Could someone explain the difference between “REPLY” and. “+REPLY AS LINKED TOPIC”
Since we’re all becoming a real type of family and introducing ourselves, I’ll go next. My mother more or less introduced me to gardening, as that was one of my main chores growing up. She had camelias and azaleas the size of small cars, and I was always moving them from place to place. Alan, we have a similar musical interest, as I used to sing in a beach music rock n roll band in the 60’s and 70’s. I’m probably the old fart of this forum (68), but I’m still alive and kicking. I lived in apartments most of my adult life, but bought a patio home in 1988 and decided I was finally going to do something I’ve always wanted to do. At one time, I had over 200 rose bushes in a patio home, and used to exhibit at rose shows. I’ve since moved to a regular house and still have about 80 rose bushes. My interest has now changed to fruit trees. I grow apples, watermelons, peaches, plums, pluots, nectarines, figs, pears and blueberries. It’s fascinating to watch things grow, and to eat things you can’t buy at the grocery store. Most of what I know, I’ve learned from you guys, and for that, I’ll be eternally grateful. I’m a retired professor of accounting with a specialization in taxation, but I’ve learned more from you guys than all the years I spent in graduate school…
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Well, I remember that in the 3rd grade I wrote to General Mills and asked for some wheat and corn seeds because I wanted to show my classmates how to grow cornflakes and cereal.
They sent me some packets of seeds and I was hooked.
Jump to 2007 and we bought this place in Purling NY. It was then when I stopped at the roadside farm stands that I found out that there were apple varieties other than those available at the A&P.
After clearing three acres of scrubbie woods and digging my ponds I finally planned my orchard. Fenced in 150 x 50 and over the past four years planted apples, pears, peaches, next, plums, apricots, pluots/plumcots etc.
To maximize the number of trees I chose the espalier method and I now have about 80 trees with no two the same variety and not available at the A&P.
This is the first year I expect to allow many to keep their fruit to maturity.
Mike
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Mike, it looks like reply to linked topic puts a little pointer at the top of the post which is a reference to the previous post. Look in the upper right of the post you just made for the little symbol showing that. I think the idea is the replies are all listed in order of time but if you are referring to one way up you can use that to point to what you are talking about.
I like this thread! I came to fruit growing sort of like Mike. When I was in first grade I got really sick, a very long sickness with really high fever etc. My mom bought me this plant kit which was some little peat pots with seeds already in them, you just watered. Somehow I latched on to the rebirth of seeds to let me see how I would eventually get better. I didn’t actually do much gardening (other than helping my parents) until I was older, but “the seed was planted” 
I had various veggie gardens over the years. My first attempt at fruit trees was 25 years ago, a cherry tree that got girdled and died. Then one dreary March in 2002 this Miller Nursery junk mail catalog showed up in the mail, and it was like the peat pots as a kid, the thought of all the blooms and fruit got me hooked. I planted a bunch of stuff the first year and then turned my whole backyard into an orchard the next.
Scott
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My father was the gardener in the family. It all started with me (only child) at the age of four placing the radish seeds in holes I got to make with a pencil in my fathers vegetable garden. My father’s hobby was hybridizing iris, ‘black’ iris at that! He owned part of nursery and many a weekend was spent walking through endless rows of trees and shrubs. I loved doing that. There was shooting and an outdoors type of life at times, fishing as well. Walking through the woods in Ohio was magic, picking black walnuts, wild mushrooms and flowers. I spent a lot of time in France, in school and cooking, which I do to this day. I tour the orchards and spend most of my time in the markets. I lived in NYC for 48 years but had a roof garden. I grew orchids, 49 in the NYC dining room. Growing was always a part of my life. Also had a house in country where I could plant, grow and cook. I was employed in NYC, then owned my own company, sold it and now paint and write books and grow fruit in Rhode Island.
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This is the greatest idea EVER and is an incredible way to distinguish this site from the other, far less personal one. I’ve often wondered about almost all of you-your background, how you came to love fruit growing, etc. This really helps us know each other and while some may say who cares, it appears many of us do want to understand each other a bit more.
I’m a 44 year old divorced guy with no kids. I have an undergrad from Univ. of TN and grad degree from Univ. of KY. I’ve spent my entire adult life working in municipal government and currently work as a City Manager of a small town in TN. I’ve always lived in medium-large cities until 2012 when I bought a little 8 acre mini-farm out in the country where I still live.
I grew up in a typical suburb neighborhood. We had a pear and a sour cherry tree I will never forget. My dad knew nothing about growing fruit but those 2 grew and produced anyway and he was always so very proud of them that it wore off on me. After about 18 years the cherry got sick and had to be cut and I still remember my whole family (parents, 1 sister) all were very sad about that. I will never forget the days I spent under and around that cherry, finding ways to keep birds out from fake animals to bb gun, pie pans, etc. WE never got more than a pie or two worth but we cherished them as if they were gold. I also have wonderful memories of my mom taking me to a family friend’s to pick occasional blackberries and apples and cherries. The bottom line is that fresh fruits were a rare but present thing in my home and always valued very much. I was given a corner of our family garden and just “turned loose” at an early age and the result was that I have gardened my entire life, from age 9 to 44! I didn’t really think anything more about fruit until 3 years ago. After living in cities all my life, college, grad school, and more, I finally bought I little piece of land (just 8 acres) way out in the country in 2012. Having never lived in the country or knowing anything about farming, I jumped in full speed ahead. Built (actually HAD built) barns, fences, 3/4 acre garden spot, etc. I kept noticing 3 old fruit trees that were in the back of the property, and remembering how nice it had been having fruit trees as a kid. Before long I decided to just pickup a couple fruit trees at Lowes so I could just wait 3 years and enjoy fresh fruit! haha. Then I started to realize it isn’t that simple. But the more research I did on how to make those new trees work, the more I wanted to expand my varieties. Long story short, I had the space and money so my 6 tree orchard (3 old, 3 new) became my 65 tree orchard, along with blackberries, raspberries, grapes, and figs. Each new order I swear will be my last…but I know I’m not done!
My username Cityman is descriptive because I was always a “City guy” until 2012 and my neighbors still jokingly call me that and tell me I am Oliver Douglass from Green Acres! ha. They often ask if I wear a suit while riding my tractor. Of course CITYMAN also fits my job as City Manager.
This is too long already, but I could type another 3 pages on how much I appreciate the help of all the posters on GW and now here. Without you folks I would still be buying trees at walmart, sticking them in the ground, and doing nothing else for 3-4 years and expecting lots of perfect fruit at that time! haha. I now know its not that simple but with all your help, I’m going to get there. I’m certainly one of the least informed people here, and my posts are almost always about asking for help rather than giving it (simply because that is the stage I’m at). That makes all your help that much more appreciated. Someday I hope to pay it forward.
Kevin
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Kevin and everyone else, I’m glad you are here and appreciate getting to know all of you better!! Lots of talented and accomplished people here already.
Hi all,
I’ve lived in the Seattle area most of my life except for a year in Des Moines,Iowa,so I know a little bit about how the weather can be in the mid west,as there were many extremes,almost daily it seemed.
When growing up,my parents gardened a little and had a few fruit trees,but they kind of lost interest.I wasn’t really interested in growing things too much then,but tried some crazy experiments that I read about,like injecting milk or sugar water into growing Apples to make them super big,but it never worked.I also grew a few things,like citrus that looked good in those mail order magazines,but nothing seemed to last.
After graduating from high school,I had a few jobs,but didn’t really know what I wanted to do,so with some pushing from my dad,I entered the Navy and stayed there a little while until leaving with a medical discharge.
Then,in the late 70’s,I took the Environmental Horticulture program at a local Community College.The head of it and I didn’t hit it off right away and it got worse from there.To me,as time went on,it seemed like he wasn’t really teaching anything useful,but was abusing authority and there to get his pay.How some people get to their positions,I’m not sure.Maybe they know people and have connections.One of the classes in the curriculum was botany,taught by an older gentleman,who knew his stuff though.We went on field trips and every plant I collected and brought to him,he identified.Bastard Toadflax,come on,who knows what that is besides someone like that.I stayed with the course for about two years,but left after the head and I had enough of each other.
I never pursued anything in that field after that and have had a cleaning business for about thirty years.I had small gardens at various places that I’ve lived at,trying to get others involved,but it seems to take a certain kind of person to want to do this.
Along the way,I inherited a large park model trailer from my grandmother,that I rented out over the years.The last renter left suddenly and so I moved in to do some remodeling and have been here for a few years.The manager is cool about me planting things.It’s incredible how many plants can be grown in small spaces.
I’ve also slowed down a little with the cleaning business and work part time at a place where I can grow more plants on the property and have built a small hoop house and grew mostly vegetables for a couple years,but am presently going to try fruitnut’s method of growing trees in containers. Brady
PS.Okay fruitnut,I’m done and joined.Do I get my Fig cuttings now?LOL,Just kidding.
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Hi Folks,
I’m another of the GardenWeb diaspora so happy to find a new home here, among so many familiar friends.
I just posted details of my fruit & nut plantings on my profile page. Check it out!
Looking forward to the continued learning and information-sharing opportunities this group promises to provide.
The variety of plantings/ grafts in my orchard should be steadily increasing in the coming years. I will be keen to swap budwood with those of you with mutual interests.
Cheers,
-Matt
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Hello everyone. I just got signed up, and this is my first post! First, thanks to Scott and everyone involved in creating and maintaining this new forum. I hope it continues to grow, and to be active and successful.
Now, a little about me.
I’m 42, married, and have a teenage son. We live on a small farm in rural middle Tennessee (cityman, we need to get together sometime). We have 11 acres, about half of which is pasture for our horses, and most of the other half is our hay field. We have several large trees around the house, but also had a lot of empty space. About four years ago, I decided I wanted to add more trees to the property. I had the idea of creating a wildlife habitat. I wanted to plant fruit and nut trees that would attract birds, squirrels, deer and other wildlife. The more I researched the idea, the more I started moving from attracting animals, to planting trees that I could benefit from directly. The first year I started with a couple of apple and cherry trees, then added a couple of persimmon trees. I now have over 60 fruit trees (I keep losing count), many types of berry plants, grapes, kiwi, even citrus which I over-winter in my green house. I have a list of my plants on my GW profile, and will eventually update my profile here with the same info.
When not tending to my plants, caring for my bees, feeding chickens, repairing fences, or all the other endless task, I work in insurance for my “day job”.
Anyway, glad to be here, and happy to see so many familiar “faces”.
Rob
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Hello all,
You don’t know me but I feel like I know you, so please let me make myself an introduction.
I have been a long time lurker on GW. Once several years ago I tried to sign up, but due to some computer glitch it didn’t take, and frustrated at the wasted time, I resumed my old habit as a lurker only…
With all of the changes at GW, and Olpea’s endorsement of the ease of sign up, I decided to jump in to this forum.
The rest of the story.
I am a 40 something year old professional guy, married with kids. When I was a kid my parents, grandparents, and pretty much every adult I knew had some sort of garden. Often I would be assigned to weed or water the garden. At the time I really, really didn’t enjoy it, but something must be in my genes or my psyche because here I am.
My current interest in gardening/fruit growing really started in 2009-10. I was really going through some very, very troubling times (another nod to Olpea). To try and deal with the stress, I would surf the internet looking for reading that would help me forget my problems. I often ended up at news sites, and that would generally leave me irritated, pessimistic, and not-relaxed.
One day I clicked on the fruit and orchard link from the veggies forum, and a whole new world opened up to me. I started reading old posts as well as all of the new ones, every night.
I had found my escape.
Of course once you have soaked up all the info, you want to actually grow things.
Here’s a list of what I’m currently growing in an edible landscape sort of format.
Pardon me if this is getting to long or boring, I figured everyone else on here knows more or less what everyone else is growing, so I thought I would share that info as well. * means fruited
Cherries (Carmine jewel*, Crimson Passion, Romeo, Blackgold on order)
Mulberries ( Oscar, Kokuso, Gerardi dwarf*)
Kens red hardy kiwi
Blueberries (Reka*, Duke*)
Strawberries (Albion*, Tristar*, several alpines*)
Raspberries (Caroline* and Anne*)
Blackberries ( triple crown*)
Saskatoon (unnamed*)
Honeyberries (Aurora, Borealis, Indigo Gem, and one unknown )
Peaches (Flat wonderful*, Indian Free, Red Baron)
Nectarines (Sunglo*, Flavortop)
Pears (Bartlett, red Bartlett, comice, Bosc, D’anjou, Flemish Beauty, 20th Century*, Harrow Sweet and Tennosui on order)
Plums (Santa Rosa(weeping* and regular*), Elephant Heart, Reine Claude on order)
Apples (Goldrush*, Honeycrisp*, Gala*,(?)Ginger gold*, Granny smith*, thinking about sweet16)
Figs ( Chicago Hardy*, VDB, Desert King (pulled a few days ago))
Pomegranate (Lubimy, Salavatski on order)
Apricot (Chinese*, Robada*)
Almond (Dessertny, Prima on order)
Unfortunately I’m getting close to running out of room!
THANK YOU to all of you folks!
Looking forward to more peace of mind in the future;-).
P.
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Hi all. I started posting on GW a while ago, late in 2010, about 6 months after we (wife and 2 daughters) moved into our first house, which has a 1/2 acre yard. That first year I planted 2 dozen types of berries and one apple tree. Since then, I’ve continued expanding at a rather unsustainable rate and am up to well over 150 tree-fruit cultivars (on a bit over 100 actual trees) and plans to graft another 50+ this spring. I’m also growing another 100 berries and vine cultivars.
My wife of 15+ years looks on this as somewhat crazy. But, I’ve pointed out to her that it is plenty of exercise and costs less than her badminton hobby (yes, badmintion is almost as bad as golf…). I play some badminton as well, but not as much, as I spread my efforts out into volleyball and softball. We met in school, both getting our degrees in chemical engineering. Neither of us has used it since, both working in IT.
My interest in fruit started when I was young. While my parents did mostly a vegetable garden, each family member had a different kind of fruit to pick. If you went through the woods behind my father’s parents, you’d come out into a huge field of blackberries (owned by Friendlies around their sign on the Mass Turnpike). They were thorny and there was no way to get near the middle, but there was still plenty around the edge that Friendlies kept mowed. Other parts of the family we would visit had red & black raspberries, wineberries, gooseberries, red currants, and probably some others I’m forgetting.
The one I remember most vividly was my great uncle’s. He lived around the corner from my grandmother and had 1 acre (in a small city of 50K pop) crammed full of fruits, berries, and vegetables. He lived alone and the few times I was in his house (why go inside when the yard is wonderland) I always felt bad for him, thinking that he must be poor, as he had 50+ year old appliances and lived very simply. Recently, I found out that he actually had a fair amount of money (not rich, but comfortable) and gave most of it away. He passed on in his mid 80’s, when I was 14, so I never got a chance to talk to him once I started growing my own fruit. I remember being impressed and a bit skeptical when he described grafting. It’s too bad I wasn’t ready to learn more at the time, as I’m sure he would have been happy to share his knowledge.
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If this thread is any indication, there is a really nice community coalescing here at Growfruit.org-thanks again Scott!
I live in the western foothills of Maine, where we’ve been for 10 years now. Always had a veggie garden, always organically maintained. It was always my dream to plant trees, so when we decided to settle in and purchase the house we’d rented I finally took the plunge with 3 grape vines and 3 plums and a peach- potted plants bought in an-off season sale at a local garden supply center. Even though fall planting isn’t recommended for our northern zone, all survived their first winter, and have continued to grow and produce fruit for our enjoyment.
I started fruit exploring our town, which was an apple growing region 150 years ago in it’s agricultural heyday. I took scionwood from locally found apple varieties like Blue Pearmain, Roxbury Russet, Baldwin and top-worked ‘volunteer’ seedling appletrees in my yard over to these heirlooms.
That tree catalog which was passed along to me in 2010 must have had some psyco-active paper coating, because compulsively I purchased 76 fruit trees that spring- mostly apples on standard rootstock, a few pears, plums, elderberries.
The following year, I purchased a bundle of rootstock(bud 118) and began producing trees for my own use and for eventual re-sale. Currently I have around 500 or so 1st year grafts in the ground that will hopefully be sold this fall, and planning on planting out around that many this spring as well, mostly apple, but also pear, plum and cornus mas. My nursery beds are located in the aisles of my orchard while the young trees are still filling their alloted space.
I worked at a local orchard for a couple years, and was somewhat dismayed to discover how many spray applications we had to apply, even more on the ‘organically’ managed block!
Several years ago I became very interested in permaculture, and diversifying my orchard with a variety of disease/pest resistant ‘lesser’ fruits, perennial culinary/medicinal herbs, nut crops, and so on. My garden stopped being this rectangle in the lawn, and is now integrated with my orchard plantings. Rotating hogs and chickens through the landscape, sowing cover crops behind them, has really increased the fertility and diversity of what used to be a depleted hayfield.
Last year we received abundance in plums, elderberries, our native blueberries, grapes, hazelnuts, and got ‘first tastes’ of quite a few other things-signs of seasons to come!
Recent fruit infatuations of mine include cornus mas, super hardy kiwi, and figs.
Thanks for reading, Jesse
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I don’t want to clog this thread up with lots of comments that get in the way of its purpose, but I just had to say how much I am enjoying this and want to thank Scott for the site and Alan for the inspirational idea of having everyone post a little personal info/background. It really makes me feel I’m among friends. It’s also fascinating how many of us find our fruit-growing roots in our child hood. I’ve enjoyed every single one of your memories and stories of the past, as well as your description of your present day set up. I’m so glad all of you have felt comfortable enough to share these personal insights. I firmly believe this thread alone makes this site one of the best on-line communities I’ve been a part of. The fact that I have so little to offer (due to me being new to fruit) and yet have been made to feel so welcomed is further evidence of the generosity and kindness of the folks here. Thanks for letting me sponge off all your knowledge. Once I gain more experience and my trees get big enough (most are just 1-2 years old, 3 at most) I promise to volunteer more help and scion wood to anyone who wants it. Meanwhile, if any of you regulars haven’t introduced yourself and posted your “fruit bio”, please do so. I’m confident that I’m not the only one enjoying these! Thanks again.
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Hi this is my first post on this new forum. I go by greyphase on most boards and had a few postings on the GW board. I’m 61 years old and am a retired factory worker living in southcentral Pa on land that I roamed over as a kid. The old apple trees that clung to life on this old homestead always fascinated me, gnarled old hollowed out trees that somehow managed to bear some apples each fall. By the time I was able to buy this 66 acre homestead the old trees had finally died out and were replaced by volunteer trees from their seeds. I taught myself how to graft (youtube is wonderful 
) two years ago and am in the process of planting as many different varieties of heirloom apples as I can 
. Hopefully I’ll have enough years left in me to see the results of my hard work. I want to thank Scott for starting this forum that has the potential to become a favorite stopping place each day and hope to learn from the other members experiences and maybe even help somebody else out with any questions they may have.
Rick
Howdy greyphase! Just found this new site this morning. Thanks! Fruit junkies can never have enough places to shoot the breeze. I grew up on a farm in south cental NE. We always had a big garden and there exsisted an apple, a cherry and an apricot that my Great grandparents had planted. Wish I could have propagated those trees before they died out. I have a degree in biology and a strong drive to learn and experiment. Started out grafting a few trees a couple of years ago and now I am in the process of building and running a small nursery business. Love to share the information I have learned with others. Always enjoy learning more.
Hey TurkeyCreek. Good to see you on board.
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Well Ill tag in on this topic. Name is Mike. Im in Tulsa. Im pretty much just following the knowledge if that is ok. GW has been and for the most part still is my biggest source of info. That and youtube. Been growing Citrus and topicals for years but last year was my first full summer with stone fruit and apples. Also have a couple grape vines and blackberries. My little orchard just has 9 trees in it but my plan is for as many as I can fit in my almost acre yard.
thanks scott for making a new place.
Mike
Glad to be here. Had been at the GW forums - almost daily - since back around 1996; don’t care for the ‘new’ incarnation, but will probably continue to check in there from time to time, just out of habit. Thanks, Scott, and thanks E, for inviting me over.
Grew up in UCLA(upper corner of Lower Alabama) - Lee Co., just outside of ‘the loveliest village on the plains’, Auburn. Was always involved with the family garden, and my dad was an avid collector and propagator of azaleas and camellias - my initial introduction to plant propagation. Never really delved into fruits/nuts there - home was in the middle of an early 1900s era pecan orchard(mostly Stuart & Mahan), there was an old Keiffer pear, and some seedling apples & peaches growing in the fencerows around the garden and barnlot, Dad had a big blueberry patch, but that was about it, other than some pomegranates I started from cuttings when I was 8.
Got my BS(microbiology) and DVM from AU, married a vet school classmate, and moved to southern middle TN(Giles Co.). Veterinary practice, a growing young family, and a small 180 ac. farm with beef cattle didn’t really allow for any horticultural pursuits. Left practice for a pathology residency at UofMO, where I discovered bur oaks (Q.macrocarpa). Landed here in southern west-central KY, about 70 mi NW of Nashville TN, 21 years ago.
Immediately started planting an orchard - apples,peaches,plums, blueberries, kiwis, mulberries,cherries. Active involvement with the 4 kids, community, job, and re-building this farm(190ac) from the ground up relegated me to mostly planting and neglecting most of the fruit trees - it was a ‘make it on your own or die’ proposition for them.
Wife got me into pecans - I didn’t know at that time that they’d grow here - and I’m sure she regrets it to this day, 'cause I quickly became an obsessive collector of pecans, hickories, walnuts, and oaks. That said, I’ll readily admit that I’m a 'hell of a propagator, but a p___-poor caretaker. Along the way, mulberries, pears, and persimmons became part of the collection obsession deal for me. Have a sizeable planting of rabbiteye & Southern highbush blueberries, a few blackberries, raspberries, juneberries.
Have abandoned all but a handful of apples/crabs, choosing to concentrate primarily on nut trees, pears, and persimmons. Have over 30 varieties each of pecan, pear, persimmon…but, due to poor record keeping (and hooved rats eating aluminum labels)…definitive IDs have been lost on a lot of them.
Kids are all grown and gone from home now… so maybe I’ll have more time available for orcharding pursuits.
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Greeting all from Atlanta. It has been great reading everyone’s background, here is my story in a nutshell:
Born and raised in a suburban home in Houston TX, my mom grew a few tomatoes but that was about my exposure to gardening as a youngster. My wife and I bought our 1st home about 25 years ago and I realized that I enjoyed going out and digging in the dirt and fixing up the yard. I am a lawyer by training and thus stuck inside behind a desk many hours of the day. Something about being outside and turning nothing into something in my yard really appealed to me. and gardening became more and more of my hobby since then.
About 4 years ago I came across the idea of growing fruit, the idea of spending $20 on a tree that can provide you with many years of fruit appealed to my thrifty (cheap) nature that can give you much more return that just planting something like a holly bush. I really enjoy researching and learning new things and have spent many hours reading up on all phases of growing fruit, several of the folks on the forum here have contributed greatly to my education. Anyway, like many of you, I have gone hog wild planting fruit trees in the last 4 years. I am over 100 now and just bench grafted 15 more apple trees even though I am not sure where to plant them. I live a 4 acre lot in a northern suburb of Atlanta that was virtually all trees when I moved here 9 years ago. I have cleared about 1 acre or so for my plantings and told the family that I would stop expanding but no promises. That’s enough rambling, the new forum is great, Chris.
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