Starting fruit trees from seed

[Hummer]

We didn't grow cherries but I know from reading extension service tree fruit bulletins that the western cherry fruit fly has seriously damaged cherry production in Western CO over the past 20 years. Previously, cherry trees were mostly a spray free fruit culture except for early spring tree oil application. There are many old cherry orchards around Palisade that have been productive with 75 year old trees.

One should be prepared to control insect pests. With some fruits all it takes is one negligent backyard fruit tree grower within 3-5 miles to cost farmers tens of thousands of dollars in chemical costs and lost fruit production. When I had an active orchard I made deals with several surrounding neighbors to pull out their backyard fruit trees in exchange for a couple bushels of fruit each year. It worked and made for good neighbors. All they had were wormy apples and weeping peaches anyway.

It might not be an issue where you live but effective pest control is key wherever you garden.

At our mountain container veggie garden we're using wire surrounds to exclude voles, chipmunks, golden-mantled ground squirrels, and lately, a yellow-bellied marmot. I built big screen panels for the raised garden to discourage the mule deer. One of them really likes kale. We don't want to harm the wildlife so our job is to effectively exclude it.

[TheGrey]

We didn't grow cherries but I know from reading extension service tree fruit bulletins that the western cherry fruit fly has seriously damaged cherry production in Western CO over the past 20 years. Previously, cherry trees were mostly a spray free fruit culture except for early spring tree oil application. There are many old cherry orchards around Palisade that have been productive with 75 year old trees.

One should be prepared to control insect pests. With some fruits all it takes is one negligent backyard fruit tree grower within 3-5 miles to cost farmers tens of thousands of dollars in chemical costs and lost fruit production. When I had an active orchard I made deals with several surrounding neighbors to pull out their backyard fruit trees in exchange for a couple bushels of fruit each year. It worked and made for good neighbors. All they had were wormy apples and weeping peaches anyway.

It might not be an issue where you live but effective pest control is key wherever you garden.

At our mountain container veggie garden we're using wire surrounds to exclude voles, chipmunks, golden-mantled ground squirrels, and lately, a yellow-bellied marmot. I built big screen panels for the raised garden to discourage the mule deer. One of them really likes kale. We don't want to harm the wildlife so our job is to effectively exclude it.

As always, this is very valuable information. Thank you!

I managed to get 1 1/2 pints of small sour cherries from the tree- I left a good dozen and a half cherries that had mostly been nibbled, for the wildlife and bees/wasps. Now that I have been able to nurture and obsess over my gardening this year, I'm finding the biggest pests to be the frathouse of five squirrels that are digging up my morning glories ( yes, the plants were contained) before they had even grown beyond the two leaves, rooting through my borage, and eating my strawberries and mexican sunflowers. I also suspect that they have been the ones rummaging through my bush beans and chewing off the tops of the plants, but I can't be certain. Everything is in beds at least a foot high, so I don't think it's bunnies.

Part of the garden experiment this year was to coax out potential pests. It honestly never occurred to me how destructive these buggers were. My answer will be in the form of chicken wire covers for the plants. I may be able to make a large chicken wire surround for the tree- it's barely 5'6" this year.

Insect pests are something I need to study up on. I put out milky spore, but it rained the same afternoon, so I'm going to reapply it. Our peach tree is in its "off year;" the late freeze really affected it. If there are more than 2 dozen peaches on the tree, I'm a monkey's uncle. But the leaves are green and glossy, and it gets fed every spring and fall. The apple is getting pruned this fall, and the new plum tree is getting used to its new home and has no fruit yet.

It's no orchard, but from a small 1/4 acre, it's not too shabby.

I'll get on the extension site and see what pests are common, and will see what they suggest for control. That way I can get it in hand before next year. I know you also had suggestions in another post, so I'll go take notes.

Thank again for the information! I don't think there are any orchards within a few miles of me (I'll double check on a map), but I still don't want to adversely affect my neighbor's fruit trees.