From Apples to Ziziphus

Fuji Apple



Jujube/Chinese Date

 This year's fig crop has been picked, except for an occasional fig well beyond reach which I have left for the birds.

Now the apples, grapes, and jujubes [Ziziphus jujuba 'Lang'] are ripening.  Of the three, the jujubes do best in this climate.  Eaten raw, they are best when the skins are all brown and just starting to wrinkle.  Then they taste like dates and can be used in cooking as dates are.  They are about the same size, and have a date-like seed.
Jujubes could well be grown commercially in the high desert.  Developing a market would have to include developing western-style recipes.  At this point, I mostly eat them raw, and give them away to friends who like them raw.

Readers -- If anyone can provide me with a recipe or two, I will include them in this posting.

When I originally had my backyard landscaped, I asked for an orchard.  All the trees that Cal Landscaping planted have survived and fruited although some have had problemsl.  I have added a few more trees, most of them ordered from Raintree Nursery.   Here is a list of the fruit and nut trees that I have in my orchard.

Almond, Dwarf Garden Prince                ripens early July         needs extra iron
Apple, Semi-dwarf Fuji                          ripens mid Sept
Apple, Semi-dwarf Gravenstein              ripens early Sept.
Apricot, Moorpark                                 ripens mid June
Aprium, Dwarf Flavor Delight                 ripens mid July
Cherry, Semi-dward Compact Stella       ripens late May        susceptible to borers
Pineaple Guava                                       ripens early Nov.     only fruits on east side
Jujube/Chinese Date/Ziziphus                  ripens Sept-Oct.       has thorns, sprouts from surface roots
Nectarine, Semi-dwarf Fantasia              ripens late July
Nectarine Dwarf Red Sunset                   ripens early  Aug.
Nectarine, genetic Dwarf Nectarina        ripens mid July
Peach, Nectar (white freestone)              ripens early July
Peach, Golden Glory (yellow freestone)   ripens mid Aug.
Peach, Dwarf Nectar (white freestone)    ripens mid Aug.
Pear, Sure-crop (European)                    ripens late Sept.     problem with fire-blight
Pear, Semi-dwarf Twentieth Century       ripens early Oct.
Plumcot, Dwarf Spring Satin                    no fruit yet             susceptible to borers
Pistachio                                                 ripens late Oct.      male must be upwind of female, low water
Pluot, Flavor Queen                                ripens mid July       Flavor King & Flavor Delight don't work
Plum, Stanley Prune                                ripens late Aug.      susceptible to borers
Plum, Sapo                                             ripens mid June      problem with watersprouts
Pomegranate, Red Silk                            ripens mid Nov.     has thorns, low water
Quince                                                    ripens mid Oct.      problem with fire-blight
Walnut, English                                       ripens mid Oct.

If I had had sufficient foresight, I would have planted other trees to the west of the orchard to act as a wind break.  This year, because of the Spring winds and a late frost, none of the trees bearing crops earlier than late August, had any fruit.  Also I would not have planted any semi-dwarf or standard fruit trees (except for the walnut) as they are too difficult to keep small enough to pick the fruit.  The walnut tree is fine as the nuts drop when they are ripe.  And eventually the walnut may be large enough to act as a windbreak for the others.

It is important to buy self-pollinating trees, ror trees that will pollinate each other.  The original placement of my pistachios was wrong in terms of the prevailling west wind here.  I had to buy another male pistachio and plant it upwind of the female.