Beginning a Fruit Garden — By w. c. McCollom, Y 



York 



PREPARE NOW FOR THE ACTUAL WORK OF PLANTING A FEW FRUIT TREES IN THE EARLY 

 SPRING -HOW TO PLAN FOR YOUR ACTUAL NEEDS -VARIETIES FOR THE HOME GARDEN 



HPHE best of all reasons why you should 

 -*■ think about planting fruit trees 

 now is that home-grown fruit, fresh from 

 the trees, is an immensely superior article 

 to that which you can get in the markets. 

 The home fruit grower has this advantage : 

 He can grow varieties for quality only, 

 totally disregardful of how they will stand 

 rough handling and hard usage in shipping 

 about. The commercial grower must pay 

 attention to shipping ability and superficial 



for garden pictures? Is anything more 

 telling than a peach or an apple tree in 

 early spring? 



If space limits, a fruit tree can be grown 

 also as a shade tree, when it will serve a 

 dual purpose. 



Actual planting of fruit trees and berry 

 bushes should be done as early as possible 

 in the spring, so as to give them the best 

 opportunities of the growing season. 

 Moreover, they can be handled when dor- 



/JO Feet 



6 Apples 30 Feet apart 



6 Pears 20 feet apart 



'#' 



WB) 



<# 



m 



<W 



<i@i 



<§p 



8 Peaches ISjeet apart 



2 Cherries 



2 Quinces 



16 Grapes on wire trellis 8 faet High. 



* i- «C J i' j- » S 4 <■ « « 4! * te «." * '"l if "I i- * *• c > * * * "• » *«*»«««***•*»*««***•»** 



SO £>lacXberries J feet apart on u>ire trellis 



» & & %• S? * « £• '# ='ff <<> & ( # ':? 3 1 -' ^ ^ 'B ** '•> *-'' '^ ^ "* ^'" CT ,i? ® '^ ® '^ ^ '^ J*> & *5 tf <i> *5> (?i '?» <S fr '•J^d * <(> S 1 * 



.70 Hocs^Serrics 3 feet apart on u>ire trellis 



oooooo&ooooo o oo<*©@ ® ® © © e@ oa a® 9 © o 



A* Carranfj 3 feet apct-rt /€ Gooseberries 5 feet apart 



500 Strawberries ife feet apart Row z'/ e feet apart 

 Sufficient fruit for a dozen people can be raised on a space 150 x 90 ft. with standard trees. For details see text 



The home gardener, on the 

 is concerned with intrinsic 



appearance, 

 other hand, 

 quality. 



A fruit garden, or an orchard if you like, 

 even if it be confined to merely one tree, 

 should find a place in every home garden. 

 And even on a very small area, the orchard 

 fruit trees — apples, pears, plums, peaches 

 — can very well be used as part of the 

 ornamental groupings. Why not make 

 use of the flowering qualities of these trees 



mant and most nurseries nowadays carry 

 a large stock of trees in cellars over the 

 winter, ready for shipment at the very 

 first signs of favorable weather, when it 

 would be ordinarily impossible to take 

 them from the rows. Therefore, plan 

 your garden now, place your order now, 

 and be ready to do the actual planting 

 the moment the weather opens. 



The soil for the fruit garden cannot be 

 made too good. Remember the trees 



ISO Feet 



W 



l Row Apples etre.es JO feet apart 



I Row Pear 6 trees 20 Feet apart 



# @ tf|j 



/ Row PeacTi.es 2.0 Feet apart 



2 Cherries 



m m 



2 Quinces 



16 Grapes 10 Feet apart' 



50 3lacKberTT.es 3Feet apart 

 is & c* o> e a *? <£ .« <J? e 6^s *afi fi s^3 5« y«ffi?«e.i;C***e«$4'$«S'ls^o t siS* 



SO Raspberries 3 reel apart 

 ej -a « « to .•» *>».»«' © <S -'c v -to «"& £> v< l *t & « » « -a -u •£ e '•« w> « ts er £ <&■ ts s> 45 <8 * ©■ « •& w -a B .V it ** S 



JSo-lO of Gooseberries V Currants 

 £ $ <i n a? i> & v ei *» v) &<v. M rj « .•'-• -s &<£■ w r9 c.- « e i? av # *'j» £: » 45 ^s K ^ ft « rea rti ^: « « '?i 15 « v </ v. O 



If dwarf trained fruit trees are planted only one-half the area is reauired. This offers a solution for 



many suburban homes 



264 



that you plant are expected to give great 

 and profitable returns over a long term 

 of years. There is a good deal of difference 

 between setting out and caring for per- 

 manent trees and setting out and culti- 

 vating annual crops, like the usual run of 

 vegetables which are cleared off the same 

 season. In growing for fruit, you must 

 first of all grow the tree, giving it the 

 best of cultivation in its youth, and main- 

 taining soil fertility all through. This 

 means thorough fertilization and deep 

 tillage before planting, constant light 

 tillage for the first half of the year and 

 sowing a cover crop with the last 

 cultivation in the middle of summer. This 

 cover crop to act as a mat on the ground 

 all winter and to be turned under the 

 following spring, thus adding humus. 



In general, stimulate early growth by 

 all possible means, restrain late growth 

 by letting the soil.be undisturbed, and 

 induce ripening of ; the wood so that the 

 trees go into the winter, well hardened. 



It is a good thing to plan your fruit 

 garden well in advance. Take thought, 

 give time to figuring out your require- 

 ments, and make up your mind positively 

 as to what you really need. Making a 

 plan will save after labor and some dis- 

 appointment. Draw a plan to scale, place 

 your trees exactly as you want them, allow- 

 ing for the ultimate growth of each. Make 

 your layout as practical as possible, rather 

 giving the preference to cultural con- 

 venience rather than mere appearance. 

 Yet, at the same time, appearances can 

 be considered. Plant the taller trees so 

 that they do not obscure the lesser ones, 

 and consider carefully any personal con- 

 veniences of yourself and members of your 

 family in how they will actually use the 

 garden. This means that the small fruits 

 and berry bushes might be nearer the 

 house than the taller orchard trees. A 

 garden that shows on the face of it that it 

 has been carefully planned and well thought 

 out makes a far better impression on the 

 casual observer, and by planting in regular 

 lines at proper distance, the labor of cul- 

 tivation is reduced to a minimum. 



By planning your orchard now you will 

 have plenty of opportunity to consider 

 the source of supply. Study the catalogues 

 and varieties offered by the different 

 dealers. Nurserymen who advertise in 

 reputable publications can be relied upon 

 every time. They have a reputation to 

 maintain and a growing business to live 

 up to. The actual prices quoted for the 

 nursery stock are not necessarily the proper 

 comparison of values. Local conditions 

 very largely control the prices of stock. 

 The amateur purchaser should realize that 

 he is entirely in the hands of the man who 

 sells. A great many of you who read this, 



