“Unlike apples, which are ready to eat right off the tree, pears are tricky. They have to go through the ripening process off the tree. If you let them hang on the tree till they’re fully ripe they turn to brown mush from the inside out.” Excerpted from “What’s Wrong With My Fruit Garden?” by David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth. Timber Press, December, 2013. Click
Read more →“Each seed of the passionfruit is surrounded by an aril, a globule of orange liquid that is strongly aromatic, sweet/tart, and absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious. Cut the fruit in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon into a strainer. Strain out the seeds and preserve the orange liquid. Use the fragrant juice to make all manner of wonderful edibles, such as lilikoi cheesecake or
Read more →“The peach covers itself with large, pink, showy flowers in early spring. If the weather cooperates and the bees are active there will be baskets full of luscious fruit in summer. The flesh of the fruit either clings to the pit, called a cling peach, or separates easily from the pit, called a free-stone peach.” Excerpted from “What’s Wrong With My Fruit Garden?” by David
Read more →“Right from the start you need to know about temperature, soil, light and water needs for plants you want to grow. With few exceptions, fruits and nuts are perennials. You commit to these plants for years, so choosing the right plant, putting it in the right place, and selecting the best cultivar for your climate and taste is really important.” Excerpted from “What’s Wrong With
Read more →“Black mulberry fruit has a combination of sweetness and tartness mixed with intense flavor that explodes on the tongue. Other mulberries may be less flavorful, or merely sweet but not tart, so it pays to search out specific cultivars known to have excellent tasting fruit.” Excerpted from “What’s Wrong With My Fruit Garden?” by David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth. Timber Press, December, 2013. Click here
Read more →“Their gnarled trunks and silvery gray leaves grant olive trees a commanding presence in your landscape. In addition to their great beauty as ornamentals they bear an extremely valuable fruit which yields, when cold pressed, the rich, healthful, and delicious extra virgin olive oil so necessary in contemporary cuisine.” Excerpted from “What’s Wrong With My Fruit Garden?” by David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth. Timber Press,
Read more →“Hazels are multi-trunked, suckering large shrubs or small trees 10 to 18 feet tall and wide. The plants are deciduous, shedding all their leaves soon after the nut crop matures.” Excerpted from “What’s Wrong With My Fruit Garden?” by David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth. Timber Press, December, 2013. Click here to pre-order your copy of the book.
Read more →“Our mandarin trees in Hawaii had been planted by a previous owner and we never knew which cultivar we had. The trees had been neglected and were stunted but were nevertheless able to regularly produce delectable fruit for us. What a joy it was to walk out into the garden first thing in the morning and harvest a handful of ripe, fragrant, delicious mandarins for
Read more →“Melons are a warm season, annual crop. They need a long, warm growing season with plenty of heat to develop maximum sweetness in the fruit. When the fruits reach baseball size, put two bricks or stones, side by side, beside the fruit and place the young fruit on top of them. The stones absorb heat during the day and keep the fruit warm at night.”
Read more →“Lime fruits are spherical and from one to two inches in diameter. They are usually picked while green but when fully mature they are yellow. Even when fully mature the fruit is not sweet. It is very tart, with high acidity and a strong and distinctively “limey” aroma.” Excerpted from “What’s Wrong With My Fruit Garden?” by David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth. Timber Press, December,
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