The Fruit Tree Handbook

The Fruit Tree Handbook is a clear, practical guide for both amateur and expert. It explains all you need to know in order to grow delicious fruit, from designing your orchard and planting your trees to harvesting your produce. Apples, pears, plums, cherries, apricots, peaches and nectarines, as well as less common fruits such as mulberries, medlars and figs, are covered in detail, with recommended varieties of each. The book describes all the pest and disease problems you may encounter and advises on how to deal with them. It explains about choosing rootstocks and suitable varieties for your needs, and illuminates the mysteries of pruning with step--by-step instructions and detailed diagrams. It features beautiful pictures throughout. The Fruit Tree Handbook conveys a deep respect for the natural world, showing how to cultivate healthy trees through good management, and also includes chapters on restoring an old orchard and setting up a community orchard. Whether you are planting a few trees in your garden or 50 trees in a field, this book provides the expert guidance you need to look after your trees - and be rewarded with basketfuls of luscious fruit at harvest time. Click here for a sample preview

Introduction  

PART ONE: Preparation, planning and planting
1    The site of your orchard
2    Rootstocks
3    Pollination, flowering and fruit development
4    Choosing fruit trees
5    Planning your orchard
6    Buying and planting trees  

PART TWO: Fruit tree management
7    Caring for your trees
8    Pruning fruit trees
9    Problems of fruit trees  

PART THREE: The fruits
10  Apples
11  Pears
12  Plums
13  Cherries
14  Peaches and nectarines
15  Apricots
16  Other fruits  

PART FOUR: Traditional orchards
17  Restoring a neglected orchard
18  Community orchards  

Glossary

Appendices

Resources