What’s Wrong with My Fruit Garden? 100% Organic Solution for Berries, Trees, Nuts, Vines, and Tropicals

This volume, the third of the authors’ What Is Wrong With… series, is the inevitable culmination of the quest for an all-inclusive harvest on the organic farm. Fruit develops in multiple stages: sprouting, blooming, shedding, regenerating, growing, ripening, and being ready to drop. At any one point environmental factors could interfere with healthy growth. Deardorff and Wadsworth arm the gardener with needed strategies that lessen the risk of failure and encourage robust growth. Growing apricots, for example, is a good all-around choice because the trees are hardy, drought-tolerant, fruit-producing, and ornamental, with showy foliage and flowers. Apricots provide the complex structure that creates a habitat for “pollinators, predators, and parasitoids, all beneficial organisms that contribute to your success in growing organic fruit.” This is an invaluable guide for the fruit farmer, whose patience, diligence, and vigilance in ever-changing ecosystems will bear tender and tasty fruit. (Dec. 11)