The Oil Drum

I'm about same with fruit-about 120 trees, mostly apple, but several varieties of plum, pear, asian pear, cherry, peach, and apricot. Poor results with apples this year, alot of pears, cherries, peaches. Probable bud freeze. Fencing this fall for another 150 apples-hobby to play with other varieties.

All that said, there is tons of more fruit than we can deal with-been canning, drying, pressing and storing. If it wasn't for livestock, much would waste. We sauce and then cellar apples, but greatest use is pressing to cider -hundred+ gallons per year. Mash to livestock.

Actually, 2 trees per fruit is about all most individuals will handle unless it's a full time job. It's easy to grow, the time consuming work is harvest and preserving before rot. Take pears, perhaps a week with Bartletts from hard to too soft at 60 degrees. A well pruned semi dwarf tree will give 3-4 bushels per year, a long, long time to spend home canning at about 10-12 quarts per bushel. Have everything else popping-from cider to animals and stock to care for, end of garden and the piles of tomatoes and corn to preserve, late plums, and you get swamped.