I need some direction with fruit trees...

[Rikki Jean]

This is my second year gardening, and I *think* I am ready to take on some trees...I think. We have 1/3 acre, with at least half of it going unused (our house is small, and my garden isn't huge...yet), so I have a lot of space. I am just really nervous about starting out, doing the right things, etc. The time to buy most of the things I want is coming up soon, so I'm looking for some info!

I went to a seminar on edible landscaping a while back, and the guy there recommended planting three to four similar trees (but w/different fruits) together. Oh, gosh, I forgot what the method was specifically called, but it was basically to take up less space, keep them at short heights (like under seven feet, so that there won't be any rotting fruit at the top that no one can reach) have them graft together, etc. I'm sure someone here will know what I'm talking about. I guess that I should go find my notes from the seminar!

Another thing that he talked about was that trees should be on the perimeter. I have plenty of perimeter on my property, so that shouldn't be an issue.

Anyway, I already have a fig tree, a pomegranate tree that is way out of control (it's like twenty feet high, so we can't ever get any of the fruit; if we have it cut down to a lower height, will it start producing on the lower branches?), and a kumquat tree that really doesn't do anything exciting (I think it needs more water).

Some trees that I'd like are: orange, tangerine, lemon, lime, olive (kalamata; I'm Greek, so I HAVE to have kalamata olives...along with some grape vines eventually too!), apple, cherry, persimmon, avocado, peach (I think we may actually have a peach tree trying to grow out there, but the water doesn't reach it, so it doesn't get far)...I'm sure there's more, but that's a lot already, right?


One big issue that I have: water. We have no in-ground irrigation. My entire garden is on soaker hoses. Our only outdoor water sources right now are on one side of our house, and in the front of our house. I already hae three 100-foot hoses hooked up to the side of the house with lots of soakers on those, and I know from experience that there won't be enough water to get through any more length on the already established hoses. We talked to our plumber about putting a water line out in the middle of the backyard, and it's going to be about $300...something that we won't be able to afford for a long time.

So, should I just keep dreaming, or can we make it work?

To give you some perspective on our property, I'm including some links to pictures of our yard. These were taken two years ago, when we first moved in, so there have been LOTS of changes (like food growing! Yay!).

This is a so-so shot of the backyard, from the back of our house. On the right, you can see the pomegranate tree, the kumquat tree, and the fig tree. Where that bench is, and most of the area around it, is now my melon and squash patch. Where the first fence is, my basil and compost piles are in front of it (weird combo, I know ), and my tomato plants and peppers take up about 250 square feet behind it.
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/IMG_0145.jpg

This is what's beyond the barn (on the left in the previous picture). There's still nothing there.
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/IMG_0148.jpg

This is what's to the right of where I was standing in the first picture. I have no idea what that tree is...if you know, let me know!
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/IMG_0147.jpg

Front yard
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/IMG_0151.jpg

More front yard, to the left of the other picture. My kale and cabbage are in that flower bed now, going all the way to the front of the yard.
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/IMG_0150.jpg

ETA: I've just been inspired to take new pictures of my house and yard!

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

I'm still making baby steps into the world of fruit trees myself but this sounds like what they guy from the seminar was talking about

http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/BOC_explained.html

[Rikki Jean]

Originally Posted by Rhiannon Feimorgan

I'm still making baby steps into the world of fruit trees myself but this sounds like what they guy from the seminar was talking about

http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/BOC_explained.html

Thanks! That was really informative. I just wish that he talked about water more; he mentioned avoiding over-watering, but didn't expand on that...

[lmonter]

Backyard Orchard Culture?
Since you're not a commercial orchard, you can do whatever you want to - as long as you find something that works for you. Unless you really do need to get a tractor through your yard. But my land is only .28 acres with a fair-sized split level, so I have a rough idea of what you've got to work with.

Okay. Yes, ideally you want trees near the perimeter so they don't shade the middle of your yard, especially if you plan to turn most of the yard into garden. But sometimes you just have to work with the space you've got, and don't always have a choice.

Wow, you really do have a blank slate, don't you?

Do you have any neighborhood pest problems? Deer or anything? If not, then I'd definitely be tempted to put 3-4 fruit trees in the front yard. Just not super close to the house because I'm sure you don't want to mess around with possible future foundation issues. And make sure the cherry/apple/peach trees you get don't need a ton of chill hours since it sounds like you live in a very warm weather climate. Because some varieties of those can be pretty picky about wanting a certain amount of winter.

I think you can give your pomegranate a good haircut - just no more than a third of the growth/branches though if I remember right. I have an italian plum tree that my FIL cut off all the lower branches and basically just attacked the poor thing with the pruning shears. Took about 2-3 years, but now it's back in full force and even started growing a bunch of lower branches to where my 5yo can even pick plums this year if he wanted.

Watering. We don't have a sprinkler system either. Hubby rigged up some drip irrigation for our garden/yard. Our baby fruit trees are on the edge of our main garden bed, so we just extend a drip line to them from the main garden. Our mature fruit trees? Eh, we just water them when we water the lawn, and Mother Nature takes care of the rest. But when I say mature, I mean 10-20yo trees.
Hubby has a 4-way hose splitter on the one water outlet for the backyard. Last year he did some digging (and a little this year as well) and put in some PVC pipe under our sod to carry water from the spigot to the garden beds where we have the drippers and little sprayers and all that jazz hooked up. Groovy thing about this is that the underground stuff keeps it out of the way so the kids don't decimate hoses and whatnot, but the actual layout of the garden changes from year to year so that part's totally flexible to mess with as I want. Plus with the splitter and such, he hooked on a timer so the garden gets watered automatically so spazzy me doesn't forget to water in 90* heat and so on. Plus watering 1200+sf by hand takes a long time. Maybe it won't be a big deal when I'm older and don't have a kid on each ankle, but still.

If that doesn't make sense, I'll try to snag a few photos this weekend to show what I'm talking about, no worries.