Apply compost and mulch, as much as possible. Organic growing is much more than replacing fertilizers and such with versions that have the 'organic' stamp on them, although there are plenty of organic fertilizers that work well. About the fertilizer recommendations, there may be a range for the 'best' amount of fertilizer to apply rather than a single value. For example, suppose you gave (in addition to natural soil and rainfall conditions) the avocado tree: 1 pound of fertilizer and got 10 more pounds of avocados); 2 pounds of fertilizer and 20 more pounds of avocados (compared to no fertilizer); 3 pounds of fertilizer and 25 more pounds of avocados (compared to no fertilizer); 4 pounds of fertilizer and 28 more pounds of avocados (compared to no fertilizer); 5 pounds of fertilizer and 30 more pounds of avocados (compared to no fertilizer). At some point too much fertilizer will 'burn' the tree, let's say 7 pounds of fertilizer. As you can see there is a diminishing return - the first pound of fertilizer applied gives a 10 pound increase in yield and the fifth pound of fertilizer gives an additional 2 pounds of avocados. I just made these numbers up for demonstration, this is not from any actual data although I'm sure these tests have been done many times in many fields. If priority is given to yield per tree or yield per area with less concern for fertilizer cost then the recommendation might be to use 6 or 7 pounds of fertilizer. If priority is given to getting the most yield out of each pound of fertilizer applied with less concern for number of trees or space then the recommendation might be to use 1 or 2 pounds of fertilizer. In the real world, a combination of factors might be considered to come up with a cost effective fertilizer application recommendation. There's more to consider. The plants will do better and the fertilizer will work better if the soil is improved (see compost and mulch), and applying the fertilizer certain ways will work better (smaller amounts more frequently, watered into the soil) than others (scattering a large amount all at once). If you continue to follow this approach of: get a soil test, find out what is low, find that in a bag or package and spread it on the field, repeat - you are in a way using the land until it 'runs out.' If you think a little differently however and make use of compost, mulch, cover crops, rock dusts, you will be building and improving the soil, going in the 'other direction' if you will. Orchard Mulching and Cover Crop Trials Page 22 shows that they recorded the lowest yield using glyphosate and that any mulch type resulted in a larger yield. Alfalfa appeared to be one of the best for the trees but it didn't necessarily suppress weeds that well compared to the others. Wood chips were recommended.

Bonni, My family and I are in your Zone in year 2 of our ambitious kitchen garden. We use organic methods if at all possible. It does take work and with 2 preschool boys we don't have a lot of large blocks of time to work. DW and I take turns working and chasing kids and try to get the boys interested in the process. They have their own pea patch, a 5' stretch of fence line that they tend. You might want to check out the forum on gardening with kids. We don't have a lot of space in our typical suburban backyard, so last year, I built a 10' X 15' raised bed with homemade compost and topsoil. It's a beautiful growing medium. Right now, we have in the ground: garlic, onions (2 varieties), carrots, beets (2 varieties), lettuce (3 or 4 varieties), spinach, and ~15 tomatoes. Maybe as many as a dozen peppers will go in a smaller bed and a few pots as well as a few more pots of bush variety tomatoes. Two kinds of mini-melon will go in as soon as I can finish the trellises I'm building to support them, same as the three kinds of summer squash we will grow. I like to grow giant sunflowers in the middle of the raised bed as a centerpiece, at least until a big wind blows. We also have a very small asparagus patch, as well as raspberries, which did great last year, blackberries that look promising for this year and blueberries that just went in the ground a couple months ago. Two big pots of strawberries produced in late spring/early when last year and are flowering now. We have a lot of shade in the backyard, so DW's project has been building a bed of hostas, ferns and the like. She also has a very nice herb garden for all kinds of tasty spices. Finally, I am trying to grow some annual flowers just to attract bees and other beneficials and get some practice. It's a lot of work, but since I've started growing my own fresh food, it's hard to eat stuff from the store. You will find lots of good advice here. Sometimes it's conflicting, so you have to go with your best judgement. I find the trial and error method is most rewarding and try to keep track of our progress in a garden journal, but that part of the process gets neglected, which is a shame, because I end up making the same mistakes repeatedly. But something's gotta give. My only advice would be compost, compost, compost. Read that forum and post any specific questions. You will get a lively discussion and often an entertaining argument. Good luck!

Yes, Mulberries are the best choice as mentioned earlier. The trees grow fast too. Illinois Everbearing is common and probably the easiest to obtain. I know some pears for best taste require table ripening, but maybe some do not? Asian pears maybe? Any variety soft enough to eat on trees may also have larvae problems too, like apples. If you grow raspberries, and mulberries, mix them for jam, and it will be some of the best jam you ever tasted. Jam is easy to make too. Have the kids help! Grow some yellow raspberries, bet the kids never saw those before and they are so good! Fall Gold is a good choice. Anne is better but it is a shy producer. Fall Gold kicks out the berries and they are excellent. I have Fall Gold, Anne, Cascade Gold, Kiwi Gold, and Honey Queen yellow raspberries in my garden. You could add a pear too, but I would say overall the kids will kill on the mulberries and leave the pears alone. Plus you can really get back at your sister because mulberries are the best dye ever, the kid's clothes will be covered in stains :) The hands too! I grow every color of raspberry I can They freeze well, will not stick together. I like to dip frozen berries in chocolate, yum!

Thanks for getting back to me! I am in Bedford, Mass-- Zone 5B or 6A. The Asian pear is a 2-in-1 graft from gurneys.com: Chojuro and "Drippin' Honey": link The apricot is an "Adirondack Gold" from St. Lawrence Nurseries: link I don't mind spraying more frequently-- I will be outside watering anyway; it is relaxing after work. And I am not religious about being completely organic, but I would rather not kill the honeybees that pollinate my garden. And my small kids play unattended near the garden and trees. Gardens Alive, which is owned by the same people that own Gurney's, has a kit of fertilizers and sprays here: http://www.gardensalive.com/product/perfect-fruit-spray-kit-for-fruit-trees/ St. Lawrence has some general tips on organic spraying but I would like more details. For example they mention both oil and sulfur sprays but don't describe when or why to use either one. Would love to get your thoughts on either or both. Thanks very much!