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Contact Us:
info at villageharvest.org
(888) FRUIT-411

Mailing Address:
Village Harvest
P.O. Box 9231
San Jose, CA 95157

Resources and Links

Backyard Orchard Resources
Backyard Fruit Tree - Care
Backyard Fruit Tree - Harvesting
Fruit - Post Harvest Handling and Storage
Backyard Fruit Tree - Pruning Info & Services
General Gardening Information
Gleaning (Harvesting) Programs
Gleaning Programs Information

Preserving - How-to
Preserving - Sources
Preserves - Reviews
Recipes

Backyard Orchard Resources:

• The California Backyard Orchard, a University of California resource for fruit and nut crops.
• California Rare Fruit Growers is the largest amateur fruit-growing organization in the world, oriented toward the environmentally sound culture of any and all edible plants in the home landscape.  Among many resources, they have "Fruit Facts" pages with tremendous information on dozens of common and exotic fruit trees.
• Dave Wilson Nursery Wholesale growers of deciduous fruit and nut trees.  An excellent source of backyard orchard culture advice.
• Home Orchard Society, The Home Orchard Society is dedicated to "Growing Good Fruit at Home".  This website offers a wide variety of information, including articles, the newsletter "Pome News", tips (particularly useful ones for propagation), active discussion forums & news for principally hobby fruit growers.
• Mark Rieger's Fruit Crops,  a professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia for over 14 years.  Includes information on 40 different types of fruit.
• Nancy Garrison, San Jose, CA  (408) 298-5828
  Nancy started the Master Gardener Program in Santa Clara County and grew the program until she retired in 2004.  She is now sharing her passion and over 20 years of expertise available on a consulting basis.  Areas of expertise include:  establishing a home fruit orchard, plant problem diagnosis and everything you need to know about food gardening from variety selection, planting, irrigation, fertilization, fruit thinning, summer pruning to harvest information. 
• Pomology Weather Services, a University of California service that reports chilling units accumulated and has harvest prediction models based upon blossom dates.

Backyard Fruit Tree - Care

• Fruit Tree and Vine Care Calendar, created by Nancy Garrison, Santa Clara County, UCCE Horticultural Advisor.  Fruit care at a glance. 
• Calendar for Backyard Gardening Operations for Selected Fruit and Nut Trees, a University of California publication with a summary of seasonal care for many fruit and nut trees.
• Calendar of Backyard Gardening for Citrus Fruits, with suggested seasonal care.  A one page, free publication from the University of California, Davis.  (Adobe Acrobat pdf format)
• Tree Care Information Brochures, from the International Society of Aboriculture (ISA).
• UCCE Integrated Pest Management Guidelines, organized by tree/crop type.

Backyard Fruit Tree - Harvesting

• Harvesting Seasons for Santa Clara Valley, based upon Village Harvest experience
• Harvesting Apples, from the BBC (England) gardening pages.
• Harvesting and Handling Fruit, an University of Alabama ANR publication on harvesting and handling fruit.  This is targeted to growers but has helpful hints for homeowners.
• Ladder-less Harvesting Techniques, Village Harvest publication summarizing different techniques that our volunteers have developed over the years. 
• Build your own Tree Shaker, For those who would like to use the shake-and-catch method instead of a ladder for apricot, plums, and apples.  Designed by Village Harvest volunteers to mimic the tree shakers that were used before mechanical shakers were developed. 
• Village Harvest Home Harvesting FAQ's

Fruit  - Post Harvest Handling and Storage

• UC California Post Harvest Technology Research Information Center
• Storing Fresh Fruit and Vegetables for Better Taste for home storage and handling by the University of California PostHarvest Handling Technology RIC. 

Backyard Fruit Tree - Pruning Info and Services

• Certified Arborist List, from the Santa Clara County Master Gardeners.  Use the Fruit Tree Pruner Interview Questions to inquire about the arborist's expertise with fruit trees.  Outside of Santa Clara County?... see the ISA web-site. 
• Fruit Tree Pruner Interview Questions.  Fruit tree pruning is quite different than landscape tree pruning. Before you hire a fruit tree pruner, here are some questions to ask.
• Dave Muffly, Palo Alto, CA  650.283.6911
  Dave is a Certified Arborist and former Program Director for Canopy: Trees for Palo Alto. Among Dave's specialties are all aspects of fruit tree growing - selection, installation, care and pruning. Prefers the Palo Alto area.
• Kevin Raftery Horticultural Services, Palo Alto, CA  650.428.8733
  Certified Arborist and teacher of fruit tree pruning classes at Common Ground and Foothill Community College.  Prunes fruit trees on the peninsula between Burlingame and Los Gatos. 
• Kevin Stevens, Palo Alto, CA.  650.328.0743
  Landscape designer that loves to incorporate edibles into his designs.  Expert in fruit tree care and pruning.  Will select, install, thin, prune and consult on fruit tree care, including espaliers.
• Orchardkeepers, Santa Cruz, CA  831.566.2947
  Ecological Fruit Tree and Orchard Management. Matthew Sutton specializes in all aspects of fruit tree care from site prep. and planting to restoration of forgotten trees.  Teaches workshops on pruning and fruit tree care around the SF Bay and Santa Cruz county.
• Professional Horticulture Associates, Campbell, CA.  408.761.9415
  Very experienced fruit tree pruners that have worked with many of the old time orchardists in the valley to learn from their experience.  PHA also sells high quality garden tools and provides tool sharpening services.

Below are resources for learning on your own.   

• Pruning Fruit Trees, a summary of pruning practices for many fruit trees.  Written by Dick Dentino, Santa Clara County Master Gardener.
• What is Backyard Orchard Culture, Published by Dave Wilson Nursery.  Includes many ideas for high density planting, successive ripening and pruning in a backyard orchard.
• Common Ground Garden Center, Palo Alto, CA and other nurseries, often have fruit tree pruning classes.  Check Common Ground's schedule out.

General Gardening Information

• UCCE Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County (www.mastergardeners.org)
• Common Ground Garden Supply & Education Center
• University of California Catalog for preserving and fruit tree publications
• Integrated Pest Management information at UC Davis
• Home Composting Program Santa Clara County

Gleaning (Harvesting) Programs

• Fresno, CA: Fresno Plant A Row for the Hungry (PAR) coordinates Citrus Saturdays from January - March and is interested in developing year-round gleaning efforts.  (559)456-4151/mailbox#2. 
• Palo Alto, CA:  EcoMagic, coordinates volunteer harvesters in Palo Alto for EcoMagic.  The fruit they harvest is used to support their environmental education cooperative.  (650) 323-7333
• Portland, OR:  Birch Community Services provides encouragement and support through the provision of food and other necessities to needy families referred by current participants.  They have been gleaning around their community for over a decade.  (503) 251-5431
• Sacramento, CA:  Senior Gleaners, This volunteer run organization gleans from farmers, packing houses, regional supermarkets, and other suppliers to supplement the nutritional needs of the hungry in the Sacramento region.  (916) 925-3240.
• San Carlos, CA:  San Carlos Re-Leaf, co-founded by Debbie Kramer and Angela Mallett, harvests backyard fruit trees in the San Carlos area for the San Carlos Senior Center & San Carlos Youth Center to provide healthier snack alternatives to kids. (650)520-4410
• San Diego, CA:  Senior Gleaners, are all volunteers of 55 years of age and over.  They volunteer their time and labor in gleaning surplus food from gardens, fields, groves and regional supermarkets to supplement the hungry and poor.  (619)582-2299.
• San Fernando Valley, CA:  Westside Food Bank is piloting a backyard gleaning program.  For more information contact Bruce Rankin. (310)828-6016 x13
• Victoria BC:  The Fruit Tree Project, harvests small orchards and backyard trees for the hungry and to share amongst their volunteers.  (604)873-1191

Gleaning Programs Information

• A Citizen's Guide to Food Recovery Programs, from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).  A resource guide which describes US food recovery activities already taking place, and suggests how a community, a business, or an individual can support existing programs or begin new efforts. The guide also discusses legal issues, food safety, and includes many links to other information and organizations.
• Waste Not, Want Not, an EPA guide to feeding the hungry and reducing solid waste through food recovery.  (Adobe Acrobat pdf format)

Preserving - How to

• National Center for Home Food Preservation, Most recent USDA guidelines available online and much more.
• Safe Methods of Canning Vegetables, a guide to methods and equipment for canning safely at home.  Free downloadable publication from the University of California, Davis. (Adobe Acrobat pdf format)
• Home Canning Equipment, A good comparison of pressure canners with contact information.
• Rosey's Preserves, a wonderful collection of resources and recipes by a member of the Village Harvest community.
• Do it Yourself, a nicely illustrated collection of how-to descriptions on food preservation. 
• Science of Cooking:  Candymaking, an interactive guide by the Exploratorium that explains the science behind candymaking.  The same principles apply in making jams and jellies.
• THE CHILL FACTOR:  The guide to what freezes, what doesn't and why, an article from the SF Chronicle, May 18, 2005.

Preserving - Sources

• California Glass Company, Supplier to the wine industry and food processors in the Bay Area.  Located near the Oakland Airport.  Get together with your friends to make the $100 minimum.
• MyOwnLabels.com,  Custom preserve labels for your own creations.
• Do it Yourself, Good source for canning equipment and supplies.  Get together with your friends to order their contractor packs.
• Workstead Industries, Jam Line (413) 772-6816.  Distributor of Pomona's Universal Pectin a low-methoxyl pectin used for low sugar and no sugar preserving.
• Kitazawa Seeds,  510-595-1188, Oakland, CA.
  Maya Shiroyama hunted high and low for the largest and best tasting Poha Berry Seeds from Hawaii.  If you like our Poha Berry Preserves and would like to grow some yourself, contact Kitazawa Seeds.  They specialize in asian vegetable seeds from many countries. 

Preserves - Reviews

• Paul Anderson's Orange Marmalade Web-site,  Review's Village Harvest Seville Orange Marmalade along with a "few" others.  A great gathering place for marmalade and beer lovers alike.

Recipes

• Just Fruit Recipes, Recipes for using all types of fruit from Apples, to Persimmons to Watermelon.
• Canning Recipes, an informal collection of canning and dehydrating recipes.  Includes fruit and vegetables with some tips on food safety.
• Fruit Wine,  A thorough internet book on home wine making.  Includes a section on making fruit wines.  (Adobe Acrobat pdf format)

Favorites from Village Harvest volunteers -- enjoy!

• Black Mission Fig Vinegar (pdf format)
  Easy to make and uses a lot of figs for when they are in season.
• Candied Citrus Peel (pdf format)
  This treat is very much in keeping with the spirit of Village Harvest... finding abundace in what is already available.
• Kumquat Marmalade (pdf format)
  This is an old traditional recipe for kumquat marmalade given to us by the grandmother of a VH volunteer.  It creates a nice marmalade with lots of carmel flavors.
• Lemon Marmalade (pdf format)
• Santa Rosa Plum Jam
  We're currently using a standard full-sugar recipe with pectin that you can purchase at any grocery store.  The flavor blend is completely based upon the quality and the ripeness of the fruit that's preserved.  To make our preserves, we blend fruit, just as winemakers do, to get the balance we're looking for.  Have fun experimenting on your own!
• Marmalade Gingerbread (pdf format)
  A wonderful old fashioned recipe that's perfect with Seville Orange Marmalade but can work with any type of citrus marmalade.
• Meyer Lemon Margarita (pdf format)
  A great way to enjoy the essence of Meyer Lemons.  Warning… this margarita is very potent. Not your usual watered down faire. 
• Meyer Lemon Marmalade (low sugar) (pdf format)
• Pineapple Guava Jam (low sugar)
  We've received many requests for this recipe however making low sugar Pineapple Guava preserves requires you to test pH, else it could be potentially hazardous.  Since most homecanners don't have this ability, we suggest that you use a full-sugar recipe.  One hint:  Leave the peeler in the drawer.  Instead, slice the fruit in half lengthwise and scope the meat out with a spoon.
• Persimmon Sorbet (pdf format)
  Perfect for when you have too many Hachiya (astringent) persimmons.
• Seville Orange Marmalade (pdf format)
  Very similar to the recipe that we use in the Village Harvest kitchen.  However, making Seville Orange Marmalade is like making wine and results will vary widely based upon the ingredients and preserve maker.
• Whole Dried Persimmons - Hoshigaki (pdf format)
• Almond Cookies (pdf format)
  Many people have asked for this recipe to make thumbprint cookies with jam.  A light and flakey twist on a classic.