Resources

Garden calendars

Western Washington Fruit Research Fruit Tree Care Calendar

Fellow fruit growing-related community organizations

• Western Cascade Fruit Society
• Seattle Tree Fruit Society
• Snohomish County Fruit Society
• Pennsylvania State
• Home Orchard Society (archived content only; ceased operation after 2020)
• Western Washington Fruit Research Foundation The WSU Mt. Vernon Research and Extension Unit manages an orchard and gardens for public demonstration

Fruit growing-related websites

• Past Beeline Newsletters
• Apple Luscious Organic Orchards
• California Rare Fruit Growers
• North American Fruit Explorers
• Northern Nut Growers Association
• Good Fruit Grower Magazine
• The Soil Biology Primer
• Cornell Fruit
• City Fruit
• Kiwis (Reference from OSU)

Washington State University (WSU) resources

WSU Master Gardeners hotlines (by county)

• King County, 10a–4p, M–F, 206.543.0943
• Snohomish County, 9a–4p M–F, 425.338.2400
• Pierce County, 9a–3p, M–F, 253.798.7170
• Skagit Valley, Mt Vernon Research Unit, 253.445.4500
• Booth at Building 500 with Master Gardeners on duty at the Evergreen State Fair

Other WSU resources

• WSU Extension Publications Online (Some PDFs available for download)
• Pacific Northwest Disease Management Handbook 2012
• Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook 2012
• Pacific Northwest Weed Management Handbook 2012
• Pest Management for Backyard Apple and Pear Trees
• Pest Management for Backyard Soft Fruit Tree
• PNW Plant Disease Management Facebook Page
• WSU Snohomish County, Gardening links
• WSU Tree Fruit Library
• WSU Berries, Grapes & Kiwi Library
• Bugs and Blights Blog, Sharon Collman, Snohomish County Extension Agents
• Webinars by eOrganics

More University Extension Services with good fruit information

• Oregon State University Extension Service
• Cornell University Cooperative Extension
• University of Minnesota Extension
• Michigan State University Extension

Grafting fruit trees

• General Grafting Information
• Grafting Techniques
• Chip Budding
• What Trees Can Be Grafted
• Collecting, Labeling and Preserving Fruit Tree Scion Guild
• Proper Storage of Scion Wood

Home fruit production

• Choosing Pear Rootstocks for the Pacific Northwest
• Critical Temperatures for Blossom Buds – Cherries (Similar for apple, peaches, apples which are not available online but can be ordered)
• Home fruit production from WSU (OSU)
• Grow your own fruit Royal Horticulture Society

Fruit pests and diseases

• All Seasons Approach to Monitoring and Managing SWD Webinar Handout
• Pests & Diseases, WA State Dept of Ag – Deofliators
• Apple and Thorn Skeletonizer
• Apple Scab
• Black Leaf in Grapes
• Field Guide to Sweet Cherry Diseases
• Grape Vine Leaf Roll Disease
• Small Fruit Crops – Insect Disease and Control
• Fruit Pests
• Protecting Backyard Trees from Apple Maggots
• Pear Slug
• Insect and Mite Management in Home Orchard Tree Fruits and Nut
• Many other WSU resources are available only to order, not to download.

Other resources

• National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
• Organic, homemade alternatives to pesticides (ConsumerNotice.org)
• Roundup/Glyphosate and Alternatives to Roundup (Drugwatch)
• Burnt Ridge Nursery
• Molbak’s Nursery
• One Green World
• Sky Nursery
• Raintree Nursery
• Knox Cellars – Orchard Mason Bees & Supplies
• The Beez Neez Apiary Supply
• Rent Mason Bees
• How to raise bees (Crown Bees Knowledge Library)
• Seattle Tilth’s Gardening Hotline, 206.633.0224 or email help@gardenhotline.org
• The “Plant Answer Line” with the Center for Urban Horticulture: 206.897.5268
• The Friends of Pipers Orchard, maintaining antique apple and pear varieties in Carkeek Park
• Solid Ground, 206.694.6746ext.3 or robind@solid-ground.org, helping harvest The University of California, “Why have a backyard orchard?”
• Snohomish Conservation District
  A few selected SCCD resources:
  • Western Washington Poisonous Plants
  • Rainwater Collection Brochure
  • Small Farm Composting Guide
• Soil Testing: University of Massachusetts Soil Testing Laboratory
• USDA Web Soil Survey
• Puget Sound Fresh (Farm Guide)
• Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Living with Wildlife Information on “pests” such as deer and other mammals
• US Drought Monitor
• DeerFencing.com Garden fence kits to keep out deer and other pests
• Pomiferous database containing over 7,000 apple varieties

Sources for older books and references

• Sutton Books
• Alibris Books
• Powell’s Books (Portland, OR)
• Abe’s Books
• Flora and Fauna Books (Seattle, WA)

Book recommendations

• Fruitful Legacy by Susan Dolan
• Growing Fruit by Harry Baker, RHS
• The Backyard Orchardist by Stella Otto
• The Backyard Berry Book by Stella Otto
• The Pruning Book by Lee Reich

Patent information

• General information on plant patents
• Searchable US Patent Database (Note: only single words are allowed unless you use the word “and” or “or” in between. For example, Red Delicious would find no patents but “Red and delicious” retrieves the appropriate patent. See Help tab for more tips on searching.)