Backyard Orchards.

By Chrisjob

In the age of locally grown groceries, folks are expanding their vegetable gardens to small-scale fruit orchards. Steven Kurutz of the New York Times details, "In the last few years, an increasing number of Americans have turned their yards over to such mini orchards, planting them with dwarf and semi-dwarf fruit trees, even in dense urban areas. Suppliers around the country have seen significant increases in fruit tree sales, like the 12 to 15 percent annual sales growth reported by the Dave Wilson Nursery in Hickman, Calif., which has one of the country’s largest selection of fruit trees (more than 1,300 varieties).

And once people decide to grow fruit, “it’s rare that they buy just one tree,” said Tom Shafer, the manager of Holdridge Home and Garden Showplace, a retail nursery in Ledyard, Conn. Mr. Shafer said the average number of trees his customers plant is four, but in the past three years some have been opting for a dozen or more. “People want more fruit and more types of fruit,” he said, “and they think a grouping will look better in their landscape.”

Read the full article here.

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orchard backyard garden trees fruit fruit_trees green grocery sustainable