PLANNING FOR A 
ONE ACRE FRUIT GARDEN 
JOHN L. DOAN 
Properly Balanced Quantities of the Different Kinds 
of Fruit Based on Family Requirements — Selecting 
Varieties on the Standard of Quality in Use 
|,ff |UNDREDS, yes thousands, of the readers of this 
1 magazine who might enjoy an abundant supply of fruit 
• ijjyL ^ e ’ r own growing do not have it. They have the 
eSLvO® land, also the opportunity, but are content to buy 
trom some commercial dealer; and that because of the idea that 
truit tree planting is planting for posterity. Well, even if this 
were so, would it not be worth while? The fact is however, 
that you, 1 yourself, can plant 
and have too! A single acre well 
cared for can be made to pro- 
duce an abundant and varied 
fruit supply for a large family, 
with a considerable surplus 
besides. Some fruits are not 
at their best unless fully ripe 
before being gathered, and un- 
less grown in the immediate 
neighborhood of the consumer 
this is usually impossible. In 
addition, it is frequently out of 
the question to purchase the 
fruit of varieties that are very 
superior in quality, because of 
a lack of health, vigor or pro- 
ductiveness, or because the 
fruit will not s and shipment 
well. The market growers’ 
standard largely discounts the 
element of quality that is so 
essential to the home standard. The only way to be sure of a 
supply of such varieties is to grow them. 
A strong, naturally well drained, gravelly loam, is the kind 
of soil preferred by a majority of our common fruits. But even 
though your soil is not of the ideal sort for fruit growing, do not 
be discouraged; for good results can be had by handling it well. 
As to site: the surface of the land may be level or sloping; but 
a low spot where the cold air settles greatly increases the danger 
from late spring frosts. 
A tract of land ten by sixteen rods (165 x 264 ft.) is exactly 
one acre and has been found to be a practical shape, better than 
a square, and it is preferable to have the length of the tract 
running east and west. 
The accompanying plan shows a satisfactory arrangement 
for the different kinds of our common fruits and suitable plant- 
ing distances for them. No row comes nearer to the ends than 
ten feet. This gives ample turning room for horse cultivation. 
Six feet from the north side of the plot a row of brambles is 
planted, beginning with Dewberries at one end, or with a hybrid 
between the Dewberry and Blackberry. If the soil is light and 
sandy, Dewberries are preferable and seventeen plants of Lucre- 
tia, the leading variety, may be set out four feet apart. For a 
heavier soil the Blackberry-Dewberry hybrid known as the 
McDonald Blackberry is best. It is adaptable to different 
soils, succeeds over a large area, and bears an abundance of 
luscious fruit at about the same season as the Dewberry. A 
plant of Early I larvest Blackberry should be set at every fourth 
or fifth place to cross-pollinate McDonald. Next in this row 
plant thirteen Eldorado and a dozen Taylor Blackberry bushes 
for early midseason and late varieties, spacing them four feet 
apart. Plum Farmer and Black Pearl are good varieties, the 
first being in my experience slightly preferable. 
Eight feet from row No. 1 plant another row of bush fruits, 
starting with ten Downing Gooseberry bushes set four feet 
apart and followed by twenty Currant bushes planted at the 
same distance. Perfection, Wilder, and Red Cross are produc- 
tive, reliable varieties; and 
Diploma is promising. If you 
care to have any White Cur- 
rants, plant the variety White 
Grape. The Black Currants 
are usually unproductive and 
are not popular — indeed, they 
can well be omitted. This row 
may be finished with forty-two 
Red Raspberry plants, set 
three feet apart. Cuthbert, 
the old standby, and Herbert, 
a rather recent variety, are 
both very satisfactory. If 
Yellow Raspberries are de- 
sired, cut down the number of 
red ones to thirty and set out 
a dozen plants of Golden 
Queen. If one should wish to 
have Red Raspberries in late 
summer and autumn, half of 
the space devoted to them 
may be planted to, say, St. Regis, also known as Ranere, the 
best known everbearing variety. Where it does well, in 
addition to a fair crop rather early in the season, it bears 
another lasting from August to October in favorable seasons. 
A good mulch of straw, leaves, or grass, placed around the 
bushes in June, will go far towards insuring the late crop in 
case of drought. The more recent introduction is La France, 
remarkable for the large size of the fruits. 
Most of the bush fruits take kindly to shade, and the Goose- 
berry and Currant are much better off if they have a moderate 
amount of it. For this reason they are planted next to the 
Apple row. 
Twenty-two feet south of row No. 2 plant seven Apple trees, 
spaced thirty-seven-and-a-half feet apart, the end trees being 
nineteen-and-a-half feet from the boundaries. Three addi- 
tional Apple trees, a Crabapple, and three Sweet Cherry trees 
are planted in row No. 4. The Apple and Crabapple trees in 
this row are thirty-eight feet apart, the latter being thirty-two 
feet from the nearest Sweet Cherry tree; these last are thirty 
feet apart. The end trees in this row are twenty-nine feet from 
the boundaries. 
In selecting varieties of Apples, choose those suited to the 
section and covering the season from mid-summer to late winter. 
The most suitable kinds of this, as well as of other fruits, may 
best be learned from the experience of successful growers in the 
neighborhood and from the recommendations of the State Ex- 
periment Station. The following lists, which are arranged 
approximately in the order of ripening, are suggestive only and 
like all similar lists are subject to selections of the planter’s own 
.. . Dewberries .. < ®‘ B I qcK berries 
coo coooooooooooo ^6 cT 6 b 00 |ooooo 00 00 <5 
^ . _ - - & 00 o o b'<55^^Soococccccoo b cc^QO^odbooo3 
« Gooseberries «. .Currants Red Rospbernes 
OOOOOOOOCiO 50000 00 (jO O OOO 0-p OOOOO CCOOO00000Q ogg 000 QO 6 OOOOftOOO ooooododoGOOQ&v 
0 
"O -Ot 0 Appi45 -O—- — o O 
CJ 0 W--$ 
Crab Sweet Cherrie s 
0*0 O O 
o --a --o e cr o cr- cr-^r-T) 
o-o-a-a-o-j-or-o- 0 
*Cj a“o c5 c5 o'c# cB cd &’o ~(3“c5 “c5 "o’ o' cd c5”c? ~^Q nceS C5~~Xl) O 
'tr-c — 
-Quinces, 
Cover Crops for Ground to be planted, 
to Strawberries in Two Vears. 
EFFICIENT LAY-OUT FOR AN ACRE OF FRUIT 
A rectangle of 165 x 264 ft. is the most satisfactory shape 
to be planted in balanced proportions for family needs 
242 
