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When selecting trees, consider western Washington's summer weather. Fruit develops sweet, juicy succulence when exposed to warmth and sun. Most of us don't need reminders that our summers can be cool and often cloudy. Fruit growers measure the available warmth by a standard called Accumulated Heat Units (AHU). This is a cumulative measure of how many degrees over 50° F. accrue in a growing season from April 1 through October 31. Temperatures are measured daily and added for the entire season. To ripen most wine grapes, over 2500 AHU must be present.
As a reminder of how cool the growing season can be, Bellingham has 1321 AHU in a typical summer; Everett 1571 AHU; Seattle 1882 AHU. Obviously there are many variation in these measurements, depending on specific location. Higher elevations and forested areas can be even lower than the average. Sheltered southwest facing gardens may have an increase of 300 AHU per season, just based on how the heat accumulates. In contrast to the low numbers common here, lots of summer AHU accumulate east of the Cascades. Wenatchee boasts over 2750 AHU per summer. This single fact contributes to the prevalence of the fruit growing areas east of the mountains.
Does the absence of heat units mean that fruit won't ripen well in western Washington? How can we assure ourselves that the trees we choose will produce ripe fruit even with cool, cloudy days? Fortunately, the Mt. Vernon WSU Research Unit has concentrated on tree fruit research that is suitable for western Washington for over 40 years, and has provided useful information for successful fruit growing. For best results with tree fruit production, choose the warmest, sunniest site possible in the garden. Then choose fruit cultivars that have been proven productive. Visit local nurseries and read local catalogs for more specific information. As enticing as nationally produced catalogs are, they often do not carry cultivars selected for western Washington conditions. 'Red Delicious' apples, for instance, produce poorly or not at all here. One nursery specializing in locally adapted edible plants is Raintree Nursery, 391 Butts Road, Morton Washington, 98352. (360-496-6400). Their 1999 catalog celebrates 25 years in edible plant production and distribution.
In Puyallup, Hartman's Nursery, 713 21st Street SE, specializes in a selected list of western Washington adapted fruit. (253-848-1484). Another locally focused nursery providing a mail-order catalog is Northwoods Nursery, 27635 South Oglesby Road, Canby, Oregon. (503-266-5432). They distribute a number of strictly ornamental plants as well as edibles.
Perhaps I risk being too repetitive here, but the key to good backyard fruit production is variety choice. Let's look at some specific "western Washington winners."
Apples and pears, in general, provide reliable backyard crops if the plants are selected properly. A few of the tested apples for this area are 'Melrose', 'Jonagold', 'Chehalis,' and 'Liberty.' These apples produce well in western Washington. 'Liberty' is a bright red medium sized apple with good flavor for fresh eating, and a remarkable resistance to apple scab disease. Apple scab is a fungal problem that causes brown lesions on apple skins. When selecting new trees, it's useful to consider disease resistance as well as productivity.
Pears, eaten fresh or canned, appeal to most fruit lovers. Some good choices in European pears are 'Rescue,' 'Orcas,' and 'Bennett.' These produce the familiar "pear-shaped" fruit we associate with lunch boxes and sharing on cheese plates.
Asian pears, the crunchy-sweet pears, rounded with yellowish or brownish skins, produce vigorously in western Washington. Look for 'Shinseiki' or 'Ichiban.' Asian pears form attractive landscape trees and add considerably to the edible possibilities of gardens. For all apples and pears, check the pollination requirements of the individual trees to be sure the tree has an appropriate pollinator nearby. Your local nursery can help you with this determination.
Once a gardener imagines a backyard orchard, the biggest problem will be finding space for all the possibilities. 'Frost' peach, 'Puget Gold' apricots, 'Evereste' crabapple, and even the Meyer lemon can start the gardener dreaming. (Meyer lemons need indoor conditions in winter, but produce nearly all year.) And what about persimmons?
Do some research on types and availability of tree fruit during this early part of January, and start yourself on a genuine gardening adventure.
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