Independent gardening advice for real gardens, balconies and windowsills.
Practical advice on growing food and flowers, improving soil, and making the most of small spaces. Start anywhere — the garden will meet you.
The apple has long been the most popular of our tree fruits, but the last few years have seen a steady growth in its appreciation and use. This is probably due in a large measure to a better knowledge...
Two factors have always operated to deter many persons from taking up fruit growing as a business or even as a side issue on the farm, and they will probably continue to be an obstacle for more time t...
The present system of marketing fruit products makes the commission man almost a necessity in the general market. Neither the grower nor the local dealer can ship directly to the consumer or even to t...
Car refrigeration and cold storage of fruit are comparatively modern developments. Few persons who have not been affected directly realize what a tremendous influence they have had upon the fruit, and...
The necessary plant food is best supplied by stable manure applied at the rate of ten loads per acre for a light application to twenty loads per acre for a heavy application. This amounts to a load fo...
The application of the foregoing spray mixtures is fully as important as the sprays themselves, for on the right application at the right time depends the efficacy of the spray. For this purpose a con...
Nearly every general farm in the humid part of the United States has its small, old apple orchard. For the most part these orchards were planted in order to have a home source of supply of this popula...
In general, the apple prefers a rather strong soil, neither very heavy nor very light. Subsoil is rather more important than surface soil, although the latter should be friable and easily worked. The...
The ordinary sod culture which is practiced in so many orchards should not be confused with the sod mulch system. The one is a system of neglect, the other of intention. In the sod mulch system the gr...
The method of setting or the arrangement of the trees will greatly influence the number of trees which may be put upon an acre and the distance apart of the trees in the row. The most common method in...
With these fundamental principles in mind we may safely outline a method of pruning an apple tree. As the desired end is different so will the method of pruning a young tree differ from that of an old...
When there is an abundance of food and conditions are otherwise favorable, any animal or plant will thrive better than when the food supply is scarce and conditions unfavorable. As long as apple trees...