Hello everyone! I've been an avid gardner for years and have grown a few veggies over the years as well. I've never grown any fruits other than a fig tree I have in a pot on the deck that I take into the garage every winter. Even with the fig, however, I'm best at eating them!

This year I have 3 Tophat blueberry bushes, 3 Apache thornless blackberries, and I just ordered a Semi-Dwarf Northland blueberry, and a dwarf Pixie Crunch apple tree.

I plan on growing the Tophats in pots on my deck, putting the other blueberry and the blackberries in the ground, and growing the dwarf apple in a pot on my deck at least until I see how big it gets and whether it does well in the pot - I will certainly transplant it into the ground if the pot doesn't work out.

All I know is blueberries like acid soil. And I imagine I will have to spray the apple tree - I do have horticultural oil.

What else can you tell me? I realize I'm asking pretty general questions. I live in Massachusetts in Zone 6. I have no idea when blueberries form or are ready to pick, if I should prune them, etc. Also, I'm very intimidated about pruning the apple - I shouldn't have to do anything right away, it's supposed to arrive property pruned, but how do you tell when apples are ready and do you spray automatically? Only when there are signs of trouble? I'm under the impression that apples ripen in fall, but the catalogue said the Pixie Crunch ripens in late August. Will a dwarf apple do ok sitting in the pot all winter - it's supposed to grow from 4-6' tall? Should I wrap it or mound mulch or something around the pots (the blueberries can be sunk in the ground in their pots if I have to).

Any general info you can give me will be much appreciated. I plan on doing some research online, but I'd like to get some firsthand opinions as well. And I should also say I want to keep everything organic - I'd rather deal with some insect damage, than spray chemicals. One of the reasons I'm trying to grow so much myself is to avoide chemicals and pesticides. I garden organically in the rest of my garden as well, even the flowers and I make my own compost. I pretty much use fish/seaweed emulsion almost exclusively, but I recently was advised to use Milorganite (sp?) and started using that last year.

I probably bit off more than I can chew, but I'm very motivated this year, am increasing my veggie bed by about 6 times, starting all these fruits - I'm excited, but know how reality can come crashing home when things don't grow they way you imagine they will!

Thanks so much.

Lisa