Its pruning time for most of our deciduous fruit trees and while there are many things you can and should do, there are a few things that you should never ever do.  So instead of talking about everything you should do, I want to mention the most important things to not do, so your trees stay healthy and productive for years to come.

1. Never cut in the middle of a branch.  Also called “top-cutting” or “heading cuts” these are cuts made in the middle of a branch or at a bud.  Although often advocated (even among fruit tree experts) to stimulate growth and maximize production, these types of cuts promote excessive branching and are not good for the long-term health of your tree.  Instead always make your cuts at a point of connection, just beyond the branch collar (see image).  This type of cut allows the tree to heal more rapidly and does not cause excessive branching.  Following this rule will ensure a much healthier, happier, and long lived tree
2. Never prune a tree, without first understanding its fruiting habit!  All too people ask me why they did not get fruit from their tree last year and I have to tell them its because they removed all of their fruiting wood.  Different trees fruit on different types of wood, some, like apples, produce fruit on long lived spurs, while other types like peaches produce fruit on last years growth.  Below is a table with some common fruits and their fruiting habit.

Trees that fruit on current seasons’ growth

• Fig (generally have two crops, one from last years growth, and then a fall harvest on current new growth
• Mulberry
• Persimon
• Quince
• Walnut

Trees that fruit on growth from the previous season

• Fig (first crop)
• Nectarine & Peach (last year’s growth has a greenish red color)
• Quince

Trees that form spurs (these are short stubby branches usually less than 6 inches long with very dense clusters of buds)

• Almonds
• Apples
• Apricots
• Cherry
• Pear
• Plums, pluots, & other hybrids
• Pomegranite

3. Never use ANY kind of wound sealant on pruning cuts! Time and again research has found these kinds of treatment to be ineffective at best, and harmful at worst.  The best way to keep you trees healthy is by using good tools (I never leave home without my Felcos J ) with sharp blades and making proper cuts at branch connections.

For more detailed information and pictures showing  good pruning practices and techniques check out this power point created by Tom Del Hotal, chair of the San Diego Rare Fruit Grower Society.

http://www.crfgsandiego.org/Presentations/Fruit%20Tree%20Pruning%20Basics.pdf

You see, many people assume that when their fruit takes on that beautiful orange hew that it must be ripe.  NOT TRUE!!!  Many oranges, tangerines, and other common citrus crops can be quite ripe when the skin still has some green, or on the contrary may not be ripe even when they are nice and orange.  The navel orange trees in my backyard orchard have been loaded with ripe-looking fruit since December, but it wasn’t until today that I got to taste the first truly sweet fruit.

Now I know what you are thinking:  Then how do you tell when the fruit is ripe?  Well, again, there is a simple answer-give it a taste.  Even in commercial groves, growers rely on taste to tell when their crop has its peak sugar content and is ready for harvest.  Be warned, that if you pick all your fruit too early it WILL NOT ripen or gain sweetness off the tree.

So before you go running out to the nursery for a bunch of fertilizer, or frantically spread sugar around the base of your tree to boost your sugar content, just sit back and wait until your fruit is just ripe :)

A little patience brings the sweet citrus we all know and love

The drains loop through the landscape and will irrigate native plants including the California sunflower, white sage, Cleveland Sage, buckwheats, lilacs, and others. Not only will this drainage system reduce runoff that carries pollutants to the nearby ocean, but it will give the plants a much anticipated deep soak during the first rains of the season.   This is a great alternative to the rain barrel collection system I mentioned in a previous blog.

The San Diego Blood Bank just welcomed the final touches on an edible, sustainable landscape at its new San Diego Gateway Donor Center. The garden looks delectable from any angle—organic citrus and avocado trees will provide employees with a tasty treat during the day, while native plants save water and cut pollution that would run into our waterways.

For over six decades, the San Diego Blood Bank has helped save the lives of countless San Diegans. Hospital patients and trauma victims across our county depend on the generous donations of 400 blood donors per day, who know the Blood Bank is an organization they can trust to do the right thing for San Diego.

Now the Blood Bank is giving again with its new eco-friendly landscape, designed by Revolution Landscape, a homegrown San Diego business committed to providing residents with fresh, healthy food grown right in their own backyards.

The new landscape features a unique mix of low-water native plants, fruit trees, and other edibles. Avocado and citrus trees replace a water-hungry lawn, while fragrant sages and milkweed provide a habitat for monarch butterflies. The new native plants will require little to no water, a rare and welcome sight in parched San Diego.

“Donors and employees alike were curious and excited about the prospect of growing organic food onsite,” said Revolution Landscape co-owner Ari Tenenbaum. “We listened closely to the ideas of Blood Bank staff, and even planted several varieties of avocado trees at the request of employees.”

This isn’t the first time Revolution Landscape has turned an outdoor space into a beautiful, productive, and eco-friendly landscape. The company’s trademark green flamingo is cropping up in yards across the city, challenging its 1950s lawn ornament cousin. With the green flamingo comes fruit trees, vegetables, and native plants—a far cry from the costly, chemical-infused grass so often seen around our city.

Having grown up in University City, Revolution Landscape co-owners Jeff Robbins and Ari Tenenbaum are hungry to show San Diegans the true meaning of fresh, organic, and local. For Robbins and Tenenbaum, the Blood Blank garden is more than just another landscape. They hope that donors and employees will be inspired to plant their own fruit trees and native gardens at home.

“Building edible gardens at homes is always rewarding, but we were especially eager to create this landscape for the Blood Bank, which gives hope to so many San Diegans,” said Robbins. “We wanted to give back, and now the garden will continue to provide for and inspire blood donors and staff for years to come.”

So even if your plate is feeling full this fall, head on over to the Blood Bank. Help your fellow San Diegans by giving blood, and get a taste of another fresh idea that’s bringing energy and flavor to our community.

For photos of the Blood Bank’s new edible garden, visit:

www.flickr.com/photos/revolutionlandscape

To learn more about growing fresh, organic food in your own yard, visit:

www.revolutionlandscape.com

Its hard to describe the feeling but there was a kind of relaxation in air that could only come with the acceptance that the situation was out of our control.  The power turned back on at 3 or 4 in the morning.  Thankfully we remembered to turn the light switches off so the lights didn’t come on in the middle of the night like it did for many of my friends.  Speaking of which, my friends and lots of people I talked with after the power outage said they actually really enjoyed it.  It broke the norm and people actually went outside that evening.  They cooked food on the BBQ, met neighbors for the first time, and just plain hung out.  .

The trees are another step to advance the urban farming movement in San Diego.

So we began our drive east from San Diego and within 2 hours found ourselves flanked by rows of wind turbines. They were situated on the peaks of several mountain ridges near the road. I assumed the winds were strongest up there and that they were built near the road for easy construction access.

Another few hours in and we drove over the first of several aqueducts. I’ve written several posts about how we get our water here in San Diego, but this was the first time I actually got to see the water being transported in person. To recap, the majority of the water we use is pumped here from the Colorado River, which is actually the border between Arizona and California, and from the State Water Project in Northern California. It’s a very energy intensive process and some years there isn’t enough water so we are actually depleting the resource.

I found this next scene interesting because it shows some kind of mining operation. I don’t know exactly what they were mining but I did relate it to how we manufacture non-organic fertilizers. Mined potassium and phosphorus and natural gas harvested for ammonia are all non-renewable resources. The processes of extracting these resources is also known to cause runoff issues for water sources.

On a lighter note, the Saguaro national forest near Tucson, AZ was really cool. These things are massive!

One of the major concerns about commercial farming is that after harvest and tilling the soil remains bare for extended periods of time. The soil dries out and is easily picked up by the wind. Dust storms contribute to losses in nutrients that should have been retained and contaminate local water sources.

A Dairy Cow farm in New Mexico…

The main cavern in Carlsbad Caverns of New Mexico is 2.5 million sq. feet and the 66th largest known cave system. The park ranger I talked with said the main cavern is 700 feet below the surface. As you can see there were lots of cool stalactites and stalagmites formed from dripping water. I found out that it takes only 7 years for water from the surface to reach the 700 ft. subterranean cavern. This struck me as a very short amount of time. If water can percolate this quickly, could it not carry dangerous pesticides and herbicides from farmland into shallow ground water resources?

The Balmorhea freshwater pool in Texas was our last stop before reaching Austin. It seemed that a small river had been damned to create this 200 sq. yard pool! Diving boards, natural rock bottom, clear unchlorinated water, fish and riverweed all included. We took a swim in the early morning.