I’m fixing to go blueberry picking with my daughter next week, and there are two reasons. The first is that the lovely little fruits are in season, and since we buy them twice a week in season or out, we’re craving freshies. The second is that I don’t grow fruit.
I find fruit intimidating. My first foray was with raspberries, which I planted in the only place I had, which was shady, and this was not a shade variety. Wrong wrong wrong. Since I had always wanted raspberries, I believed in my heart that they would come through, a youthful delusion that proved me a fool. And with all the trouble I’ve had with tomatoes, I feel like a complete failure. I’ve had no issues with lettuces, kales and leafy things, even when I start from seed, but I can’t get it straight with sweet stuff.
When I leafed through and then pored over What’s Wrong With My Fruit Garden? today, light burst through the clouds. The problem is that I’ve never had the right fruit book, and the solution is now in my hands. David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth get all nerdy about fruit: culture information on many popular fruits in the first quarter of the book is followed by an in-depth Problem-Solving Guide that lasts for days and breaks down symptoms, matching them to causes. Thank you for the photos! And before it’s all over, the final chapters provide organic solutions for common problems, suggestions for changing growing conditions and pest control options.
Bottom line, the book is perfectly organized, well-worded and trustworthy. I’ve looked at a hundred others, and none nailed it like this one does. Best news yet: we keep it in stock it at the store.
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