How I did it: In September of 2008, I bought an older home that had ZERO landscaping!  I had always wanted to grow my own organic fruit and veggies, but had never had the opportunity (or perhaps courage) to try it out.  I thought that you had to have special skills or ???  

What was the point of having a dream for YEARS, and never do anything about it???!!!  I had no excuses this time... I needed to landscape so this was my opportunity!

In the neighboring town, there was an "Exotic Fruit Nursery" that I had seen for many years.  I was always curious but somehow thought it would all be above me.  I wouldn't be able to grow anything "Exotic."  But, now I had "no excuses" so I drove up, walked in, and WOW... all the FUN BEGAN!!!

It was December of 2008 in San Diego County.  I thought I'd be looking at a bunch of trees with no leaves and really had no direction.  The lady who was working walked me over to a table that was FILLED with FRUIT that they had grown right there on the property!  How could this be???!!!  It was DECEMBER... does fruit grow in December???

OK... so now you should see how naive and timid I was about growing fruit, but I assure you, EVERYTHING changed about me that day!  The lady walked me around their facility... I think about 6 acres filled with different types of fruit trees from all over the world.  I made it very clear that I wanted EASY TO GROW... LOW MAINTENANCE varieties that would work well where I lived.  She laughed... and I now know why... because all fruit trees need (when you get down to it) is LOVE and they will produce for you.  Is there work involved, yes, but truly, it is very minimal and it is LIFE GIVING in more ways than one.

I asked if there was anyone there who could come to my house to see what my situation was like and have them recommend what I should plant. She said that the owner liked to do that sort of thing, so within a day or two he was at my house and VERY EXCITED!  Like I said it was a blank slate, so I'm sure he saw $$$ signs everywhere, but that aside, he was truly a LOVER of nature and especially fruit trees.  He told me he started growing fruit from seeds when he was just a boy and turned his passion into a business.  He's now close to 60 I would say, so maybe I'll be joining him someday...

He said, "Well... you can put this here and that there... you'll need a this and that, and don't forget about..."  I was SO LUCKY to have found him because he knew EXACTLY what I needed to have a nice collection of fruit.  In my wildest dreams I thought I'd have like 5 or 6 types of fruit... LOL... haha... hohoho... AHHHH.... I now grow OVER FIFTY TYPES OF FRUIT!!!

I think I'm addicted... are there "Anonymous" groups for that???!!!

;  )

Everyone asks, "You must have a huge property"... not really... I just make use of the space well.  You can keep fruit trees small... just prune everything at least yearly and never let it get over 8 feet tall.  Install the right (water saving) irrigation, and you'll have plenty of fruit.

So... ah... what does a SINGLE GUY do with the fruit of 50 trees???!!!  

It's only been a year since I've planted them, so I'm not at full production yet... the full impact of all that fruit hasn't hit YET.  In my mind, the fruit was never just for me.  I want to share my healthy fruit with my friends and neighbors and there is plenty for everyone.  I chose varieties that will give me fruit ALL YEAR long.  Even though this has only been my first year, I've have lots of fruit for me to enjoy (and a little to share).  

Where do I start???  The first tree that produced or my favorite???

I can't wait, so I'll start with my FAVORITE.... OH MY GOSH... Have you ever had a FRESH FIG???  lol... I hadn't but I love dried figs so I decided to plant a fig tree.  ONE BITE and I was HOOKED!  They are SO DELICIOUS!!!  I loved them so much, I went out and bought a second tree that is a different variety.  When that fruited, I LOVED IT EVEN BETTER!  So guess what???  I just bought a THIRD variety a few weeks ago.  I have one in the ground and the other two I'm growing in containers.  You can keep them small, so even if you just have a balcony, I'm sure they will produce nicely for you.  I eat them right off the tree!  My first tree is already producing a second crop, so my mouth is starting to drool!

My second favorite tree is a Persian Mulberry.  The berries are HUGE... SO JUICY and they taste like vanilla ice cream with berries, but without the ice cream and all the calories!  YUMMMMMMYYYY!!!!  They can be messy and I hear they can grow quite large, but they assured me that you can keep it small.  (I almost want to let it grow enormous so I can get more fruit, but there were bowlfuls every week to enjoy throughout the summer.  I also have a Pakistani Mulberry tree that has bigger fruit, but they aren't as sweet (still nice), but I don't get as excited about those.  They were actually my first tree to produce I think in early March 2009.

I have 4 types of apples... 3 of them are giving me a second crop!  How is it possible???!!!  Again... I think it all boils down to LOVE.  If you can't tell... I LOVE MY FRUIT TREES!

Right now I'm enjoying my citrus fruit (I grow all of them in containers on my patio to keep them small).  WOW... I've had fresh lemonade every day for a couple of months (2 types of lemons) and my oranges (3 types) are just coming ripe.  I have the different varieties so they are ripe at different times.

Here's a link so some of what I have planted (I need to update the list)... http://robertpaulgordon.com/FruitTrees.html

As far as knowing what to do, there is plenty of help and advice on the web and your local nursery will know what you can grow in your area.  (Just peek over in your neighbor's yard to see what they are growing).  As far as pests, insects etc... because I grow everything organically, I need to keep my eye on things and I only buy OMRI organic certified products.  Your local nursery or Home Depot carries these organic products.

I suppose that's enough for now, hopefully to encourage you to PLANT SOME FRUIT TREES!!!

Lessons & tips: Talk to your local nursey staff... They LOVE to help.  Don't be afraid... you CAN do it!

Resources:

• Google Everything!

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Jan 06, 2010, 09:49PM PST | 0 comments | 1 cheer