fruit

How to prune fruit trees, growing berries, making and canning applesauce, peach and pear desserts, and more. Delicious!

hailstone rhubarb crumble, compote, syrup

Individual rhubarb crumble in ramekinWHEN LIFE DEALS YOU LEMONS—well, maybe not lemons, but battered, shredded rhubarb, thanks to hail—make rhubarb compote, crumble and syrup, perhaps with an eye to using less sugar than usually called for in the process. That was the attitude here recently, and we did. My 2013 rhubarb story: before, after, and deliciously ready-to-eat. [read more…]

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growing native fruit trees: pawpaws and persimmons, with lee reich

Lee Reich with paw paws (photo courtesy Lee Reich).APPLES TREES—the fruit everyone thinks they want in their backyards—aren’t easy to grow East of the Rockies, as those who have tried probably noticed when they produced blemished fruit (or required multiple pest-defeating tactics on a strict schedule). And if you’re keeping track, apples aren’t native. Fruit expert Lee Reich offers up two unusual but delicious American native fruit-tree beauties that require little more than to be planted. In print or the latest public-radio podcast, how to grow pawpaws (top photo) and persimmons to perfection. [read more…]

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10 tips for growing blueberries in the backyard (win lee reich’s book and come meet him may 11)

Lee Reich's netted blueberry "gazebo"WANT TO SUCCEED with blueberries? Ask the guy with a Ph.D. in the subject, author of all the best books on home-garden fruit growing: Lee Reich, the guest on my latest public-radio show—and the speaker at the May 11 Open Day here at my Hudson Valley, New York, garden. That’s Lee’s blueberry “gazebo” up top. All the delicious details…along with how to grow blueberries (in print or the podcast) and two chances to win Lee’s book “Grow Fruit Naturally.” [read more…]

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dear gayla: the root cellar of our dreams?

historic root cellar, MinnesotaDEAR GAYLA: I wanted to write immediately, because if anyone would understand this latest mad urge, it would be you. Oh help me, please, but I want a root cellar in the very worst way. [read more…]

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how to grow melons (plus a podcast)

hale's best melonHAS A JUICY, PLENTIFUL HARVEST of melons eluded you—perhaps because your growing season feels too short up North, or because powdery mildew attacked your plants in high summer, a challenge even in Southern, longer-season areas? How to grow melons: tips for success, in print and on my latest podcast, too, with Tom Stearns of High Mowing Organic Seeds. [read more…]

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