Harvest Day spotlights wide range of varieties in demonstration orchard
|
|
Asian pears grow on an espaliered tree at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)
|
Ever see a pawpaw? What about an atemoya or a pluerry? Those are just a taste of the exotic fruits that grow in the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center’s demonstration orchard.
Designed to be easy-care and easy-picking, the orchard is pruned for compact spaces – such as a typical Sacramento backyard. But small spaces can produce big harvests.
See for yourself Saturday, Aug. 6, during Harvest Day, the Sacramento region’s celebration of gardening know-how.
Hosted by the UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners of Sacramento County, this free event is annually Sacramento’s biggest free garden party. But due to pandemic restrictions, this will be the first in-person Harvest Day since 2019. Hours will be 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission and parking are free.
Sacramento County master gardener Quentyn Young, a longtime professional nurseryman, oversees the 60-tree orchard. Young and other volunteers will be on hand Saturday to answer all sorts of questions. What’s the best tasting peach? How can you get more fruit in a small tree? Can you grow tropical fruit in Sacramento?
At the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, the master gardeners experiment with techniques of care as well as testing varieties for hardiness, disease resistance and flavor.
Says Young, “We grow a lot of fruit: Peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots, pluerries, cherries, apples, pears, Asian pears, avocado, atemoya, pawpaw, guavas, figs, pomegranates, persimmons and all kinds of citrus.
“We’re having a really good fruit year, especially peaches and plums,” he adds. “(Ripening) is maybe running a week early, but it’s pretty close to our harvest guidelines.”
The master gardeners keep their fruit trees short – under 7 feet. That makes their harvest easier to pick (no ladders necessary) as well as reduces the water needs of each tree. (There’s less tree!)
|
|
Ever seen pawpaws? This Shenandoah variety grew in 2018
in the FOHC orchard. |
Young trees (under 3 years old) may need extra water to get established; figure an extra 5 gallons per week. To retain that moisture and keep roots comfortable, use lots of mulch. That also keeps down water-robbing weeds.
“Mulch definitely helps,” Young says. “We have layers and layers of wood chips, a mix of everything (Sacramento County) crews chipped. We put down a fresh layer two or three times a year.”
Some fruit trees get by with less water better than others; in fact, they prefer it, Young notes. “All the biblical fruit: Olives, almonds, pomegranates, grapes, dates, figs. They’re native to the Mediterranean or desert regions. (Most varieties) require very little water. Everything else needs weekly irrigation.”
Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is located at 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks, in Fair Oaks Park. Details: https://sacmg.ucanr.edu/ .
Comments
0 comments have been posted.Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
Thanks to Our Sponsor!
Local News
Sites We Like
Garden Checklist for week of Jan. 19
Dress warmly in layers – and get to work:
* Apply horticultural oil to fruit trees to control scale, mites and aphids. Oils need 24 hours of dry weather after application to be effective.
* This is also the time to spray a copper-based oil to peach and nectarine trees to fight leaf curl. The safest effective fungicides available for backyard trees are copper soap -- aka copper octanoate -- or copper ammonium, a fixed copper fungicide. Apply either of these copper products with 1% horticultural oil to increase effectiveness.
* Prune, prune, prune. Now is the time to cut back most deciduous trees and shrubs. The exceptions are spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.
* Now is the time to prune fruit trees. Clean up leaves and debris around the trees to prevent the spread of disease. (The exceptions are apricot and cherry trees, which are susceptible to a fungus that causes dieback if pruned now. Save those until summer.)
* Prune roses, even if they’re still trying to bloom. Strip off any remaining leaves, so the bush will be able to put out new growth in early spring.
* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.
* When forced bulbs sprout, move them to a cool, bright window. Give them a quarter turn each day so the stems will grow straight.
* Browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.
* Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.
* Cut back and divide chrysanthemums.
* Plant bare-root roses, trees and shrubs.
* Transplant pansies, violas, calendulas, English daisies, snapdragons and fairy primroses.
* In the vegetable garden, plant fava beans, head lettuce, mustard, onion sets, radicchio and radishes.
* Plant bare-root asparagus and root divisions of rhubarb.
* In the bulb department, plant callas, anemones, ranunculus and gladioli for bloom from late spring into summer.
* Plant blooming azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons. If you’re shopping for these beautiful landscape plants, you can now find them in full flower at local nurseries.
Powered by California Local
