My Growing Orchard
The new orchard here at my Bedford, New York farm is filled with gorgeous fresh fruits.
Last year, I decided to create an orchard around my pool - one with a variety of apple trees, plum trees, cherry trees, peach, pear and quince trees. This year, they’re already producing lots and lots of beautiful fruits. Fresh fruit is one of nature's most delicious products - I am so thrilled with how these trees are doing. Soon, we will be harvesting basketfuls of wonderful sweet and nutritious fruits to share with my family and friends.
Enjoy these photos.
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- This orchard surrounds three sides of my pool. We planted more than 200-fruit trees. Many were bare-root cuttings from Fedco, a cooperative-run company located in Clinton, Maine, that specializes in seeds, tubers, trees, and bulbs.
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- We already have many, many fruits growing – in part because of how nutrient-rich the soil is.
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- Whenever I get the chance, I love to go through the rows of young trees to see how they are developing. When choosing to grow fruit stock, it is important to select those that are best for your area’s climate and soil.
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- Look at these beautiful peaches! Some of the peach varieties include ‘Garnet Beauty’, ‘Lars Anderson’, ‘Polly’, ‘Red Haven’, and ‘Reliance’.
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- Peach trees thrive in an area where they can soak up the sunshine throughout the whole day. It prefers deep sandy well-drained soil that ranges from a loam to a clay loam.
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- These trees are filled with peaches. Growing peach trees are self-fruitful, which means that pollen from the same flower or variety can pollinate the tree and produce fruit, so you only have to plant one. I have about 15-peach trees in this orchard.
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- I also planted many types of Asian pear, Pyrus pyrifolia, which is native to East Asia. These trees include Hosui, Niitaka, Shinko, and Shinseiko.
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- Many of the branches are so full of fruits, we had to add twine to support them. Asian pears have a high water content and a crisp, grainy texture, which is very different from the European varieties. They are most commonly served raw and peeled. This is Pyrus betulaefolia ‘Niitaka’.
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- Some of the other pears in the orchard are ‘Bartlett’, ‘Columbia’, ‘D’Amalis’, ‘Ginnybrook’, ‘McLaughlin’, ‘Nova’, ‘Patten’, ‘Seckel’, ‘Stacyville’, and ‘Washington State’.
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- This pear tree is ‘Columbia’, a type of red Anjou. It’s been consistently described as firm but tender, with a buttery texture that includes lots of juice.
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- Fruit trees need a good amount of room to mature. When planting, be sure to space them at least 15-feet apart.
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- Here is Chhiring staking a tree for added trunk support. The stakes also protect them from mowers and weed whackers.
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- I am very fortunate to have such an expansive paddock space to grow all these trees. In another section, I have quince, apricots as well as sweet and sour cherries.
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- These are plums – it was so exciting to see the first plums growing on the tree. My plum varieties include ‘Green Gage’, ‘Mount Royal’, ‘NY9’, and ‘Stanley’.
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- Some of the plums I am growing are hybrids, such as ‘Black Ice’, ‘Grenville’, ‘Kaga’, ‘Pipestone’, ‘Toka’, and ‘Waneta’.
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- This is Prunus americana ‘Toka’ – also known as Bubblegum Plum. It produces very sweet, and juicy reddish bronze colored plums with a yellow flesh. This plum originated in South Dakota in the early 1900s and is said to withstand below zero temperatures.
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- This plum is Prunus ‘Waneta’. ‘Waneta’, produces well the first season after planting, and is one of the best market plums. Its fruit is large, red, sweet, juicy and of good quality.
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- Atop one tree, I saw this very bright red plum. This is Prunus americana ‘Pipestone’ – a reliable grower with juicy yellow-flesh and an exceptionally sweet flavor.
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- And of course, I have a section of delicious apples. I already grow hundreds of apple trees here at the farm – some that were here when I acquired the property and others I planted soon after moving here. These new apple trees include: ‘Baldwin’, ‘Black Oxford’, ‘Cortland’, ‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’, ‘Esopus Spitzenburg’, ‘Fuji’, ‘Golden Russet’, ‘Grimes Golden’, ‘Honeycrisp’, ‘Liberty’, ‘Redfield’, ‘Roxbury Russet’ ‘Windham Russet’ and more.
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- Apple trees need well-drained soil – nothing too wet. The soil also needs to be moderately rich and retain moisture as well as air.
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- And the best exposure for apples is a north- or east-facing slope. These are McIntosh apples – the national apple of Canada.
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- These fruit trees are growing so well – I will share more updates as more fruits appear. What fruit trees do you grow? Share your stories and comments with me below – I am excited to hear from you.
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