The Backyard Orchardist: A Complete Guide to Growing Fruit Trees in the Home Garden (Paperback)

~ Stella Otto (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This little gem is the finest single source of fruit growing information published to date...very comprehensive..." -Pomona, newsletter of the North American Fruit Explorers

"What we like most about this book is it isn't intimidating...she gently and convincingly enables us to realize that, yes, we can grow fruit successfully." -HortIdeas

Product Description

For every gardener desiring to add apples, pears, cherries, and other tree fruit to their landscape here are hints and solid information from a professional horticulturist and experienced fruit grower. The Backyard Orchardist includes help on selecting the best fruit trees and information about each stage of growth and development, along with tips on harvest and storage of the fruit. Those with limited space will learn about growing dwarf fruit trees in containers.
Appendices include a fruit-growers monthly calendar, a trouble-shooting guide for reviving ailing trees, and a resource list of nurseries selling fruit trees.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Ottographics; Rev Sub edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963452037
• ISBN-13: 978-0963452030
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #45,982 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #6 in	Books > Home & Garden > Gardening & Horticulture > Shrubs
  #8 in	Books > Science > Agricultural Sciences > Crop Science
  #10 in	Books > Home & Garden > Gardening & Horticulture > Trees

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

161 of 164 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars User-friendly. Hits all the bases, May 16, 2000

By	Joseph J Hecksel (Eaton Rapids, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews

The Backyard Orchardist by Stella Otto is filled with fruit growing information that is very easy for the hobbyist to implement. Equally important, the information is well organized and is exceptionally easy to find.

Strengths:

*The information is comprehensive.

*The information is very specific. Example: The tables inform you as to which pesticides are most suitable for a given pest (cross referenced to a table of illustrations) and when to spray for them.

*The information is both usable and generic. For example: The advice on fertilizing recommends that the grower adjust the amount of fertilizer to match a target annual growth rate (length of shoot extension). That technique compensates for differences in soil type, rootstock, cultivar, etc. Basically, it teaches the grower how to pay attention to their trees.

Weaknesses:

*Illustrations are more functional than artistic. Not always a drawback.

*The very specific nature of the advice limits it. The book was published in 1995. The regulation status (and availability) of pesticides can change from year-to-year. New disease-resistant cultivars are released annually.

*Lists of fruit cultivars will seem a little sketchy to the rabid fruit growing enthusiast.

Summary:

*Buy this book if you live in the area bounded by Maine, Montana, Colorado, and North Carolina and you can only afford one book on growing tree-fruits.

*Do not buy this book if you want a "coffee-table book."

130 of 133 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The backyard orchardist-- a near miss, January 2, 2001

By A Customer

From the reviews I had expected much more from this book. I regret spending to money to buy it. Last spring I put in a small orchard and found the book to be a bit short on specifics. It contained the type of information I had already gotten from my nursery about pollinators, root stocks, chill times, etc. though the book only covers a few very common varieties. I found the pruning section to be too much of an overview. I was able to find the much more comprehensive information I needed (not only on pruning, but on pest management, fertilization, irrigation, etc.) from various state agricultural extension services--on line.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get Ready for Spring, January 8, 2006

By	Robert A. Williams "libertarian" (Oberlin, OH United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you have found it difficult to move beyond dreaming about a backyard orchard, this book is such a powerhouse of information that you will confidently plant a pair of fruit trees knowing that they will not drown, succumb to drought or disease, and not be defoliated by Japanese beetles. You'll even know how to prune them so that the branches grow outward rather than straight up, thus allowing in the sunlight needed to ripen your fruit.

Consider the chapters below, which the author has divided into 6 sections:

Section 1: Getting started with fruit trees, includes chapters on fitting them into your landscape, selecting the right site by paying attention to climate, average minimum temperatures and hardiness, length of growing season, soil, moisture, sunlight, and space required. Did you know that cherry trees cannot have wet roots for longer than 24 hours or they will release cyanide and kill themselves? So cherry trees should be planted on a slope or hill with good drainage.

Section 2: Fruit fundamental - growth habits of specific fruit trees includes chapters on Pome fruit (apples and pears) and Stone fruit (sweet & tart cherries, apricots, plums, aprium, pluots, peaches and nectarines).

Section 3: Caring for your fruit trees includes chapters on nutrition and fertilizers, pruning, growing fruit trees in containers (so you can bring in, say, a fig tree inside for the winter), and flowering, fruiting, and thinning (many fruit trees will produce too many fruits and either their branches will break or the fruit will be very small, so you must thin the fruit on them).

Section 4: Pests and Disease has chapters on insect pests, disease identification, insect and disease controls, and wildlife pests.

Section 5: Harvest has a chapter on knowing when to pick and eat your yummy prize!

Section 6 contains charts and lists of resources.

The only caveat is the chapter on sweet cherries, which is 11 years old and a bit outdated because since then dwarf sweet cherries are the rage. They are grown on German Gisela 5 dwarfing rootstock or Russian dwarfing rootstock and produce a cherry tree no taller than 10 feet, which means they are easy to cover with netting so that the birds don't eat them up.

With this book, you'll know what to expect with your orchard; knowledge is power. Get ready for Spring!