Meeting:

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Guest Presenter:

Tom Spellman

Southwestern States Sales Manager for Dave Wilson Nursery

Program:

“Backyard Orchard Culture”

Mr. Spellman believes that growing and appreciating tree- and vine-ripened fruits and vegetables should be a part of everyone’s lifestyle as a commitment to healthy living, and he’ll demonstrate how this can be accomplished in the typical backyard.

• Growing fruit for flavor that you and your family like and use
• Growing successive ripening varieties so you can harvest year round
• Growing trees on close spacings and keeping them size-controlled so all chores and maintenance can be performed from the ground.

For years, most of the information about growing fruit came from commercial orchard culture: methods that promoted maximum size for maximum yield but required 12-foot ladders for pruning, thinning and harvesting, and 400 to 600 square feet of land per tree to allow for tractors.

The objective of “backyard orchard culture” is the prolonged harvest of tree-ripe fruit from a small space. Tom will show how many different varieties with different ripening times can be planted close together for smaller, but year-round harvests. He’ll demonstrate how trees can be size-controlled by summer pruning, so that they can be cared for and their fruit harvested without the use of a ladder. Tom will also address planting and training techniques, including selecting compatible varieties, planting several trees in one hole, espaliering trees and hedgerow growing.

Thomas Spellman began his nursery business career at the age of 13 with a part-time job at Fifth Avenue Nursery. He later worked with landscape architect Art Mitchell of Nogales Nursery, had a grower’s position with Armstrong Nursery and served as General Manager of La Verne Nursery before affiliating with Dave Wilson Nursery as Southwestern States Sales Manager. He speaks regularly on topics such as propagation, cultivation and backyard orchard culture, contributes articles to newspapers and magazines and has appeared on several gardening television shows.

Plant Raffle

Tom brought plants from his nursery, Dave Wilson Nursery, for this month’s plant raffle.

Location: Friendship Auditorium, 3201 Riverside Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027. Click here for a map to Friendship Auditorium.

Book of the Month

This month’s selection is The Home Orchard: Growing Your Own Deciduous Fruit and Nut Trees by C. Ingels, P. Geisel and M. Norton (published by University of California, 2007).

It is a comprehensive look at “standard” growing methods, as well as some innovative practices that enthusiasts have developed in recent years that are uniquely suited to the small-scale grower. Learn all about growing deciduous fruit and nut trees, including organic and non-toxic pest management, pruning, thinning, water-saving irrigation methods and varieties from which to select. (Citrus and avocado trees are not discussed.)

This paperback book, with 202 pages and hundreds of photographs and diagrams, can be purchased at our January 10 meeting at a special member price of $17 (including tax).