Featuring Vegetable Gardening Tips, Organic Growing Techniques, and Unique Plants for the Backyard Gardener
If you’re not familiar with heirloom apples you may be surprised to discover just how many varieties of apples actually exist and can still be found growing in local orchards and backyard fruit gardens. Following is a partial listing of the heirloom apples being cultivated in Central Pennsylvania landscapes.
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A recent article about rare backyard fruits described my first experience with the uncommon jujube fruit, which is also known as a Chinese Date. No, I wasn’t a bit impressed with this odd tree fruit that I had just tasted for the first time. Despite the so-so encounter with my first jujube I decided to keep an open mind about the worthiness of a jujube tree in the backyard edible landscape.
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While the most common fruit at the tasting was the apple, there were a number of rare and unusual types of fruits available for sampling including; paw paws, cactus pears, ju jube fruits (aka Chinese dates), home grown nuts, hardy kiwis, and assorted varieties of persimmons. These fruits may sound foreign and exotic, but they were all grown and harvested from the landscapes and gardens of the association’s members, or in some cases picked from trees growing wild in the local countryside.
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Ever since an earlier article about a couple of Goji Berry plants that I purchased for the garden, there has been a lot of interest and more than a few ideas exchanged on this site related to growing Goji Berries. Here’s a recent question that I received from Terry regarding winter care for his gojis [...]
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A recent comment posted here inquired into the possibility of relocating blueberry bushes that held special sentimental value for one Northern gardener and her family.
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Here’s the deal… Being the self respecting intensive veggie gardener that I am, I’m always looking for more space to grow another edible plant. There were tomatoes and eggplants in containers, cucumbers and beans up a trellis, and an assortment of herbs growing in a planter or strawberry jar.
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I receive plenty of comments, questions, and feedback to an earlier post about Growing Goji Berries so I thought it was about time for an update on the progress of my Goji Berry plants. I would also recommend that anyone interested in the topic browse the Goji Berry comments for advice and helpful information provided by other backyard Goji Berry growers.
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Normally gourmet garlic seed is the last thing planted in my garden each fall, but this year a new plant filled that role in my backyard… Goji Berry Plants! Goji Berries have been receiving a lot of press recently for the reported health benefits and high levels of antioxidants that have been linked to this exotic fruit from Tibet.
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Following up on a recent theme related to the joys of heirloom apples, I wanted to conclude with a post identifying a few good sources for purchasing antique and heirloom apple trees for planting in the home garden or to start a backyard orchard.
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Gardening is a wonderful gift that I've developed the hard way... through trial and error! I hope to share the incredible lessons learned and make things a lot easier for you out in the organic vegetable garden.
