I know we talked about you doing something like this about a year ago. My offer is always open to come hang out here and do some great rabbit, turkey or deer hunting.
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Best wishes to you Steve, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Colorado, especially where you’re headed, is a beautiful place, you might find a new passion there, you never know.
Thanks for all your help, advice, suggestions and lively conversations. Don’t be a stranger and keep in touch.
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I’m sorry to hear you are moving Steve. You have been one of the pillars of the forum, both with your posts and with your tireless work behind the scenes as an admin. I hope you decide to keep hanging around here! Your fruit growing knowledge is invaluable.
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Best of luck I am novice this site and your posts have helped me to do something that I’ve always wanted to do grow fruit and do it pesticide free . I am a firm believer that when one door closes another one opens. You just have to have the courage to step through.
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Thank you for all the kind words. I will be hanging around here. Surprisingly I’m looking forward to prowling the grocery stores for some good fruit to eat.
It’s not hard to give up growing when I’ve accomplished everything I set out to do. I started growing my own fruit in Amarillo in 1970. Amarillo was always an adventure. Often a half dozen freezes after the apricots started blooming. An average of six hailstorms a year and constant wind. I never thought about giving up but knew there were greener fruit growing places. And my fruit in Amarillo never measured up to what I thought possible. In particular I remember the Stella cherries that were awful. So, in 2000 I moved to CA. Didn’t know a single soul in the state. CA took care of the climatic issues associated with growing fruit; no damaging freezes, zero hail, and a couple windy days a year. Trouble was the air quality was so bad I was getting bronchitis. I then moved back to Texas and put in a greenhouse designed to mimic the best of CA climatic conditions. In the GH the fruit has been everything I always wanted; very sweet and no losses to climate or pest issues.
All I could wish for anyone else is that your fruit growing adventure be as long and satisfying as mine.
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You will be missed. I get it though. I moved on from music research. I loved helping authors with finding historical background info on musicians. The environment was rich but the pay was poor. I loved doing it. But it was time to move on and I focused on gardening. I still help young musicians when I can. My youngest friend student at Berkeley school of music, the famous one in Boston. He is trying to make his mark in music. Fun as hell to watch him grow. To expose him to the masters. He is only 23, and has great potential.
My daughter has an orchard now and producing all kinds of fruit. That was fun too, working to teach her on how to take care of trees. The previous owner was amazed how productive we made the orchard. He was doing everything wrong. He still lives close by and asked me for help. My daughter was a quick study, in no time she had her orchard producing.
Part of it is what you taught me, thanks. Your influence goes far and wide. You have influenced thousands of growers. Even some like my daughter that you never even spoke to. Good luck, and enjoy your family!
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What, has someone besides you been doing a lot of work at administration since I left ADM. I figured the job got easier for everyone after I left. 
Kidding on the square, actually. Administration of this forum does not require a lot of intervention by staff.
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@fruitnut, I’ve been religiously following your advise since the GardenWeb days. Everything except putting a greenhouse in my backyard. 
I owe a lot of my success in growing fruit to you. Please stay on and keep sharing your wisdom, if you can.
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@fruitnut
Not sure how I missed this thread.
Love it very much that you are willing to move to be close to your daughter and help her. What a dad!!! All the best.
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I would say your label as a leader will never be questioned. I think it would be great if you have time to write a memoir (with fruit growing). But lets not rush to think you will be absent from here in some fashion. I’m still putting up my greenhouse, and with lots of inspiration from your advice. Thanks!
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I’m so sorry to hear about your sick relative.
How kindhearted of you to uproot yourself to help.
I’m glad to hear you will still be around on the forum
Thank you so much for all of your guidance and sharing your experience.
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You can always come here during pear season and load up.
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Sweet Jesus…you are our leader! Don’t bail out on us. Move if you must, but never give up the fruit.
Document the whole thing in photos and notes to post here before you give it up; so, we can have a record of it. Hopefully the new owners don’t cut it all down.
I got nowhere to move to, no family except some distant relatives with little connections. My hope is for $ windfall to buy another place for a greenhouse or at least a giant garage with enuf room to grow figs in giant containers. Not as big as the member that uses a forklift for his fig, but still plenty big.
If it is getting too much work, try wildcrafting them. No spraying and let the deer pick up the dropped fruit.
Good luck with it all.
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I’ve had so much trouble getting my head around the idea of Fruitnut not being a constant here that I haven’t been able to talk about it! It’s like hearing that your favorite uncle won’t be coming to visit any more.
But whatever comes to pass it will work out and it’s been a great run so far. Thanks and best of luck to you Steve, - and don’t be a stranger.
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Time happens.
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I am still trying to find a fruit orchard in Central Virginia so I wish you were closer. My grandson will be attending college soon and I want to get a family fruit orchard that my son get take over.
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Will miss hearing from you on a regular basis, Steve. @marknmt described this in the same way that I think and feel. “It’s like hearing that your favorite uncle won’t be coming to visit any more.”
I think we all just take it for granted that all of the people on the forum - and in other parts of our lives - will just be a constant. When I started growing fruit - I never even considered the day that it would be too much to keep up with - or that I’d have to give it up for whatever reason. But, it happens . . . and I’m seeing that in my ‘not so distant future’ - now.
You’ll be missed, but I’m glad to hear that you’ll be popping in . . . and I look forward to hearing how you settle in in your new place. - Karen
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Thank you for everything.
I gave up on tree fruit this year - I’m not up to the work anymore. I’ve been happy with some grocery store fruit but not peaches or plums. I found an online seller from CA whose fruit is as good as you can get without picking it and eating it warm off the tree.
Best wishes for your next adventure.
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Hi Steve,
New here to the fruit forums, but have crop production under my belt the past two decades. I was searching Figbid looking for “Ondata” and Mulberries, you were referenced multiple times for having the highest quality standards so I had to look ya up. I see you are moving to Arvada, haha, I moved to Arvada from NY 14 years ago, lived there for 5 years, great place, great people! Right off 80th and Wadsworth. It is situated right between Denver and Boulder for easy access and great hiking nearby in the foothills/Golden area. Excellent Asian cuisine in the area as well. I was reading you were relocating and possibly retiring from fruit growing. How is that going?
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