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Coming up, to help with planning, is the annual Fall Fruit Show, sponsored by the Western Cascade Fruit Society.
Saturday October 17, 10:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday October 18, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Tukwila Community Center, 12424 42nd Avenue South.
$3.00 admission includes parking, apple tasting, and apple identification.
Children under 16 attend free.
Dedicated backyard growers staff the Fall Fruit Show. They bring samples of their own fruit, showing hundreds of varieties of apples, pears, grapes, kiwi and other fruit grown west of the Cascades. One of the most helpful parts of the show is apple tasting. A tree's description may sound enticing in a catalog or at a nursery, but what about the flavor? At the Fall Fruit Show, you can check out a tree and also taste the fruit. (Other fruit will also be ready to taste.)
Another feature of the show is apple identification. If your garden contains a no-name tree, bring a sample down for the experts to see, and perhaps, identify. Bring 5 to 6 apples with their stems, NOT washed, and as free of blemishes as possible. The reason they aren't washed is that the bloom, or the surface coating on an apple, can be an identifying factor. This show's a great opportunity to expand your knowledge and dreams of a home fruit garden. Fruit trees are generally planted in late winter, so plan now.
What should you be thinking of in order to start a home fruit garden? All fruits need sun to ripen well, so first identify a sunny spot. Good soil drainage is also a key. Dig a hole about a foot deep, and fill it with water. If the water drains out at the rate of about ½ inch an hour, that's considered good drainage. On some sandier or rockier locations, it may drain much faster than this. (My sandy Capitol Hill soil in Seattle drains 12 inches in 30 minutes.)
Does your garden have a cold, "frost-pocket" area? Don't site fruit trees in areas where cold air drains, such as directly at the bottom of a hill. These cold areas carry the risk of frosts nipping blossoms and reducing fruit, or cold slowing down fruit development.
Key to developing a good backyard fruit garden in western Washington is variety selection. Over the past 40 years, and longer, fruit specialists at Washington State University have studied fruit production west of the Cascades. The results of their research and the efforts of nurseries give all of us good variety suggestions for best performance. Whatever you choose to grow, grow a variety that's proven west of the Cascades. Another benefit of attending the 1998 Fall Fruit Show is meeting the growers who produce and market many of these invaluable plants.
If you identify the warm, sunny and well-drained area, what sort of fruit do you wish to grow? Many "small fruits" such as strawberries, and cane fruits such as raspberries, grow very well in western Washington. In strawberries, look for 'Shuksan' and 'Benton' for June crops. 'Tri-Star' bears from June until frost in western Washington, being what's known as 'day neutral' strawberry unaffected by the hours of daylight.
For ornamental effect in a garden, try 'Pink Panda,' which has bright pink flowers and edible fruit. For anyone who grew up, as I did, picking wild strawberries, a good mimic for those is the alpine strawberry, 'Rugen Alpine.' Alpine strawberries, which don't send out runners, work well as edges for perennial flower beds in sunny areas.
More fruit? Consider blueberries if the garden area contains a moist, even boggy spot. Blueberries produce great fruit in western Washington but can't be allowed to dry out in summer. 'Olympia,' 'Bluecrop,' and 'Spartan' grow well here. For edible landscaping, it's hard to beat the blueberry with its attractive red fall foliage.
In fruit trees, many gardeners choose apples first. 'Aroma,' 'Fiesta,' 'Liberty,' and 'Williams Pride' are all good ripening, disease-resistant apples, or try 'Melrose' and 'Jonagold.' Be sure that you've matched the fruit variety and its pollination requirements; apples need a pollinator to produce well. Nurseries and catalogs can help you with this need.
Don't forget pears, especially Asian pears. The crunchy, juicy Asian pear is an attractive year-round landscape tree. Look for 'Ichiban,' 'Chojuro,' and 'Shinseiki.'
Take some time during October to plan for next year's---and the many years following --- edible landscape.
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