Gardening

Apples To Home Fruit Growers’ Tour

by Dr. William M. Johnson, Galveston County Extension Agent - Horticulture

May 12, 2005

A Home Fruit Growers’ Tour will be conducted from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon on Saturday, May 14, 2005. Three home fruit orchards in the Santa Fe area are on this year’s tour route. This year’s tour sites contain a wide variety of commonly grown fruit including apples (pictured is Dorsett Golden from the Swain’s orchard), peaches, and blackberries in addition to many types of fruit that are less common such as jujube, mayhaw, and pomegranate. Photo credit: Herman Auer

The Extension Fruit & Pecan Committee and the Galveston County Extension Office will sponsor a Home Fruit Growers’ Tour in the Santa Fe area on Saturday, May 14, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. The program is open to the public and free-of-charge.

Three home fruit orchards in the Santa Fe area are on this year’s tour route. Each location will be open during the 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon time period. You will have the option of touring any combination of (or all three) sites, in any order you prefer.

The names and location of the home fruit orchards in the Santa Fe are: Joe & Vivian Swain located at 3720 Avenue S; Herman and Jackie Auer located at 4915 Birch; and Sam & Ginger Powers located at 5503 Highland.

This year’s tour sites contain a wide variety of fruit trees ranging from a home apple orchard (at the Swains) to a peach orchard (at the Auers) to a sizable blackberry patch to a variety of citrus. Less common types of fruit trees that can be seen include jujube, pineapple guava, mayhaw, and pomegranate. These fruit growers also have vegetable gardens that can be viewed.

Sam Powers has prepared a tour guide booklet entitled "Our Edible Landscape" which will be available to visitors at his home fruit orchard. The following excerpt from his booklet provides an excellent overview of what you can expect: "To start with, I do not consider this an orchard. It is my idea of landscaping that some people might consider as having gotten out of hand. When I started, a plant had to meet two criteria: it had to be edible and practically maintenance-free. If a plant can’t survive on its own, it could die and I would try something else. The soil is heavy black clay (gumbo) that is usually too wet or too dry to work. When it is wet, it sticks to your feet like molasses, and when it is dry it is like a rock. The only plants here that are not planted in gumbo are the roses in raised beds, the blueberries in a raised bed, and the grapes in fill sand.... "

To obtain a map with directions to the tour sites, visit the Galveston County Extension Office located at 5115 Highway 3 in Dickinson (281-534-3413, ext. 6). A printable copy of the tour map is available on the Internet at my website address provided at the end of this column (click on the "Extension Educational Programs" link).

Lists of fruit trees at each site and Sam Powers’ booklet entitled "Our Edible Landscape" can also be downloaded from the website. In the event of severe weather occurring on the day of the tour, we will not be able to provide a substitute "rain date" as many of the fruit trees will be at their optimal production.

Tour maps are also locally available at La Marque Feed & Supply at 1313 1st Street, La Marque; Texas City Feed & Supply at 2031 Texas Avenue, Texas City; Tibaldo Feed & Supply at 12011 Highway 6, Santa Fe; and Tom's Thumb Nursery & Landscaping 2014 45th Street, Galveston Island.

Area homeowners who grow–or plan to grow–fruit for home use will find all three tour sites to be of considerable benefit.

May 21 Golf Tournament to Benefit 4-H Program

Join us on Saturday, May 21, 2005, at 1:30 p.m. for the Third Annual 4-H Benefit Golf Tournament to be held at the Beacon Lakes Golf Course in League City. For entry fees and information, contact Gayle Walker at the County Extension Office (281-534-3413, ext. 5059). Your support will help recognize the hard work of these youth and provides the opportunity to help them attend leadership training, along with other programming.

The 4-H Program is a recognized leader in developing life skills, empowering youth and volunteers, and facilitating effective partnerships to create capable and responsible citizens.

Our mission is to prepare youth to meet the challenges of childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, through a coordinated series of educational experiences that enhance life skills and develop social, emotional, physical, and cognitive competencies. There are currently 19 organized 4-H clubs in Galveston County with 574 youths participating in these clubs, led by 208 adult volunteers.

In 2004, the Galveston County Extension Agents reached over 4,200 youth through over 30 special interest groups and curriculum enrichment efforts. The 4-H Program is sponsored in Texas by Texas Cooperative Extension, The Texas A&M University System and the Commissioners Courts of Texas. The 4-H Program is open to all youths ages 9 to 18 years of age regardless of socioeconomic level, race, sex, religion, disability, or creed.

Dr. Johnson is a horticulturist with the Galveston County
Extension Office of Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University. Visit his web site at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/index.htm

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