Gardening 101: Fruit trees
NORTH TEXAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) - There is a research garden in Garland that is not like any in the state.
The facility is at the District One Dallas County Road Repair Facility. There are four of these facilities in Dallas County, one for each quadrant.
The funny thing about District One is that there are hardly any county roads there. They are all city, state or federal. So what to do with the eleven acres right in the middle of a heavily populated area?
The county needs the space for its massive communications tower in the middle of the land. How about growing some food?
Next month I'll tell you the whole story of the Dallas Urban Farm that operates there. But, as I said at the top, this is first and foremost a research facility for Texas A&M AgriLife, and Jeffrey Raska, a project specialist and expert in field trials, grows food there.
They just finished a five-year study on growing grapes.
It ended up with nine varieties they could recommend for gardens in north Texas. One of the top producers is a variety called Champanel.
I'm currently growing four of these on the west side of my property on a large trellis. I learned a lot from Raska on how to grow these grapes. Because of the high humidity in our area, you must go with a single tier on the trellis.
The idea is to have the leaves on the west side of the line and the grapes growing on the east side of the trellis. This protects the grapes from direct sun.
Pruning is an absolute must and it is almost an art form. I even try to explain it, click here for a link to the AgriLife Extension page on it.
I'm growing them more to fill the trellis up, I'm trying to put some shade on that side of the house. The vines are going into their second year and suffered in the heat this year. I'm hoping for a better growing season next year.
Raska has also run a field trial on what peach trees to grow in this area. Going by chill hours, or the number of hours 45° or below during the cold season. He recommends the one called "Harvester Peach."
We get about 800 chill hours on average here, Harvester matches up nicely.
He also showed how you shape the tree. It's better to have the branches start about 18" off the ground, this keeps the tree short and easy to pick without a ladder needed.
Don't allow the tree to grow a center leader. This is very important; it keeps the sunlight in the middle of the tree which can double production.
So, think of the tree looking like an open basket as it grows. Because of the possibility of a late freeze every year, you probably will get a crop two out of three years.
You'll have to spray the fruit once it buds - not when there are flowers and bees! It's the only way to keep off all the bugs that want to eat them. They are squirrel magnets.
Figs grow easily here; they will likely suffer in the winter and end up starting from the roots every year. Brown Turkey, Celeste and Chicago Hardy are the three varieties recommended.
In the Spring, see what branches survived the winter and where they bud. Trim the tree back to the new buds and watch the tree take off in the summer heat. The wood is great for smoking brisket or poultry by the way. They are great ornamental trees for the corner of your yard. Look for a spot that gets the first of the sun to help get past the morning cold.
I like to grow food in my garden. Fruit is always the most favorable option.
Jeff Ray is the senior First Alert Meteorologist at CBS News Texas and an avid gardener. When not covering the weather, he is finding stories about Gardening in north Texas. If you would like Jeff to come talk to your group about how changing weather patterns are changing the way we garden in this area, please email him at jaray@viacomcbs.com.
