GB 086 FFF Golden Sweet Apricot 2804
SPEAKERS
Ed Laivo, Farmer Fred
Farmer Fred 00:00
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred is brought to you by Smart Pots, the original lightweight, long lasting fabric plant container. it's made in the USA. Visit SmartPots.com slash Fred for more information and a special discount, that's SmartPots.com/Fred.
Farmer Fred 00:20
Welcome to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. If you're just a beginning gardener or you want good gardening information, you've come to the right spot.
Farmer Fred 00:32
Fruit tree expert Ed Laivo of TomorrowsHarvest.com returns with another sweet treat of a winner for Fabulous Fruit Fridays. It's the golden sweet apricot, a tasty fruit that can be grown throughout most of the country all the way down to USDA zone five. Plus, we have fruit tree planting tips for you. tips that will help ensure the success of your new fruit tree or fruit bushes. It's all on episode 86 of the Garden Basics podcast brought to you by Smart Pots and Tomorrow's harvest. And we'll do it all in under 30 minutes. Let's go
Farmer Fred 01:09
It's fabulous fruit Friday. What does Ed Laivo of tomorrow's harvest dot com have for us? I think it's a tasty apricot. Is that right Ed?
Ed Laivo 01:18
Yep, you bet Fred. We got an apricot today and it's one of the best apricots, because it's probably one of the most adaptable apricots and boy, in apricot growing, that's what you want. You want adaptability.
Farmer Fred 01:31
As far as soil goes, as far as water goes, as far as climate goes. And I think this particular apricot might have a lot of adaptability.
Ed Laivo 01:39
It is and it's you know, primarily it's with the climate adaptability. Because apricots are so early blooming, that they really are susceptible to all kinds of inclement weather, you know, that comes up unexpectedly. That, and there's a number of different varieties of apricots that have this physiological ability to be able to almost stop blooming when the weather gets bad. But many apricots don't. They just bloom right through, you know, a hailstorm and that's it, you're wiped out for the year, and you can go years without getting any apricots just because the weather was bad in the spring.
Farmer Fred 02:16
But the Golden Sweet Apricot, it doesn't suffer like that does it?
Ed Laivo 02:20
No. The Golden Sweet apricot has that ability to be able to kind of shut down when the weather's get bad. Or you know, even when we've noticed that when the temperatures start to drop unexpectedly. Like say you start to get extra cold nights that seems to slow down the blossoming process as well. So what that does is that pretty much ensures that every year you're going to get a really good crop of Golden Sweet Apricots. And man, these guys are delicious. I mean they're not just an apricot that does well, like so many varieties that currently are being used in zone five and they'll set fruit but the fruit isn't that good. But as a matter of fact, Golden Sweet man oh man, I mean, it's a great tasting piece of fruit too, as well as being a great setter in these marginal climates and as well as in apricot country as well. That's tremendous.
Farmer Fred 03:11
And it ripens, when, in June and July?
Ed Laivo 03:14
Yeah, yeah, it's an early ripener, you know, we call it an early riper. Most apricots are, of course, early ripeners and yeah, this is a June ripening variety.
Farmer Fred 03:24
And we'll update that too. Because this is a new apricot this apricot it's only been around for about 15 years. And so consequently, you know it's a recent introduction. And when this was first put up, it was really directed at these colder climates and thought to be real good in those colder climates. But no, it does incredibly well in zone nine, I mean, we have them at the nursery.We are in zone nine, and they do tremendous there. We get tremendous crops, to be exact. One of my assistants has a beautiful tree, a Golden Sweet apricot, on the side of her house and it just sets a tremendous crop every year.
Farmer Fred 03:24
The Golden Sweet apricot is already down to USDA zones five. Zone five is basically the colder parts of Idaho, parts of eastern Nevada, parts of Utah, but looking at Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, southern Wisconsin and into the Northeast, that's kind of zone five. Zone six is below that, a little bit warmer; zone seven, below that. That would be south of the Mason Dixon line, zone eight would be sort of along the highway 20 corridor as I'm looking at the map here. And here in California where we are, in zone nine. Why isn't zone nine included for this apricot, I feel left out?
Farmer Fred 04:43
There is a commercial farm in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, in the town of Brentwood, called Frog Hollow Farm and they grow the Golden Sweet apricot. And they say it is one of the best apricot for making a conserve. I I'm not sure what a conserve is, but it's great for making a conserve.
Ed Laivo 05:03
And if it's Frog Hollow, it's good. You know, I mean, Al and the people at Frog Hollow do a wonderful job of putting together some great foods and serve up some wonderful fruits out of their orchards. What a great way to enjoy Golden Sweet because I'm sure that the folks at Frog Hollow sell that in boxes during its harvest season as well. One of the things about Golden Sweet that I should add is that it's it's got a tremendously long harvest. So it really it could be almost considered an early-to-late variety because it hangs for so long, you can pick it for weeks. So that's, that's another really important aspect that needs to be pointed out.
Farmer Fred 05:46
From what I understand it's might be a bit smaller than some other apricots, but it makes up for that with rich flavor.
Ed Laivo 05:55
I think it's an average size apricot. That would be my opinion. And I tell you what, I've known this variety almost since it first came out, because of a really dear friend of mine, who used to run the Santa Clara master gardeners, Nancy Garrison, a wonderful woman who had a tremendous influence over many, many gardeners down in the Bay Area in San Jose for years and years. And she's moved to Hawaii now. She's someone who introduced me to Golden Sweet long before I was a Burchell nursery employee, but she actually said, Hey, this is setting fruit in an area down here in San Jose, where I don't get any fruit from apricots at all. I can't grow them. But this one sets fruit every year. So that's where I first started kind of seeking out whether or not this thing really was that good. And sure enough, I bought some trees, planted some in different areas, and Yep, that was that good.
Farmer Fred 06:50
And what's nifty, too, is you don't have to peel it. You can just cut it vertically in half and take out the pit and you're good to go.
Ed Laivo 06:57
You're good to go. Yeah, that's right. That's all apricots. But you know, the Blenheim sets the standard for all apricots and you know the Golden Sweet, while maybe not the quality of a Blenheim, you can't grow a Blenheim anywhere. That's the problem with a Blenheim. Blenheim is a restricted. And so a Golden Sweet is delicious. And looks sort of Blenheim-like because Blenheim is a smaller to medium size apricot as well. So it's the next best thing to Blenheim.
Farmer Fred 07:30
It's the Golden Sweet apricot, find out more about it at tomorrows harvest dot com, a presentation of Burchell nursery. There's a little trick with pruning apricot trees that I wish more people knew about. And it also is true for cherries as well. And that's the pruning season for apricot and cherries.
Ed Laivo 07:52
Yeah, don't prune them in the wintertime. That's very important because they're very prone to diseases that are prevalent in the wintertime. That's time to plant an apricot, not prune an apricot. For the home gardener it's just size control and use summer pruning as your primary means of size control. The commercial guys will prune apricot and cherries in the latter part of the of the summer. But you know, for home gardeners, apricots are very, very vigorous growers. And so consequently, when you're trying to size control them in the first couple of years you got to be aggressive. You're probably in there probably pruning maybe three times a year to really control the size and at the same time develop the structure of the tree. But as the tree reaches a mature age, surprisingly enough, it slows down that vigor and starts to become more of a, "oh, you want to keep me at this size? I guess I'll stay there."
Farmer Fred 08:44
And keep on producing.
Ed Laivo 08:45
Yeah. And keep on producing as well. And for summer pruning, remember, you know when you're summer pruning, you know, every cut you make, that next limb that comes out is next year's fruiting wood. So it it really works to benefit the novice gardener as well. You don't have to be a pruning expert. You just have to realize that you've got to keep the tree size-controlled, but cherries and apricots absolutely, it's not recommended to prune them during the winter time at all.
Farmer Fred 09:13
As the weather is warming now in USDA zones eight and seven and six, you're going to start seeing more and more fruit trees at your local nursery. I would suggest that before you buy a fruit tree, do a little homework first, and not the least of which is the big rule of real estate. It's also the big rule of gardening: location, location, location. What sort of location do most deciduous fruit trees like?
Ed Laivo 09:43
Most fruit trees, deciduous trees, are always going to prefer prefer a full sun location. That's probably one of the most important considerations. So it's a really frequently asked question for me and that would be, "how much sun does a fruit tree require?" And, really, eight hours is ideal. And if you want to have good sweet fruit, eight hours is ideal. And I really prefer that the eight hours be the morning sun. Favor the morning sun and not the afternoon sun because the morning sun is the drying sun. So it helps to dry the leaves out real quick, that helps to avoid diseases that are prevalent in the area, especially in areas that are quite moist to begin with. That morning sun really helps to dry those trees out early. And I like that a lot. And then definitely, when you get into the drier climates, you know, protection from that afternoon sun, to keep the trees from sun burning and keep your fruit from getting fried on the tree like what happened last year to apricots here.
Farmer Fred 10:48
You have very thorough instructions on the tomorro's harvest dot com website about how to care for all of the fruit trees that you have available. And it seems like there is a common thread that I see as far as planting and care. And that is, most deciduous fruit trees like fast draining soil.
Ed Laivo 11:07
That's the second most important thing after choosing a location that has plenty of sunlight. And that is, you know, drainage, you know that the drainage is going to be the determining factor as to whether your trees thrives or struggles or dies. And it's the number one reason that people lose trees in the landscape, it's usually due to poor draining soils. And surprisingly enough, it's not often that it's caused by you over watering. Usually it's caused by winter rains that leave the trees root completely immersed for the entire winter time. Then, as the tree comes out in the spring, the roots have been compromised and possibly even diseased. And the tree then starts to wilt in the spring when it's pushing because the root system has been compromised. And what's the first thing that you do when you see that tree wilting?
Farmer Fred 12:02
No, of course, you give it water (sarcasm).
Ed Laivo 12:04
Right. And that's exactly the problem. And that we start, you know, the cycle, we continue the cycle that's already damaged this tree's roots in the spring, by using water as a medicine. You never use water as a medicine. So trying to choose a location and knowing how the area drains in your yard and how your soil drains is a really, really big important consideration.
Farmer Fred 12:27
There is a drought threatened in California, there's a drought threatening the Southwest, every place in the nation can be susceptible to a drought, I don't care where you live, there can be extended dry periods without natural rainfall or availability of water for some people. And you've been saying this for years, and it is so very true, to adapt to situations like that. You keep saying it's not how much water does your tree need? Rather, it's how little water does it take to keep this tree healthy?
Ed Laivo 13:00
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've been saying that for many years. And actually, it is a thing that you should take to heart because it's not only just for being a responsible person in drought prone areas or in areas where, you know, of course there's drought stress threatening us. But just from the standpoint of becoming familiar with how much water your tree needs, so that it grows healthy and and doesn't struggle with wet-dry, wet-dry situations or with too much standing water around the root system for excessive amounts of time. Or, as a matter of fact, you know, even in some areas where it drains so fast that, you know, watering, deep watering and watering infrequently aren't a good idea. Our good friend Robert Kourik, of course, his recommendations, I think apply to areas like that, where more frequent watering is probably more beneficial in excessively fast draining soils. And I like some of his philosophies based on these really fast draining soils like we have in the Central Valley.
Farmer Fred 14:04
Yeah, let's point out though, that Robert Kourik is applying very little water in his regular watering regimen. So he is not drowning the plants by any stretch.
Ed Laivo 14:16
No. It's also important he's also incorporating mulch, you know, things he's doing everything he can to conserve and keep the trees roots protected from the climate. Mulch acts in so many different ways. And probably one of the two most important is that, of course, it keeps the roots cool in the hottest parts of the summertime. That, and secondly, it slows down the evaporation from the surface layer of soil. And that's important because that's where the primary feeder roots are. And that's where the tree is taking up most of its nutrients and so you really don't want that to go wet-dry-wet, dry-wet-dry, because that'll definitely affect the health and vigor of the tree.
Farmer Fred 15:00
Mulch also controls weed outbreaks. It also moderates soil temperature and as it breaks down, it's feeding the soil. When was the last time you fertilized your fruit trees?
Ed Laivo 15:10
I don't fertilize my fruit trees.
Farmer Fred 15:12
Well, you're feeding them. How are you feeding them?
Ed Laivo 15:14
I mulch. I use woodchips, probably my woodchips and probably, maybe six, eight inches deep now, and I'm talking about a decomposed layer probably doubt of four, four inches down. So I'm probably about eight inches. Yeah, at least eight inches deep now. My fruit trees have actually grown up into the mulch.
Farmer Fred 15:37
Yeah, I'm not surprised. And I would be also not amazed if you said that when you moved out to where you live now, and you dug in the soil, you didn't find any earthworms. But now, when you dig after years of mulching, there's all sorts of earthworms.
Ed Laivo 15:50
Oh, there are, and moles and gophers too, I'm afraid. Oh, sorry. But yeah, I live at the base of an old silica mining community where actually I have, I have veins of silica that run through my yard. It's sand that is almost is like talcum powder, you couldn't tell the difference between it and talcum powder. Except for when you push it on a glass. It doesn't smudge. It separates. So it's incredible stuff. But it definitely doesn't have any organic matter in it. And so yeah, it took me years, it took me years to build up my soils.
Farmer Fred 16:31
So if people do have slow draining soils, if it seems consistently muddy, I guess if you can't go down, you go up.
Ed Laivo 16:41
You do. Yeah, mounding is probably the most common recommendation, I'm not a big fan of mounding because mounds settle so easily. And so with a mound, you know, if you want a mound that's going to settle to 12 inches high, you want to make sure that that mound is 24 inches high and probably goest out a good four feet to begin with, and then just plant your tree right in the center of the mound. Because that mound should settle down to between 12 and 15 inches as the soil settles. But I'd much rather prefer you know, just to build a raise bed. And a raised bed can be made out of any number of different types of material. I mean, through the years I think I've made raised beds out of just about everything; but you know, the most common is going to be 2x12 redwood or cedar or something like that. Make it three foot square and you know, you can plant one tree in it, you can plant a number of trees if you chose.
Farmer Fred 17:38
Don't get me started.
Ed Laivo 17:39
Yeah, no, no, that's a whole other, that's a whole other show.
Farmer Fred 17:46
Well, now do you use any soil amendments at all around your fruit trees other than mulch?
Ed Laivo 17:52
No, but I'm a huge composter, I have my own compost bins, and I make my own compost and I incorporate the compost into my mulch and top dressings usually, and when you're planting, especially, you know, if you do a soil test and your soil test determines that you really need to incorporate some organic matter in the soil or if you got straight silica here, you could do it, I'm not a fan of it. The reason why I'm not a fan of it is simply because the trees got to live in the environment that you're planting it in. And if I dig a hole, and I put a whole bunch of good stuff into that hole, it's the studies have shown that what the root will do is actually stay confined to that hole. Why would it want to leave? It's got all the good things in the world there so the root doesn't necessarily develop outwardly into the surrounding soils to create a nice balanced root system you know in a timely fashion and so I'm really for you know, forever I've been a fan of just plant it in the soil. If it's not going to make it, I want to know early on if there's a problem I want to know early on.
Farmer Fred 18:53
I know the Golden Sweet apricot tree is self fertile, but here's a description I see in a lot of allegedly sell fertile tree descriptions: it does better if it has a friend nearby.
Ed Laivo 19:03
Yeah, I mean and that's true and you know it would be true for Golden Sweet I'm sure I've never really done the study firsthand to be able to tell you that but I'm sure it would be the case but Golden Sweet isreally precocious. It sets young and it sets an enormous crop and with not anything else around and like I said my colleague at work, hers is enormous and there's nothing else around hers. It just sits out by the street and I think it feeds probably half of the neighborhood as well. She makes her jams and jellies and and then brings baskets in the work so that you know we all become Golden Sweet fans together.
Farmer Fred 19:43
it's the Golden Sweet apricot, one of the best apricots you can find. It's dependable in several different climates, USDA zones five through 9. Okay, good five through nine. That means I can get one.
Ed Laivo 19:57
You can.
Farmer Fred 19:59
If you love to can apricots, then you want the Golden Sweet apricot tree from tomorrows harvest.com. A service of Burchell nursery. We always like to talk fruit trees with Ed Laivo, especially on Fabulous Fruit Fridays. Let's do it again next Friday.
Ed Laivo 20:17
It's a pleasure Fred and we definitely look forward to getting together again, next Fabulous Fruit Friday.
Farmer Fred 20:29
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Farmer Fred 21:32
The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast has a lot of information posted at each episode: transcripts, links to any products or books mentioned during the show, and other helpful links for even more information. Plus, you can listen to just the portions of the show that interest you, it’s been divided into easily accessible chapters. Plus you’ll find more information about how to get in touch with us. Leave an audio question without making a phone call via Speakpipe, at speak pipe dot com slash gardenbasics. it’s easy, give it a try. And you just might hear your voice on the Garden Basics podcast! If you’re listening to us via Apple podcasts, put your question in the Ratings and Reviews section. Text us the question and pictures, or leave us your question at: 916-292-8964.916-292-8964. E-mail: fred@farmerfred.com . If you tell us where you’re from, that will help us greatly to accurately answer your garden questions. Because all gardening is local. In the show notes you’ll find links to all our social media outlets, including facebook, instagram, twitter, and youtube. Also, a link to the farmerfred.com website. And thanks for listening.
Farmer Fred 23:03
The warmer weather means that fruit trees and berry bushes will soon spring to life, with the promise of tasty, nutritious fresh fruit for you and your family. What are you waiting for? A website for more information? OK, it’s Tomorrow’s Harvest dot com, your go-to site for a complete line of backyard fruit trees and bushes. Tomorrows harvest fine line of fruit trees is the result of 75 years of developing, testing and growing. For well over 75 years three generations of the Burchell family have been at the forefront of research and development of plants of the highest quality. All of these beautiful, edible plants have been carefully cultivated for your home garden. And they come in Plantable Paper Pots, ready for you to stick directly in the ground, pot and all. Look for Tomorrow’s Harvest fruit trees, including the Golden Sweet Apricot, at better retail nurseries. And If your favorite nursery doesn’t carry any of Tomorrows Harvest fruit, nut and berry varieties, you can order them directly from Tomorrows harvest dot. com. Let the Burchell family’s three generations of experience take root in your home orchard, landscape and garden. Tomorrows Harvest: It’s goodness you can grow. To find out more about their nutritious and delicious fruit and nut varieties, visit tomorrowsharvest.com.
Farmer Fred 24:19
We are approaching the time of the year that is a very giving time for many gardeners, especially those who like to start plants from seed. Many of us, when we're starting plants from seed, will always probably use a few too many seeds. And what do you know? They all sprout. All of a sudden, you've got more marigolds and tomatoes and zinnias and pepper plants then you know what to do with. What do we do with them? Well, we usually give them to our friends and neighbors, our fellow gardeners, or people who want to try gardening. That's very kind of you. And you know something? You may be helping yourself as much as you're helping somebody else. Recently in the Mayo Clinic newsletter, there was an article called "The Art of Kindness" by Steve Seigel. He's with the behavioral health department of Mayo Clinic. And he wrote about how the act of giving kindness is simple, free, positive and healthy. He writes, "the kindness has been shown to increase self esteem, empathy and compassion and improve mood. It can decrease blood pressure and cortisol which is a stress hormone, which directly impacts stress levels. People who give of themselves in a balanced way also tend to be healthier and live longer. Kindness can increase your sense of connectivity with others which can directly impact loneliness, improve low mood, and enhance relationships in general, and something else, too: it can be contagious. Looking for ways to show kindness can give you a focus activity, especially if you tend to be anxious yourself, or maybe stressed in some social situations." And besides, for us gardeners, we love to share our plants. Physiologically, kindness can positively change your brain. Being kind boosts serotonin and dopamine, which are neurotransmitters in the brain that give you feelings of satisfaction and well-being and cause the pleasure-reward centers in your brain to light up. Endorphins, which are your body's natural painkillers, also can be released. And it's not just how you treat other people. It's also how you extend those same behaviors and intentions to yourself as well. Think about being kinder in your own self-talk, and practice gratitude. Does that sound familiar? We've talked about the benefits of being grateful for what you have. And if you have a garden, you can be grateful every day. People are really too good at verbally beating themselves up. And rarely does that work as a pep talk. Rather, negativity often causes you to unravel and may even create a vicious cycle of regularly getting down on yourself. Let's face it, when you see your neighbor, you wouldn't talk to them the way you sometimes talk to yourself. So maybe instill in yourself a "good neighbor policy". If you wouldn't say something to your good neighbor, don't say it about yourself. And, of course, just simply asking yourself, "how am I going to practice kindness today" can be helpful. Well, if you're a gardener, you've got all sorts of ways to share the bounty of what you're growing, be it plants, or the products of those plants come harvest time. This positive focus is like planting positive seeds in your "mind garden". Where focus goes energy flows, and in the words of the Dalai Lama, "be kind whenever possible, and it's always possible".
Farmer Fred 27:40
Thanks for listening to Garden Basics with Farmer Fred, brought to you by Smart Pots. Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. It's available on many podcast platforms including Apple, Spotify, Google, IHeart, Stitcher and many more. And if you're listening on Apple, please leave a comment or a rating. That helps us decide which garden topics you'd like to see addressed. And again, thank you.
