Apple trees are best pruned in winter when they are dormant. Young apple trees can grow narrow and erect or open and spreading. At maturity, the apple tree will be spreading. Prune young narrow and erect apple trees by cutting branches just above buds which are pointed away from the center of the tree. Prune
Too many apples? Sometimes, yes. The best way to get large, delicious apples is thinning the crop. Thinning Apple Basics Thin the fruit to a distance of twice the diameter of the fruit at maturity. If you expect the mature apples to be 3-inches across, leave 6 inches between each apple after thinning. If you’re
Apples for eating out of hand, apples for baking and cooking, apples for sauce and juice, apples to serve with savory dishes and apples for dessert: there is an apple for every use. Apples that ripen early, apples that ripen mid-season, and apples that ripen late for eating right into winter: there is an apple
There are two apricots you must simply eat out of hand: ‘Blenheim’ is a medium to large, sweet and aromatic, and very juicy apricot with a classic apricot flavor; ‘Moorpark’ is a large, sweet, aromatic, and juicy apricot with a rich plum-like taste. You will find dozens of varieties of just picked apricots to choose
Artichokes grow best in areas of long mild winters and cool summers. Artichokes do not grow well where the summers are very hot, and where winters are cold and the ground freezes, artichokes must be replanted each year. Perennial artichokes should be cut back to about 12 inches in winter and the roots and crown
Thin sliced baby artichoke hearts tossed with thin sliced mint leaves, a bit of chopped garlic, fresh lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil then sprinkled with Parmesan cheese makes a tasty side salad. Baby artichokes are plentiful in spring. Artichokes are actually flower buds. You want to pick them while they are still tightly
Late summer is the time to find fresh arugula at the farm market. You might find it under a few of its other names: garden rocket, rocket salad, rucchetta, rughetta, rucola (the Italian name), and roquette (the French name). The taste of arugula has been described as tangy, peppery, nutty and mustard sharp. You get
Corn on the cob can be frozen August was the sixth month of the year in the early Roman calendar–called Sextilis, which means sixth–until the Emperor Augustus came along and rearranged the calendar and named the month after himself. In the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, August is the height of summer. Even though
Begin to think about harvest in mid to late summer. Warm-weather crops will be ready then. Keeping the soil evenly moist as crops finish maturing is important; you will stop watering many crops just a week or two before picking to concentrate flavor. Succession planting of summer crops where there is enough season left before
Avocadoes have a rich buttery textured flesh with a slightly nutty flavor and can be eaten as a vegetable or a fruit. There are both winter and summer harvest avocadoes. Winter harvest avocadoes are available at your farm market now. There are dozens and dozens of avocado varieties spread around the world. The variety you
