Tree Fruits, Berries and...actually just fruit trees

Well, I guess it is February 23. Right about the time to start planting fruit trees, brambles, and other fruiting whathaveyous. So...what can we grow here in Seattle? I will use this as an opportunity to put in a plug for one of my favorite businesses, Raintree Nursery. Raintree specializes in fruiting plants and has a great catalog and website that can be crucial resources if you are planning to do some edible landscaping. You literally won't believe all of the crazy s*#@ they grow.
For the time being, I am going to try to decide what the most common fruiting plants that produce well here in Seattle:
In no particular order, we have Apples, Plums, Pears, Cherries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries.
As you will notice, there are a lot of fruiting trees on the list. No matter where you live, there are certain varieties of each that will produce well, and other varieties that won't.
Here is a short list that I lifted from Washington State University (which has a lot of agricultural programs):

Basic Home Orchard Variety List:

Apple - Gravenstein, Akane, Chehalis, Liberty, Jonagold
Pear - Clapp Favorite, Bartlett, Orcas, Comice
Plum/Prune - Methley, Beauty, Shiro, Early Italian, Seneca
Cherry - Van, Angela, Hardy Giant, Emperor Francis
Peach - Early Redhaven, Harken, Frost
Apricot - Not generally successful; try Puget Gold
Nectarine - Not generally successful; try Juneglo

As you will also notice, it is not recommended to try apricots and nectarines (unless you have some sins that need atonement). Also, peaches often seem more trouble than they are worth, especially since there are so many grown just over the mountains...

Here is another thing to consider when picking trees for your yard: plant dwarf or semi-dwarf varieites. Standard size fruit trees are great to look at, but very difficult to maintain and harvest.
So...just in case you are interested, here is a brief primer on rootstocks: what they are and why it matters...(you might want to stop reading at this point)

Why do you need a rootstock in the first place, what is grafting and why velcro shoes are worth the investment?

To get a fruit tree that bears a particular variety of fruit (Gravenstein apples for example), the plant must be propagated vegetatively. This usually means that a piece of a Gravenstein apple tree (for example a branch) is cut off and "grafted" onto another tree or rootstock. (it is absolutely necessary to call the branch a "scion" or it won't work).
Grafting can take many forms but usually involves taping the scion and the rootstock together until they grow into a single plant (kind of like when your shoelace breaks and you tie it back together). This is a very precise technique and I would highly recommend reading up on it a bit and/or going to a workshop if you intend to try it at home.

The Grafter's Handbook, by Robert J. Garner is considered the book to read and I am pretty sure that it made it onto Oprah's reading list last month.
Western Washington Fruit Research Foundation is putting on a workshop this March.
If you want to know how to tie your shoelace together, try a square knot.

Anyways, after the scion attaches to the rootstock, it will grow into a tree that produces Gravenstein apples. The rootstock does not effect the variety of fruit but it does determine the size of the tree (and other things such as disease resistance).
If the seeds of a Gravenstein apple are sown, each seed will grow into a tree with a new variety of apple (but not Gravenstein apples). Some of these new varieties may be very good, but most will become the "I am not going to eat this apple" type of apple.
Since certain trees produce fruits that taste better than others, people have developed grafting in order to propagate these fruits in perpetuity. Otherwise there would have only been one Gravenstein apple tree and when it died this type of apple would cease to exist.

To make things much more interesting, horticulturalists have been developing different types of rootstocks for these trees. Some will make the tree "semi-dwarfing" and some will be "true dwarfs", etc. Here is a link to descriptions of different rootstocks and their characteristics.
Bay Laurel Nursery

Generally speaking, it is good to grow smaller trees in your landscape so that you can reach the fruit when it is ready to eat...
I guess I will try to say something about berries next time.

Goat Justice

This past weekend I attended a fantastic event. It might not be called life-changing, maybe just life-affirming. The meeting was hosted by the Goat Justice League and I suppose it would be classified as a "social mixer". What better way to spend your Friday night than in the company of Seattle's "Top 25 People Most Interested In Goat Herding"?

Although I cannot currently call myself a goat herder, I (like yourself) have a long-standing interest in goats. In high school was lucky enough to be voted "Most Likely to Own Goats". In college, the Homestead raised three of the fattest goats in North American history (you haven't seen anything until you have seen goats raised at a private, liberal arts college); and this winter I really fine tuned my goat milking skills (see photo above).

As you probably know, Seattle passed a law in 2007 allowing goats to be kept at home:
Here is the municipal code:

"B. Miniature goats. Within thirty (30) days of entry of any miniature goat into the City of Seattle, the owner of the miniature goat must obtain a valid license for such animal with the exception of nursing offspring born to a licensed miniature goat. A valid license much [must] be obtained for offspring of a licensed miniature goat upon being weaned. Along with the fee for the license or renewal, the owner must present proof that the miniature goat is dehorned, and if the miniature goat is male, that it is neutered. (Ord. 122508 , Section 5, 2007; Ord. 119998 Section 16, 2000; Ord. 116694 Section 7, 1993.)"

By now you are probably asking yourself, "What's the deal, are these things? Miniature goats, dwarf goats or pygmy goats? and "How did they get so darn small?" and "Are you really qualified to answer my questions?".

As I understand it, dwarf goats are supposed to retain the same proportions of regular sized dairy goats (only smaller), whereas pygmy goats are more barrel shaped or stout and not directly proportional to full sized goats. Common vernacular suggests that the term "miniature goat" refers either a dwarf goat or a pygmy goat.

However, some goat associations (of which there are many) define a miniature goat as a cross between a dairy goat and a dwarf goat. The crazy thing about breeding a mini-goat is that you can breed any dairy goat (doe) with a Nigerian dwarf (buck), and the resulting offspring will be miniature.

Mini-goats are commonly used for: milk production, meat production, land-clearing, and companionship. You can check out more fun goat facts at the National Pygmy Goat Association . The statistics for mini-goat milk production are somewhat shady, but here is a quote from the Miniature Dairy Goat Association:

"Miniature dairy goats have been reported to produce anywhere from 2 lbs a day (1 pint) to 10 lbs a day (one and a quarter gallons) with the average around 5-6 lbs (3 quarts) of milk daily. Genetics and management will play an important part in milk production. Unlike many of the standard breeds, Nigerian Dwarfs breed year around which this makes it easier to have a steady supply of milk all year - many of the miniature dairy goats are also year round breeders."

According to Gail Damerow, the dwarf and pygmy goats produces approximately a third as much milk as a standard breed.

I obviously can't cover all of the essential questions about goat-rearing in this posting, but before you think about getting goats at least think about this: if your gonna have goats, you need at least two goats(to keep each other company); also, they have to be impregnated every year to keep milking; and you should have at least 400 sq ft. for your goat yard.

For a whole lot of good information, read "Barnyard in Your Backyard" by Gail Damerow.

Other resources:

National Miniature Goat Association

Seattle Times

Seattle Weekly

Turnips

First of all I would like to say thanks to everyone who was exposed to the great White House Farmer frenzy last week. Although my name ended up in 14th place, somehow we collected over 700 votes in the span of three days. That is pretty amazing. I am still looking into other strategies to pursue the position (maybe on craigslist?...)

Secondly, and more to the point, I ate the worlds largest turnip this week (please see attached photo)

You see, a few months ago, I was in Latin America doing some "research" on tropical agriculture. In mid-November I was visiting a great sustainable ag. education farm called La Flor de Paraiso in the central highlands of Costa Rica. At the farm, I met travelers from all over the world, and I met a guy from Oregon named Jim.

Evidentally a friend of Jim's had been looking for the seeds of an old heirloom turnip grown back in the days of their grandparents. No seed company or seed saving organization had the seeds in question. Then they found an old jar of the seeds in just sitting on a windowsill in grandmothers house! As fate would have it: the seeds were still viable; some of the seeds were passed on to Jim; Jim promptly grew the turnips; and Jim let them go to seed while he travelled to Costa Rica. I can admit a little skepticism when Jim told me in his plain-speaking manner:

"These are the biggest turnips you've ever seen."

In fact I hadn't seen that many turnips for comparison, but I gave Jim my mailing address, hoping one day to get my hands on some of these rare seeds. Not two months later I recieved a mysterious package in the mail, originating in Oregon and weighing approximately 400 lbs. (hyperbole) Inside I found a package of seeds and the biggest turnip I've ever seen.

After posing for some glamour shots with the turnip, I proceeded to slice off 5-10 lb. pieces to give away as Groundhog's Day gifts to my closest friends. The remainder was cubed, roasted and integrated into my Winter Root Crop Consumption Program (WRCCP). It turned out to be very good eating.

As you can imagine, we are greatly looking forward to sowing, growing and collecting these turnip seeds (scientific name unknown) and hopefully disemminating some next spring on Pennslyvania Avenue... Thanks Jim!