Fruit Trees Part 1, homesteading, food storage, peak oil
Robert Henry of the Survival Report brings you the first of a series of videos on starting out with fruit trees. He includes tips on buying the right types of trees for your area, how to care for them, irrigation solutions as well as information on diseases and treatments. With the ever growing possibility of an economic collapse or depression and with food shortages currently being a daily news item, now more than ever it’s important to works towards some level of self-sufficiency with your food supply. Long term storage of foods is very important but also is the ability to produce food and preserve it. www.survivalreport.net
25 Responses to Fruit Trees Part 1, homesteading, food storage, peak oil
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Have you ever considered using the left over fruit and waste for biomass and biofuel?
lamarjlp914
December 21, 2011 at 4:29 am
can you grow from seed, will they fruit and taste good?
mtoliveoil
December 21, 2011 at 5:06 am
@SPCkeith Typically you won’t see fruit for a couple of years. Most nurseries sell a 2 to 3 year old “whip”. Occasionally you’ll find a potted tree that’s slightly older. If your seeing a little apple now everything is fine. Pick it off and let the tree focus on growing the first few years. This is why they are a long term option. One of the first things you should do when you establish your retreat- put in your fruit trees and dig your pond(s) as they take the longest to get established.
SurvivalReport
December 21, 2011 at 5:21 am
After re-reading your first post, if the trees were full sized ones, I think you will just have to wait & see what happens?…I think it will take a few years(maybe 5?) for your trees to get up to production size…?…I think if you already have had a little apple, then that is a good sign?..Good luck on your apple orchard & post when you start to get apples…I think that will help others & to give them some hope! 🙂
themelclub
December 21, 2011 at 6:10 am
@themelclub i have 3 trees they are about 10 feet apart, don’t know if thats close enough but i didn’t want them to get crowded
SPCkeith
December 21, 2011 at 6:51 am
@SPCkeith If I can remember it, they came on in the fall?…it has been a while..But, the tree was grafted so that it didn’t need a cross-pollinator, I believe?…Look up some gardening sites, such as Stark Bros….That might help you, also…They always have good trees.You might need a pollinator?..
themelclub
December 21, 2011 at 7:40 am
@themelclub yeah i found some apple trees at a nursery last fall not sure the variety. but the trees have be in for about 9 months now and i have seen one tiny apple. about what time of year do the apples form? i have plums galore in mid june but not sure when the apples are in season. oh and the trees have put on about 2 feet in the 9 months
SPCkeith
December 21, 2011 at 8:27 am
@SPCkeith There are apple trees that grow in the South & that will produce apples, you just have to plant the right variety…When we lived in Southern California, I planted a variety called: Beverly Hills Apple…it had huge apples on it, the first year..they were green & they were delicious!…Hope this will help?
themelclub
December 21, 2011 at 9:18 am
I have had good luck with blueberries,rasberries and grapes in my area of southern wv. Stone fruits grow well but are under so much disease pressure it is hard to do well with them.You can turn those fruits into ready to can juice with a Finnish….. mehu lisa steam juicer. It makes grape juice comparable to welches
Gunnarsguns
December 21, 2011 at 10:05 am
No pawpaws, sorry.
SurvivalReport
December 21, 2011 at 10:33 am
were one of those trees a pawpaw?
wheelori814
December 21, 2011 at 11:06 am
ok thanks for your time and wisdom I appreciate it. seeya round
SPCkeith
December 21, 2011 at 11:37 am
Depends on the variety of the tree. Some apples like we plant here are “low chill hours” specifically for warmer climates.
SurvivalReport
December 21, 2011 at 11:50 am
so about how many chill hours do you want?
SPCkeith
December 21, 2011 at 11:59 am
Number of hours below 40 degrees IIRC. Depends on where you are in TN, check with your local extension service as to your chill hours for your area. If it’s got apples on it, it may produce fine in your area. Big difference from TN to FloriGaBama where we are 🙂 Good luck.
SurvivalReport
December 21, 2011 at 12:39 pm
damnit so what is a chill hour? is it like how cold it gets for how long? plus its got little apples on it now.
SPCkeith
December 21, 2011 at 1:00 pm
They will likely grow, just might not PRODUCE apples. The Red delicious apple trees we put in here in the mid 90’s grew, just never produced a single apple due to the lack of chill hours.
SurvivalReport
December 21, 2011 at 1:27 pm
crap wish i saw this earlier. I’mn in TN went to a local place and got some red delicious trees come to find out they may not grow.
SPCkeith
December 21, 2011 at 2:23 pm
Local extension agent, maps that are in every gardening book, online.
SurvivalReport
December 21, 2011 at 2:24 pm
How do I get more information about chill hours in our own areas?
mandenicol
December 21, 2011 at 3:17 pm
I planted out in the yard I used the same pot soil and broke it up to loosen it first before planting. I did put fertilizer though so that is where I might of gone wrong. The soil here is really clay. I think I’m going to raised beds to plant my garden this year mixed with alot of dirt.
roughneck10000
December 21, 2011 at 3:40 pm
Bare root or potted? Potted you can plant pretty much whenever- weather permitting. Bare root you will need to plant within certain times. Dig an extra big hole, do NOT put fertilizer in the hole with the tree, water heavily after planting to help settle soil.
SurvivalReport
December 21, 2011 at 4:32 pm
To be honest I have no clue. I’m trying the garden agian this year and will research which time of year is best to plant trees included.
roughneck10000
December 21, 2011 at 4:56 pm
Sorry to hear that. Lack of water? Bad soil? Any ideas what happened?
SurvivalReport
December 21, 2011 at 5:43 pm
My pear trees died last year right after I planted them. =(
roughneck10000
December 21, 2011 at 6:25 pm