The Giant Book on Growing Fruits in Your Garden

Book excerpt: Table of Contents Introduction Which Fruit to Grow? Fruit Production Charts Cold Hardiness zones Buying the Right Trees and Bushes Soil Conditions Nitrogen Fixing Crops Planning your garden Natural Weedkillers General Planting Supporting Your Fruit Trees Bird Protection Frost Protection Planting Fruit Trees against Walls What Are Espaliers? Keeping Your Bushes and Trees Healthy Fertilizers and pesticides – Cow Manure – the Best Organic Fertilizer/Compost Base John Innes Compost Basic Healthy Compost Mixtures How to Make Leaf Compost Natural Pesticides Neem Pesticide Preparing Neem seeds Chilis Tobacco Bougainvillea Leaves Fungicides for Soil Onion – Garlic Antifungal Solution Papaya Cure – Using Cow Manure Ash as a Pesticide Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms in Plants Spraying Garden Pests Pollination Fruit Plant Propagation Harvesting your fruit APPLES Growing Apples Time to plant Choosing the Right Tree Planting Tips Feeding Your Trees Pruning an Apple Tree Root Pruning and Ringing Ringing Popular Varieties of Apples Preserving and Storing Apples Pests and Diseases Apples in Cuisine Traditional Applesauce Traditional Apple Cake Traditional Dutch Schnitz Un Knepp – Apples and Buttons These are made by sifting together the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Appendix How to Make Traditional Apple Butter Conclusion CHERRIES Growing Cherries Budding Choosing the Right Plants Best Varieties of Cherries Maintenance of Cherry Trees Pruning Your Cherry Tree Root pruning Sour Cherries Planting Sour Cherries Feeding Sour Cherries Pruning of Sour Cherries Mulch cultivation Rejuvenating Cherries Diseases and Pests Cherries in Cuisine Two-Step Cherry Pudding Conclusion CUCURBITAS (MELONS) Cucumbers Soil Requirements Planting Cucumbers Planting in “Hills” Harvesting Pumpkins Pumpkins Sowing Harvesting Pumpkin Curing and Storage Watermelons Soil Requirements and Climate Watermelon Planting Harvesting Muskmelons Paper Plant Protectors Planting Conclusion Strawberries Planting Your Strawberries Mulching Strawberries. Propagation Feeding Strawberries Protecting Your Strawberries. Growing Strawberries in Barrels Citrus fruits Sweet Oranges Blood oranges Growing Oranges Planting Oranges From Seeds Propagation of the Tree How Far Should You Plant Trees? Orange planting in a Nutshell. Pruning Pruning for Rejuvenation Flowers and Fruit Setting How to Get a Good Harvest Uses of the Rind Storing of Oranges Enemies of Oranges Conclusion Natural Remedies Cures by Oranges Pain in the chest – Constipation Nausea Swelling in Your Belly? Tomatoes Sowing of Seeds OLIVES Growing Olives Olive Propagation Popular Varieties Table and Mill Olives Soil Conditions Soil Moisture Pruning Harvesting of the Fruit Olives for Taste Extracting Olive Oil Conclusion STRAWBERRIES Planting Strawberries Straw and Sedge Peat Mulch Selecting the Right Plants Feeding Your Plants Protecting Your Strawberries Strawberry Pests and Diseases Aphids – Fungi and Viruses – Soil pests – Popular Strawberry Varieties Remontant Strawberries Climbing Strawberries – Innovative Ways of Growing Strawberries Polythene Covered Frames Traditional Gardening Soil Mix The Best Organic Fertilizer/Compost Base Conclusion Author Bio Publisher Introduction When Mother Nature blessed the new born earth with life forms milleniums ago, the diversity of one celled creatures took up different lines of evolution due to climatic changes and mutations. That is when plant life evolved along with animal life. And that is how the surface of the earth was covered with lush fruitful vegetation, which flourished and evolved in different climates.