Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

In no essential respect does the treatment of the blackberry differ from that of the raspberry. The plant is a more rampant grower and should have more room. It also needs more careful pruning and pinching to secure best results. Six to 8 feet is the usual distance at which rows are made and 2 […]

“I also set 18 Shaffer Colossal raspberry bushes in the fall, that same year, bought direct from the nursery. This plant, being propagated from the tips, was new to me, and in buying in the fall the plants were small and the roots smaller, but I succeeded in having it come through the winter. Every […]

“My small fruit garden,” writes Mrs. Zacheus McAllister of Maine, “is about 195 feet long north and south by 115 feet wide, with a portion in the northwest corner 33 by 75 feet, taken up by a hen-house, also four rows of red raspberries 140 feet long and three rows of blackberries 75 feet long. […]

The quince is probably the most neglected of the cultivated fruits in America. It is usually allowed to shift for itself. There is no reason why this should be. The fruit is well worth a place in the home garden, and in very many localities there is a good demand in the local markets. The […]

No fruit will replace the plum. It makes the choicest of preserves, and many of the varieties are unsurpassed as dessert fruits. Every farm should have at least a dozen trees of various varieties to extend the season, as Professor Ballou outlines below: The plum does best in rather strong, rich clayey loam, but even […]

There are two principal classes of pears the European and the Chinese. All of our finely flavored varieties belong to the former class. The Chinese group contains such undesirable though extensively grown varieties as Kieffer, Le Conte, and Garber. No self-respecting person would have any one of these varieties in his home orchard, and no […]

In gardening two factors are essential: First, a soil that is capable of absorbing and holding water without being so compact and tight as to prevent free movement of water in all directions, and, second, plant food. ” Probably a typical garden soil would be a sandy loam,” writes Dr. E. B. Voorhees, director of […]

In favorable localities the peach may be grown from Connecticut to Florida and westward, except in the coldest locations among the mountains, to the Pacific coast. In cold localities it is generally placed in sheltered situations where the sun will not strike the buds too strongly during winter, and thus make them swell and freeze. […]

In California the almond and the English walnut are grown commercially, and in the South the pecan has been planted in extensive groves within the last 15 or 20 years. In many of the states the chestnut has been growing in favor for commercial purposes, and, in a few cases, hardy English walnuts have proved […]

Nectarines are smooth-skinned peaches, and often come from peach pits or as bud sports on peach trees. Usually they are inferior to peaches, but several varieties are cultivated more for curiosity than anything else. (See Peach for methods of management.)