Growing season and weather in Finland and fruit trees
dennis1983
14 years ago
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dennis1983
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agofranktank232
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Fruit trees with seasonal high water table?
Comments (5)It sounds like you already have a pretty good handle on the issues. I have an orchard I manage that I installed several years ago where the owner assured me that he'd brought in 100's of yards of top-soil. When I got to the site it turned out top soil meant soil from a major excavation from the top of a mountain. It was primarily a sub-soil of blue clay! The orchard looks beautiful now and includes a couple of healthy cherry trees (the only ones I manage with fruit this year after very untimely rain). Your soil can't be nearly this bad and I've seen successful commercial apple orchards in soil that was highly clay and water usually sat on the surface in early spring. But this was apples and not cherries. At the first mentioned site the soil was so bad that I ignored the literature and brought in about a quarter yard of sand per tree and an equal amount of completely composted horse stable waste (much more wood shavings than manure before it was composted). As you suggested I did my best to mix this well with about equal amounts of the clay with a larger ratio of clay deeper down. The raised beds created are about 7' diameter and held in place with ornamental block. This is not how I usually do it but the owner liked the ascetic and at least it holds the mounds up and you're not fighting erosion. Because I used so much sand it actually helped create a very nice top-soil (not the concrete in the lit warnings) of several inches that is much more a sandy loam than a clay. In your soil such a dramatic transition will almost certainly not be necessary but if you bring any sand in make sure it's enough to really transform the soil- even if it's only the top few inches. Probably all you actually need to do is to make the mounds from soil already there if other kinds of trees seem capable of growing in it. I recommend mounds that are 2' above surrounding soil and about 8' diameter for decent sized, free-standing trees (they will settle to maybe 18"). Put any compost on the very top and finish with mulch. Actually, the best thing would be to use a back hoe and raise the entire middles by moving the soil between rows of fruit trees into the area of the rows. this way the raised rows would not have to be as high and could be held in place with sod. If the rows ran down-hill it would help drain the water. Individual raised mounds have to be held in place by mulching every year unless you used something like blocks or rot-resistant wood to hold them up. Wood chips to raise mounds works fine, except that they rapidly settle as they decompose and the mounds disappear after a few years. An adequate amount of soil needs to be placed over them to grow the trees, of course. You should make these mounds when the soil is not too wet, so I'd get them ready in late summer for fall planting. In your zone you best be sure any fall planting is very well mulched- maybe the cherries should wait til spring....See MoreAnyone growing mango trees or avocado trees(that produce fruit)
Comments (7)I won't claim to be an expert but I do have some experience with avocado trees. I do know you need 2 avocado trees to pollinate the blooms to produce fruit. I started my trees from seed in the early spring of 2009, so they've been through 2 seasons of growth. They are about 3-4 feet high, have multiple branches, and this is the first year they are expected to bloom. I've noticed a few budding blooms on both trees already and I hope they produce fruit. They will not survive outside during the winter so make sure they have a sunny window to hang out by during the cold months. Avocado trees are a tropical tree so don't overwater, and you might have to provide shelter if there are too many days of rain. Good luck and I'll post in a few months if there are any fruit....See MoreBest place to grow Fruit Trees - OUTSIDE of California
Comments (26)The other crops are pretty boring like number one in beets, we have a sugar industry here. 6th in peaches I guess my point any place you live is what you make it. I have an orange tree, a black peppercorn plant, cacti, and fig trees. I can grow anything I want. I have a limited season, but the plants don't know that. Peppers and tomatoes are tropical plants yet grown everywhere. Both originating from South America. I hate our winters, but we don't have poisonous spiders or snakes, no hurricanes, or earthquakes, just an occasional tornado. Cost of living is really decent here too. I own waterfront property but am middle class, hard to do in CA or FL. Everyplace has it good points and bad, it is what you make of it. I have often thought of moving but many of the things mentioned changed my mind. I'm excited this week I have all kinds of new plants coming. Spring is at last here, and after the hard winter, the roses never smelled sweeter! I have Nadia the cherry-plum hybrid tree coming. It's like a huge cherry! Developed in Australia. You couldn't grow that in FL, not enough chill hours. Two elderberries new cultivars from the Netherlands that are pruned like raspberries, making management and harvest rather simple. Two new currants, a pink, and a red one. Again cannot be grown in CA or FL due to these cultivars not taking the heat. I picked up three more blackberry plants, and a tropical fruit tree, that produces the sherbert berry. I will have to overwinter inside. This cultivar is from India. I added two plum trees Satsuma, and a weeping Santa Rosa plum. Both are very good Japanese plums. My raspberry crop is going to be huge this year, as is my strawberry and blackberry crops. I have garlic, and onions planted out already and have 15 tomatoes, and 15 pepper plants ready to be planted out. My Spice Zee nectaplum has swollen blossoms, about ready to bloom, As does my pluot tree, and Indian Free and pf-Lucky 13 peach trees. Also my Arctic Glo nectarine is loaded with fruit buds. The blueberries are going to produce a large crop, as our my currants too. Getting ready to plant beans, cucumbers, melons and watermelons. I'm growing orange, yellow and red watermelons this year. Have a good spring everybody!...See Moregrow fruit trees covered with shade tarp
Comments (0)Many of you in coastal Southern California may have tried growing apple, pear, or stone fruit trees and found they did not grow well. I have found a technique that may be very helpful. If you are having trouble growing apple or stone fruit in Southern California, putting a tarp over it to give it partial shade can really help. The best time to cover it is from late December to January, and also from June to September. In the Winter the shade helps allow the tree to fully go into dormancy, because even just a few Winter warm days can really detract from the amount of effective chill hours the plant accumulates. It is not only temperature, I believe the light level itself plays a role, the tree can still sense light intensity even if it has no leaves. Come Spring, the tree will began leafing out much more vigorously and sooner if it got an adequate chill accumulation. Summers in Southern California are notoriously hot and dry. In many other parts of the country it is Winter that is the most difficult time for plants to grow, but in Southern California it is the Summer that is the most difficult season for plants to grow. With the clearer skies, higher temperatures, dry air, and lack of rainfall, the leaves of many plant varieties can get scorched. Consistent watering during this time is important, of course, but the plant is still going to have a challenging time coping in these conditions. This happens to be the reason that deciduous trees typically do not grow as well on the West Coast, by the way. Because Winter is the time of year that all the water falls, so the plants best adapted to the region will still have their leaves in the Winter. Having a little bit of shade can really help deciduous trees grow in this climate. Many of these trees supposedly "need full sun", but what you have to realize is that what applies in other climates is not necessarily going to apply in Southern California or the Southwest. Southern California tends to have a lot of sun. At least in Florida there is plenty of the humidity so the plant's leaves are less likely to become dried out. I have observed that it is better for the plant to have a little less sunlight than optimal than it is for the plant's leaves to get more sunlight exposure in a hot dry climate, this essentially has the effect of baking the leaves and they turn brown. You can also try to plant the tree in an area where it will mostly only receive morning sun. I have been able to grow Lilac and even a Lingonberry bush this way, south of Los Angeles (and yes, they flower and fruit!). For deciduous fruit trees that need more chill, you can plant on a north-facing wall. Come the Winter season, the trees will be very shaded....See Moredennis1983
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agodennis1983
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agolarry_gene
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agodennis1983
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agodennis1983
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agodennis1983
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agodennis1983
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agodennis1983
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agogliese
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agodennis1983
14 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
Katie Meyers
8 years ago
Caroline
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agocame here wanting to know what fruits trees did well in Finland, and ended up reading a charming essay. Unfortunately, the tantalizing "Cherry Plum (Prunus Cerasifera) variety Kometa" was no longer available at the link provided. The web site was still there, and this might even be the same picture:
This is the link to the page (for now, anyway):
http://www.kauppila.fi/product_info.php?cPath=1_9_54&products_id=242
and this links directly to the full size image:
Berry Allen z3-4 eu
6 years ago
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dennis1983Original Author