CREDITS 4. About the author 5 John l. Mason 5 CHAPTER 1 FOOD FROM THE GARDEN 6. What can you produce in your garden? 6

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2 CONTENTS CREDITS 4 About the author 5 John l. Mason 5 CHAPTER 1 FOOD FROM THE GARDEN 6 What can you produce in your garden? 6 CHAPTER 2 DECIDING WHAT TO GROW 10 CHAPTER 3 SUCCESSFUL GROWING 13 Light 15 Temperature 16 Soil 16 Nutrition 18 Water 21 Wind 23 Cold and the garden 23 Different growing methods 25 Where to get helpful information 26 CHAPTER 4 FRUITS 27 Introduction - fruit trees for all climates 27 How to develop an espalier on a wall 29 Good backyard fruit trees for a range of climates 30 CHAPTER 4 PART I DECIDUOUS FRUIT TREES 31 Winter chilling requirements 31 Pests and diseases 35 Deciduous fruit encyclopedia 38 Bare-rooted fruit trees 42 Pruning deciduous fruit trees 42 CHAPTER 4 PART 2 CITRUS FRUITS 46 Tolerance to different climates 46 How to grow healthy citrus 47

3 Citrus species 50 CHAPTER 4 PART 3 TROPICAL FRUITS 57 What fruits when 57 CHAPTER 4 PART 4 BERRIES 69 Berry fruit 69 CHAPTER 4 PART 5 NUTS 87 Introduction to nut growing 87 Commonly grown nuts 89 CHAPTER 4 PART 6 VINE CROPS 96 Grape varieties 100 CHAPTER 4 PART 7 USING PRODUCE 103 What to do with excess fruit 103 CHAPTER 5 VEGETABLES 115 Why grow vegetables? 115 The site 116 Choosing what to grow 120 Feeding and watering 121 Planning the cropping programme 121 Pests and diseases of vegetables 123 CHAPTER 6 MUSHROOMS 132 Four easy steps to growing mushrooms 132 CHAPTER 7 SPECIAL GROWING TECHNIQUES 138 Growing produce in containers 138 Hydroponics 143 Permaculture gardening 149 More special growing techniques 156 APPENDIX 159 Acs global partners 163

4 CREDITS Copyright: John Mason Disclaimer Written by: John Mason Dip.Hort.Sc. FIOH, FAIH, FPLA Photos: John and Leonie Mason Editorial and Research Assistants: Rosemary Davies Marie Beerman Gavin Cole Adriana Fraser First published in 2012 as an e-book Published by ACS Distance Education P O Box 2092, Nerang MDC, Queensland, Australia, 4211 admin@acs.edu.au P O Box 4171, Stourbridge, DY8 2WZ, United Kingdom admin@acsedu.co.uk ISBN: The information in this book is derived from a broad cross section of resources (research, reference materials and personal experience) from the authors and editorial assistants in the academic department of ACS Distance Education. It is, to the best of our knowledge, composed as an accurate representation of what is accepted and appropriate information about the subject, at the time of publication. The authors fully recognise that knowledge is continually changing, and awareness in all areas of study is constantly evolving. As such, we encourage the reader to recognise that nothing they read should ever be considered to be set in stone. They should always strive to broaden their perspective and deepen their understanding of a subject, and before acting upon any information or advice, should always seek to confirm the currency of that information, and the appropriateness to the situation in which they find themselves. As such, the publisher and author do not accept any liability for actions taken by the reader based upon their reading of this book. PAGE 4

5 ABOUT THE AUTHOR JOHN L. MASON Dip.Hort.Sc., Sup n Cert., FIOH, FPLA, MAIH, MACHPER, MASA Mr Mason has had over 35 years experience in the fields of Horticulture, Recreation, Education and Journalism. He has extensive experience both as a public servant, and as a small business owner. John has held positions ranging from Director of Parks and Recreation (City of Essendon) to magazine editor. John is a well respected member of many professional associations, and author of over thirty five books and of over two thousand magazine articles. Even today, John continues to write books for various publishers including Simon and Shuster, and Landlinks Press (CSIRO Publishing). The author, John Mason, at Monet s Garden in Giverny outside Paris. PAGE 5

6 CHAPTER 1 FOOD FROM THE GARDEN Home grown produce somehow has a special quality. Some say it tastes better, others believe it is just healthier. And there is no doubt it is cheaper! Watching plants grow from seed to harvest and knowing that the armful of vegies and herbs you have just gathered for the evening meal will be on the table within an hour or two of harvest, can be an exciting and satisfying experience. Believe it or not, you can grow a lot of food on a standard quarter acre block. The key to success is planning. Choose what you grow, how you grow it and how much you grow, very carefully. There is always the danger of having heaps of spinach and not enough strawberries, and who prefers to eat spinach instead of strawberries with cream? Nuts, great in cooking or on their own WHAT CAN YOU PRODUCE IN YOUR GARDEN? What you produce from your garden will depend on the amount of space that you have. Obviously the larger the property the more potential you will have to produce a large variety of crops. Large properties can support a range of fruit trees, vines, vegetables, herbs, grains and even hay and straw as well as animals and chickens. Of course you can grow more produce given more land. You may also be more successful in a mild climate with good rainfall, th an in a dry one; it is still possible however to grow at least some food, just about anywhere, and in any climate and circumstance. Lemons are indispensable in the kitchen Herbs for cooking and sprouts for salads can be produced on a kitchen bench. PAGE 6

7 A balcony, veranda or courtyard can produce buckets of vegetables, berries and herbs if you go about it the right way. Even an arid desert garden can produce food, if you choose appropriate plants and apply a few horticultural tricks to the way you grow them. There is a wide range of vegetables and fruiting plants that will grow well in pots and containers. So if space is fairly limited - you can still enjoy the joys and rewards of growing some of your own fruits and vegetables. The smaller the property though the more thought you will need to give to what you do and don t grow. Ask yourself what would I like to produce? Then take it from there. Vegetable gardens can create ambience On a small property, you will need to use all your available space efficiently too. Make an inventory of your garden and think about how each feature or structure could be used or modified to produce something. Here are some examples: Walls, fences - for supporting climbing plants and espaliers; to shelter plants and to improve fruit ripening. Verandas and balconies - for growing potted plants that need extra protection, or use as a potting area, or for tool storage, or for drying herbs and other produce. Garden shed - add a lean-to shadehouse, greenhouse or chicken run. Pergolas - to support climbers. PAGE 7

8 Swimming pool - convert to an aquaculture garden that supports fish, ducks and productive water plants. Incorporate terraces supported by retaining walls on sloping sites. Rotate vegetable and crop plantings to get the most out of each bed of soil. Make the most of window boxes, pot stands and shelving in greenhouses Delicious fruit pies USE GREENHOUSES Greenhouse growing is another possibility that will help to protect crops from weather extremes. It allows you to modify the climate to control the conditions that will prevent heat stress, cold temperatures, drying winds or lack of soil moisture and soil nutrients. And it can help you control pollination. Furthermore a green house will also give you added protection from such pests as birds, rabbits or other animals chomping through all your hard work! A decorative platter of fresh produce Greenhouses protect herbs from extreme weather conditions PAGE 8

9 You may choose to have your greenhouse set up with a hydroponic system so all the plants are automatically fed and watered through the growing season for you. This of course may be your worst nightmare approach to growing produce! You may prefer organic techniques with plants growing in organically enriched soils, in raised beds or pots. You might like to use chickens to control insect pests - pecking in your garden beds or around your pots and fertilizing the soil at the same time. Alternatively you may already be hooked on growing vegetables and want to set up a much larger and more serious growing area, so you can grow enough to sell through market stalls or to locals. The sky is the limit for your new interest! The best: freshly picked and cooked produce PAGE 9

10 CHAPTER 2 DECIDING WHAT TO GROW There are hundreds of different food plants that can be grown at home, ranging from fruits and vegetables to herbs, nuts, berries, vines, mushrooms and more. The plants chosen can be plants that grow well in a garden located in the tropics, gardens located in temperate or cool climates and they may be deciduous, evergreen or a collection of these. The challenge is to choose the right combination to suit your family. But whatever you decide you should be aware that different types of plants will yield different results, and you need to carefully select what you will grow and where you will grow it (particularly if you have limited space or limited time in which to care for crops). Consider what you use the most. If you eat lots of apples and potatoes, then grow those. Growing and producing the fruits and vegetables you and your family like the most can make a sizable reduction to the overall food budget. There is no point growing large amounts of what no one wants to eat, through it is exciting to try a couple of new varieties of vegetables you have never eaten purely to see if it is something you may like to include in your growing plan for the future. Consider the Following: Some plants require more attention than others (e.g. many soft fruits need pest and disease control and pruning, while nuts and citrus need less). Be aware that even though it may seem ridiculous, it is sometimes possible to buy something for less than it might cost you to grow it. On the plus side though, if you have grown it yourself, you know what chemicals have been used in the production and you also know exactly how fresh it is. Though sometimes store bought produce may be cheaper, generally its shelf life or storage qualities may be less than half that of home grown produce, so you may even need to buy two or three lots from the store to cover the time that fresh home grown produce will last in your own storage. Apple trees are great for the home garden PAGE 10

11 Consider the crop s keeping quality. Crops which keep for short periods only (e.g. peaches) are more of a risk than ones which keep well (e.g. almonds). Some varieties of fruits will actually store and keep longer that others in the same family, for example, brown onions have much longer storage life than white or spring onions. How long will it take for the plants to start cropping? (Radishes for example can be picked 5 6 weeks after planting. To keep a good supply planting a few new plants, say every fortnight, would give you a succession of ripening times for quick growing crops. Walnuts and most of the nut tree varieties plus avocado and mulberry trees can take up to 7 years before they produce a good crop). How many plants do you need? Some vegetable plants are much more productive per square centimetre (or inch) of ground space than others. Compare one tall tomato plant and its kilos of fruit with a large cabbage which can occupy the same amount of ground space through it produces only one cabbage. How much space do you need? (For example a single fruit tree can take up a lot of the yard. More than a hundred strawberries might fit into the same space). In a narrow space you may be able to look for plants that give you more produce in the vertical space such as growing strawberries on a wall of containers hydroponically and growing your fruit trees by espaliering them close to the fence. (Some fruit tree varieties will grow better than others in an espalier system). You can buy dwarf varieties of most fruiting trees now and also multi-grafts which enable you to have 2 or more varieties on one tree - whilst also proving the correct cross-pollinator (without taking up the space of two) How suitable is that crop to the soil and climate of your area? Is your region frosty, windy, tropical, temperate, a combination of these? Is a low-lying site with heavy wet soil most of the time, or steep and sloping where terraces will need to be built? How good is the growing quality of the soil and the soil drainage? Radishes can be picked 5 6 weeks after planting. Some fruit trees bear their fruit biennially (particularly if allowed to produce heavy crops, thinning of crops is essential to prevent biennial cropping) whereas others bear fruit annually. PAGE 11