nicole, Heed sandylighthouse's warning - I was where you are 13 years ago, and have been going through the same process you are, and that sandy has already been through. Bomb-proof, no-spray fruits only for me. Most of the apples I planted early on are gone or are going away, being replaced with pears and persimmons; the only apples worth my time are the early varieties and edible crabs. Stonefruits - a total waste of time & space for me, except for the native Chickasaw plums. Mulberries are a winner. Blueberries & blackberries, winners. Figs, good, but for me, pot culture is required. Check out NRTN(linked below) for your walnuts - they may already be sold out for the 2007 season, though. You might re-think your choice of 'Curtis' pecan - it's an old variety that's not all that readily available anymore - it's not 'bad', it's just that there are others that are better; 'Elliot' may or may not be suitable for north AL, as it breaks dormancy very early and may be damaged by spring frosts/freezes. There was a long-running thread over on the SE Coastal gardening forum, with the following response from Dr. Bill Goff, past president of the Southern Pecan Growers and AU Pecan specialist: "I am a Professor at Auburn University and have been evaluating pecans, particularly for scab resistance, for 20 years. Following this research, we suggest only 6 cultivars for home and low-input plantings. They are: Elliott (the standard of scab resistant cultivars, with exceptional disease resistance and quality, but disadvantages of alternate bearing, aphid susceptibility, and early budbreak leading to spring freeze damage), Jenkins, McMillan, Syrup Mill, Gafford, and Carter. Without sprays, I classify the following cultivars mentioned previously as terrible (meaning unlikely to ever produce a decent nut crop) : Desirable, Nacono Bad: Meaning producing decent nuts less than half the time in the absence of sprays: Gloria Grande, Stuart, Cape Fear. OK: Usually producing decent nuts: Curtis The varieties suggested as good are rarely available commercially, as most nurseries sell reject, left-over trees of commercial vareities like Desirable that knowledgeable commercial growers won't have to retail nurseries. A few nurseries are starting to hear us and catering to small-scale orchards and homeowners. These nurseries include Underwood Nursery, Foley, AL 334-943-8056; Dellwood Nursery, Foley, AL 334-943-8693: and Southern Heritage Nursery (container trees), Bastrop, LA 318-281-0681. Don't expect to buy any of the recommended trees without reserving them a year in advance." If you're planting 4 kiwis, I'd do 3 females and one male - 'he' can get the job done, and you should(theoretically) get 1/3 more fruit. Research the 'bush cherries' before you spend any $$ on them - you may find you'd be pretty disappointed in their tiny little fruits. Same for American hazels - the nuts are tiny, with thick shells. I'd check out the offerings from Badgersett Farms or some of the nurseries linked at the NNGA website( www.northernnutgrowers.org ) that propagate improved/hybrid hazels. Here is a link that might be useful: Nolin River Nut Tree Nursery

Thanks fruitnut. Took a look at the pics of apple maggot damage, and I am not sure that's it. Might be but most of the pics showed considerably larger tunnels and active maggots in the fruit from the apple maggot. The "tunnels" in my apples are literally thread-like. With no visible open space, just the thin brown line in the apple flesh. I suppose it is possible that the apple maggots I have were just very tiny, but I think it odd that I did not find any of the maggots still in the fruit. And I did not see any of their dimples on the skin from where the female inserted the egg. I do have some coddling moths, I think I found one in the 100-200 apples we've processed so far. They just have not been a major problem, so far at least. I'll keep searching for the exact cause. In the mean time I am planning on putting out sticky red sphere traps and doing some more spraying next year... Oh well, it was good while it lasted ;)

Our raspberries are continuing to produce fruit, and the blueberry crop was good: 3 1/2 gallons, with an estimated 1 quart lost to the local birds. I have been fighting japanese beetles with the cup of soapy water. Most of our blueberry shrubs show some damage from these insects, but only 5% of the leaves are affected. We lost a few raspberry canes to insect borers, but these were pruned off right away and went on the compost pile.

Personally, I find the old standard Big Boy and Better Boy quite reliable for larger tomatoes and the Mountain series for medium toms. I'm afraid I'm not super impressed with Celebrity either, and I only raised Jet Star for a customer who requested it. Since he moved, it's gone again. Tomato sales around here this year were pathetic even though they were in extremely low supply. Only recently have people turned on again to the cherry tomatoes. I cannot figure out the market. Three years ago, hybrids ruled, two years ago heirlooms, last year cherries, this year none of the above. Demand for Roma types, however, has been steady but not exactly outstanding except for my canning customers.