s 30 years younger than I am and may actually survive to see fruit from the trees he plants. For myself, I’m not that optimistic. But he has offered to buy me one tree, to plant in the spot at the exit point of my grey-water pipe where the weeds are doing really well. I want to take him up on it, but don’t want to spend my twilight years tending a sapling-sized thing that will never pay me back with fruit. Apples, for example, are right out.
Right now I’m thinking maybe blueberries. In Michigan I saw big blueberry bushes that survived heat and cold just fine.
What do you think?
I agree, blueberries. They require acidic soil or supplements.
Most of the apple trees for sale will be grafted on one of the dwarf root stocks will start producing fruit when they are 3 or 4 years old, apples on apple roots ( grown from seed) can take 6 to 10 years to start fruiting. I’ve planted a 2 or 3 year old apple and had fruit the next year. I tried blueberries but I killed them the first year.
We planted a Honey Crisp apple this spring, and got maybe a dozen apples on it. They were quite a burden on the tiny twigs that the tree has for branches, but tasted good. The birds and squirrels seemed to enjoy them too.
The only trouble with apples is that they all seem to ripen at the same time, so you eat as many as you can, can what you can’t, and still throw away more than you use. I suspect this is true of most crops – when they are ready, you had better be.
Two possibilities that MIGHT avoid this, somewhat, are A) a fruit salad tree, which has peaches, nectarines, apricots, cherries grafted onto a single trunk (which can be done, because they are all closely related), or B) a mulch-variety apple grafting, that has the apples coming ripe at different times (My grandfather has one of these, and eventually most of the grafted branches died – after thirty years of harvests). You also need to be close enough to other apple trees to pollinate, but that should be no problem if your neighbor has trees in bloom at the same time as yours.
The person to ask is the one who sells trees in your area. They know what grows well, and what doesn’t.
BUT you won’t find much knowledge about the multiple grafting trees – they seem to be more of a novelty item.
erase and correct – replace “mulch-variety” with “multi-variety” – fat fingers strike again.
Out of my area of expertise, but someone told me that you can get dwarf apple trees that’ll bear pretty quickly. (As for excess apples- I slice and dry some, turn more into apple sauce for canning, and make pies. I like apples.)
Several good suggestions there, Joel. Dwarf fruit trees are better in your situation I think. They bear early and well if provided enough water. They are also less likely to be damaged by high winds. You MIGHT be able to grow some citrus variety if you can cobble up a small greenhouse. They also come in dwarf size.
Canning or drying is an excellent idea. Canned fruit keeps for many years, and is a welcome treat in the off season.I’m not sure canning would be practical in your situation, but drying definitely would be simple. And you can rehydrate them for deserts, baking, etc.
Maybe Claire could check with Jackie Atkinson for advice. Also, BHM has some excellent articles on their website which are available to non-subscribers. Jackie grows lemons in Minnesota, and has homesteaded in the New Mexico high desert.
Fig tree. So long as they can get TO the moisture, but aren’t IN it, they should do great in your climate zone. Mine started bearing just months after transplanting from it’s 3 gallon Lowes pot.
Having had a goodly number of fruit trees in various desert environments, I’ll second the advice to get apples, but get the semi-dwarf kind. A true dwarf is not all that common, and will never produce much. They are VERY picky about how they are pruned, and if done wrong you may destroy the fruiting spurs forever. Trust me… I done it already on a very expensive dwarf Alberta peach! 🙁
If you like dried apples, get one of the pie types, a Granny Smith or Pippin. Most of the apples grown for fresh eating do not really can or dry well and some develop a funny taste. For instance, the “Rome Beauty” tastes like cheap perfume…
Although all that info about fruit trees actually producing fruit in short order is encouraging (to we of the black thumb), I’d still be leaning toward blueberries if they can be grown locally.
Not that you care about healthy eating. But aside from being delicious and versatile (dry ’em and pop ’em on your oatmeal in the middle of winter), they’re about the healthiest of all fruits. Good for the brain. Can’t really say that about apples.
Somewhere in your vicinity, you should have a university extension agent (often at the local courthouse or courthouse annex if there’s no actual school nearby). She would know. Also, all those Mormons who specialize in turning deserts into gardens. Someone there will know.
Not to bea Debbie Downer or anything, but I suspect blueberries would be an epic failure in the high desert. They really need the kind of soil that doesn’t happen there, even with lots of amendments & TLC. Maybe using hugelkultur? Dunno, but if you only get one thing to plant it might be wise to go with something less iffy. YMHO, worth every penny you paid for it.
Joel, just a word of caution blueberries don’t self pollinate so you’ll need several bushes of different varieties if you want fruit.
Blueberries require deep, rich, acidic soil to start with. They would be very difficult to grow in the desert, even if you could acidify your soil and water enough. Oh yes, there is a serious alkaline component to most desert water, and that would quickly overwhelm any soil amendment you might use. I tried various acid loving plants in my desert gardening, though nothing as much as blueberries… and I did not have much success. Far better to plant something that has a good chance of thriving in your conditions. Merely surviving wouldn’t produce much fruit.
Talking to the local ag extension office would be a very good idea. They would provide both printed material and tips on best places to purchase plants and trees compatible with local conditions. And, in fact, you can probably get most of that sort of information right on the computer from home.
Another nyet on the blueberries in the desert from another desert gardener. For all the reasons MamaLiberty says. It’d be like you in a suit in DC…sickening & soon to be dead.
Rather than a tree, you might give some thought to fruit bearing bushes. Gooseberry, currant, sand cherry. Native bushes such as buffalo berry, wolf berry. Plums, peaches & apricots are known to do well in the desert SW. Semi-dwarf for sure. Remember Kit Carson brought the native peoples into submission in part by destroying their peach orchards. I’ve talked to Dine who still hate him for that.
Check out Plants of the Southwest for some native food bushes…
http://www.plantsofthesouthwest.com/