|
|
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
It must be our fault. We dared to sell Tomato plants before Valentines Day and winter returned. We'll skip a week and perhaps offer tomato plants next week if the weather improves. Nevertheless, our bare root fruit trees are waking up. I plant them into containers as soon as leaves make an appearance. We'll have most cultivars available as bare root for at least one more week, perhaps two. If you want to take advantage of the cost of bare root trees, don't delay. Check this week's availability below. We are offering one additional cultivar of grape. Thomcord Seedless is relatively new, a hybrid between Thompson Seedless (the commercial green grape) and Eastern Concord (the flavor of grape juice and jelly). It has become highly successful at farmers markets. Most of its characteristics are halfway between its parents. Most people don't like the tough skin, seeds and soft flesh of Eastern Concord. Thompson Seedless needs Fresno heat and low humidity to succeed. The berries are large, blue-black with a skin more tender than Concord and a firmer flesh, though not quite as crisp as Thompson. The flavor combines both. Resistance to Powdery Mildew (locally our worst problem) is much better than Thompson, not quite as good as Concord or Venus. Harvest in mid-summer. Highly productive.
We're making some headway in getting our new potting soil ready for sale. I don't expect it to be available, however, until next month. The new Sunset Western Garden Book has been released. We will keep a few copies on hand for $35 (includes tax). We also have a few 25 pound bags of Concern Weed Prevention Plus (fertilizer) for $37 and 20 pound bags of Dr. Earth Fruit Tree Fertilizer for $35. If you need large containers growing potted trees or shrubs we are also carrying black plastic Nursery Pots. The half-barrel sized 25-gallon is $25. The 20-gallon is $20. The squat 15 is $12 and the reqular 15-gallon is $8. |
SPOTLIGHT ON BARE ROOT
Apricots Anyone who has ever eaten a tree ripened apricot becomes a lifelong fan. Furthermore, they would never again consider purchasing the apricots found in a supermarket. This difference in edibility between store bought and homegrown is perhaps the largest among all the types of produce sold.
I must really like apricots since I always salvage fallen fruit.
I've grown 5 cultivars of apricots and have found all to have excellent quality fruit. Unfortunately there are no cultivars that are totally reliable producers in all areas of Orange County. In fact, there doesn't seem to be much of a difference among the "low chill" cultivars. In my garden if one cultivar produces heavily, they all seem to produce heavily. This said, if your neighbor's tree produces every year, any "low chill" apricot planted in your garden should too.
Location does make a huge difference. Apricot trees located in canyons and close to river beds seem to get a good crop 4 out of 5 years (or better). My current home on a hilltop (worst place) gets a good crop 2 out of 5 years. Trees located on flat ground should be somewhere in between. Micro climates within your garden will also be a significant influence. Plantings on the north side of a home will do much better than the south side. Since the fruit ripens just as the sun reaches its highest point in the sky, a planting just off the north wall will still get sufficient sun exposure for sweetness and flavor while receiving the most chill winter can offer.
Apricot trees are among the most beautiful of fruit trees with bright green, Poplar-shaped (not quite heart-shaped) leaves that flutter nicely. Flower buds are deep rose, opening white. Apricot trees typically grow about 15' tall and wide and make a perfect shade tree for patio or courtyard. They require less maintenance than other stone fruit. I've never sprayed my trees and have had few pests.
Interestingly, just before World War I, Lake Forest was the apricot growing capitol of California. Unfortunately, in the 1920's a series of warm winters created crop failure after crop failure and the trees were removed and replaced with orange trees. These orange trees were still present when we founded our original store just before 1970. A friend that lived in that location along Aliso Creek grew wonderful apricots in the 1980's and 90's.
Unfortunately, I have not grown all the cultivars of apricots in one location at the same time, so I haven't been able to make a side-by-side comparison and cannot tell you which, if any, is the very best to grow. All of the following are considered "low chill" apricots.
Goldkist This is the cultivar I have the most experience with. It tastes great, but fruit exposed to sun does get unsightly (but harmless) crack lines. Extremely vigorous growth. Keeping this cultivar under 8' takes a bit of work. I believe the MCR to be between 350 and 400 hours.
Katy This is currently (at least on the Dave Wilson Nursery website) the lowest chill apricot and is listed at 200 to 300 hours, though I think it is higher. I'll need to grow it for a longer period to check. The fruit quality is rated higher than Goldkist and the growth is significantly slower (easy to keep small).
Tropic Gold I haven't grown this one for a long enough period to judge. It is a sport (spontaneous mutation) of the old-favorite Blenheim (aka Royal) and requires less chill (listed as 350 hours vs Blenheim's 400 hours). Blenheim is considered the standard of apricot fruit quality and Tropic Gold is just as good.
Other Cultivars I've Grown That We Are Not Offering
Early Newcastle This seems to be a good cultivar with faults. It made crops of great tasting fruit with no color (cream colored skin and flesh) so not visually appealing. The trees are so vigorous that bare root specimens we have ordered in previous years arrived well over 10' tall making them difficult to store or handle. The chill requirement is listed as 300-400 hours.
Autumn Royal This is another sport of Blenheim that ripens in August. It is quite productive at my home but the fruit has suffered greatly from sunburn and fruit worms that other cultivars, which ripen more than a month earlier, don't seem to suffer from. The chill requirement is listed as 500 hours.
Flavor Delight Aprium This hybrid is 75% apricot and 25% plum. Both the tree and the fruit looks and tastes like a very, very good apricot. The chill requirement is listed as 200-300 hours, and it does bloom quite well in my garden. It does seem, however, that production is light unless another apricot is blooming nearby. We may offer this next year.
|
AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
Potting Soil Laguna Hills Nursery ACID MIX $10 1 cubic foot
Bare Root Plants Apple Fuji $24
Apple Gala $24
Apple Granny Smith $24
Apple Jonagold $24
Apple Pink Lady $26
Apricot Goldkist $24
Apricot Katy $25
Apricot Tropic Gold $24
Apricot Sour Single Pink Ume $25
Cherry Minnie Royal & Royal Lee $70 (for both)
Jujube Li $34
Jujube Ga-866 $34
Mulberry Black Beauty $24
Mulberry Pakistan Red $34
Mulberry Teas Weeping $48
Nectaplum Spice Zee $24
Nectarine Arctic Star $26
Nectarine Double Delight $26
Nectarine Panamint $24
Peach Babcock $22
Peach Long Beach $24
Peach Red Baron $24
Peach Tropic Snow $24
Pear Florida Home $22
Pear Hood $24
Persimmon Fuyu Imoto $40
Persimmon Fuyu Izu $42
Persimmon Hachiya $42
Plum Burgundy $24
Plum Catalina $26
Plum Santa Rosa $22
Plum Satsuma $24
Plum Weeping Santa Rosa $22
Pluot Flavor King $29
Pluot Splash $26
Pomegranate Ambrosia $22
Pomegranate Angel Red $22
Pomegranate Wonderful bush $22 (1 left)
Pomegranate Wonderful tree $34
Boysenberry Thornless $7
Grape Blueberry $7
Grape Himrod $7
Grape Lakemont $7
Grape Thomcord $7
Raspberry Rosanna $7
Almond All-In-One $24
Pecan Western Schley $45
Lilac Chiffon $24
Maple Japanese Bloodgood $36
Maple Japanese Tamukeyama $69
Redbud Forest Pansy $40
1-gallon Container Plants Blackberry Ollalie $10
Blackberry Triple Crown $10
Blueberry Jewel $18
Blueberry Misty $18
Blueberry Star $18
Blueberry Sunshine Blue $18
Fig Black Jack $20
Fig Black Mission $22
Fig Flanders $22
Fig Italian Everbearing $20
Fig Kadota $22
Fig Panache $22
Fig Violette de Bordeaux $22
Grape Vanessa $7
Grape Venus $7
Herb Sweet Bay $9
Herb Rosemary Tuscan Blue $8
Strawberry Alpine Alexandria $7
Bedding Plants 6-packs $3 Basil Italian (grow indoors)
Beets Detroit Dark Red
Broccoli Purple Sprouting
Brussels Sprouts Long Island
Cabbage Red Acre
Cauliflower Graffiti (purple heads)
Lettuce Freckles
Lettuce Red Sails
Onion Red Creole
Onion Yellow Spanish
Swiss Chard Rainbow Mix
Sweet Pea Bijou
Quarts $3 Artichoke Green Globe
Herbs-excellent selection
|
|
|
|
Please visit us at our farmers market locations.
EVERY FRIDAY
Mission Viejo Farmers Market Mission Viejo Library
200 Civic Center, Mission Viejo
Exit 5 at La Paz going east, right on Marguerite, right on Civic Center
EVERY SATURDAY
Old Towne Orange Farmers & Artisans Market The Historic Villa Park Orchards Packing House at Chapman College
304 N. Cypress, Orange
3 blocks north and 4 blocks west of the traffic circle (Chapman X Glassell) in Orange
EVERY SUNDAY
The Great Park Farmers Market The Great Park, Irvine
Exit 5 at Sand Canyon, turn south on Marine Way (parallels east side of the 5) follow the signs
|
26285 Verona Place
Mission Viejo, California 92692
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
