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
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 was created by Mark Rieger, a former professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia, and associate dean and professor at the University of Florida. The website includes information on 40 different types of fruit.
• 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, from the UC Cooperative Extension, Santa Clara County.  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

• Ladder-less Harvesting Techniques, Village Harvest article summarizing different techniques that our volunteers have developed over the years. (original PDF version)
• Village Harvest Home Harvesting FAQ's
• 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. 
• 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.

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 Search, originally 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.
• Orchardkeepers, Santa Cruz, CA  831.854.7811
  Ecological Fruit Tree and Orchard Management. Matthew Sutton and staff 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.

• 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.

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

• Village Harvest Harvesting/Gleaning Organization Directory

Gleaning Programs Information

• Let's Glean United We Serve Toolkit, from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). A resource guide which describes gleaning and how a community, business, or individual can start their own program.
• Waste Not, Want Not, an EPA guide to feeding the hungry and reducing solid waste through food recovery.  (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 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 canning basics for beginners. 
• 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.
• Food Preservation Basics - Just for Fun , a nice comprehensive set of links located on an unexpected place - a web site selling appliance parts!

Preserving - Sources

• MyOwnLabels.com,  Custom preserve labels for your own creations.
• 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. 

Recipes

• 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,  Lum Eisenman wrote the "Home Winemaker's Manual", a thorough Internet book on home wine making.  Includes a section on making fruit wines.  (pdf format, 13 MB)

Favorite Recipes 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.