Review of 2 books

I recently finished two short books. Here's what I thought of them:

How to grow orchards fruits was less than what I had hoped it would be. I can't remember why I chose it over other books about fruit trees--it had something to do with the pictures, and it might have been because it was less expensive than the other books I looked at. While the book wasn't a complete waste, I wonder if I would have been better off getting one of the others. At only 63 pages, I should have recognized that it wouldn't have had the details that I was looking for. Having said that, I will also say that I learned a few things from the book.

First, I had no idea that you could train fruit trees to be "flat". There are 2 types of training that the authors discuss in most detail: espalier and fan. Espalier is training the branches of the tree to all grow to the left or the right of the trunk--not in front or back. This appears to have the effect of making your tree flat. Fan training is just what it sounds like--think of a folding fan. The tree flat, and the branches fan out. They also mention a training method called cordon, which is training your trees to grow at an angle--often 45 degrees from the vertical--without any real branches to speak of. All three of these seem odd to me, but they make sense as a method for reducing the amount of space a tree takes up. Specifically, all of these training methods can be used to grow a fruit tree against a wall or a fence, substantially reducing the space they take from a yard. The author also point out the benefit of growing a tree against a wall: that the wall retains heat from the day and keeps the tree warmer into the night. This helps the tree to grow more.

I also learned that the later an apple ripens, generally, the longer it can be stored. Apples should be stored in a cool environment wrapped in news paper...I guess they like to read. I had never heard of a damson before--it's like a plum, but I guess they are often more sour and better suited for cooking. I was surprised to find that citrus fruits can be grown anywhere because they are productive even at small sizes. The book has pictures of oranges on a tree no more than 1 1/2 feet tall and growing in a pot. The authors point out that citrus fruits actually like the cool weather, they just don't like to freeze, so as long as you bring them indoors before it freezes, they should be fine. Adrianne and I actually had a lime "tree" for a few years while in Oklahoma. We killed it somehow--I think by just putting it outside all day without gradually introducing it back outdoors. We had thought that it did well there because Oklahoma was fairly warm. We'll have to try some other citrus sometime.

Over all, the book was fine, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who wanted to actually grow their own fruit trees.

The second book I finished was, Let it Rot.

I enjoyed this book, though as I look at the cover, I realize I somehow was sold the 2nd edition even though I bought the 3rd edition...I wonder if I should be upset about it. It looks, from the pages I can see on the preview that the book is mostly the same. And, from what I read, it doesn't seem like there would be a whole lot of new information to share on this subject.

I enjoyed this book. It was entertaining and informative. It didn't feel too long or too short. I think the most valuable point he makes in the book is that stuff is going to rot whether you help it along or not. So, don't think that you can mess up composting. You can certainly slow it down or speed it up by your decisions, though. He talks about the bugs that make composting work and what they need to work quickly. He also discusses a number of methods to use. The one I found most interesting that Adrianne has vetoed is worm composting. You can have a box full of worms that you feed your table/cooking scraps. They eat the stuff and then poop out "castings" that are really good for your garden. You need about twice the weight in worms that you will feed them every day--if you generate 1/2 pound of food waste per day, you need 1 pound of worms. I heard about a family that did this for a while until the wife said no more. Her problem? The worms kept escaping.... I shared this with Adrianne. I think that's why she vetoed it. Oh well. I currently have a compost tumbler--a barrel that I put all my stuff in. It is working well, though it's not getting as hot as I'd like it to get. It needs to get up to 130 -140 F for a few hours to kill off all the seeds and the bad germs. Tonight it was 110 F, so I'm hoping that tomorrow in the sunlight it will get to 140 F. We'll see.

I would recommend this book if you are interested in composting. It's a quick read, entertaining, and informative. However, I don't think he says anything that you couldn't just as easily find on the internet. I just like to have books.

Mike