Chill hours are the number of cold hours or days that a deciduous fruit tree (or nut tree) requires for flowering and fruit production each year. Every fruit tree variety has its own number of hours of chill needed for fruit production. Some fruit trees need as few as 100 chill hours, others need as
Cordoned apple trees along garden wall Planning the home fruit garden requires a bit more future-thinking than the vegetable garden. Most vegetables are annuals or biennials and spend just one or two seasons in the garden. Most fruits are trees or shrubs and live for 10 to 50 years or more. The first consideration in
Grow guava in your garden. Guava is a tropical and subtropical plant. Guava is native to Southern Mexico. In the United States, it is grown mostly in Florida, Hawaii, Southern California, and parts of Texas. With protection, it can be grown in USDA Zones 8b and 9. Guava is round to pear-shaped fruit commonly 2
Tangors are sour-sweet and full-flavored citrus. They are hybrids between mandarins and sweet oranges. Tangors are sometimes mislabeled as oranges. Tangors have bright orange rinds and pulps. Though their rinds are thick, tangors are easy to peel. The name “tangor” is a formation from the “tang” of tangerine (a name often applied to deep orange-colored
Tangelos are easy to grow in home and backyard gardens. Tangelos are hybrids of mandarins and grapefruits. The name tangelo is short for “tang” tangerine (a popular name for mandarins) and “elo” from pummelo (once the name used for grapefruits, but in actuality a separate fruit). Tangelo fruits can vary in color and size but
The mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata) is a small citrus tree that resembles an orange. The mandarin orange is not one citrus fruit but many. Some mandarin oranges are called mandarins, some are called tangerines, and some are called clementines. Most mandarins are half the size of an orange or smaller, but some are just as large. Most
Pears are easy to grow. There are pears for fresh eating, cooking, and canning. Pears grow just about everywhere apples grow with the exception of far northern gardens. Grow pears in USDA Zones 4 to 9. Most pears require cross-pollination for fruit set. Choose pears that flower at the same time in spring—early, mid-spring, or
Strawberries are the first fruit of spring. They can also be one of the last fruits harvested in autumn, and they are a winter crop in many regions. To get a long harvest of strawberries, choose a combination of early harvest, mid-season harvest, and late-season harvest June-bearing strawberries, and also plant everbearing, and day-neutral varieties.
Crop rotation means moving vegetables around the garden to maintain soil fertility. By rotating crops from one spot to another each season—or even in the same season, you can preserve and even boost nutrients in the soil. Differing crops use different amounts of soil nutrients and a few crops add nutrients to the soil. How
Plant leeks and shallots in autumn and spring. Leeks and shallots are easy to grow. They are the subtle, refined-flavor alternatives to bulb onions and garlic. In mild winter regions, plant leeks and shallots in late autumn or winter. In cool–but not cold–winter regions plant leeks and shallots in late summer and autumn for spring
