Posts Tagged: apricots

California summer fruit smaller and tastier this year

California's summertime stonefruit - peaches, nectarines, plums, and apricots - are tending to be smaller in 2015, reported Lesley McClurg on Capital Public Radio. But don't despair. The smaller fruit is typically tastier, said a UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) expert.

"That smaller peach this year very likely is sweeter than the moderate-sized peach of last year," said Kevin Day, UC ANR Cooperative Extension advisor and director in Tulare and Kings counties.

Most of the change in fruit size can be attributed to the drought. When irrigation is limited, water content of the fruit diminishes and sugars become a greater proportion of the fruit mass. However, Day says drought isn't the only reason for 2015's smaller fruit size. California also had unusually warm temperatures in January and February 2015, causing fruit to ripen faster.

"A variety that might ripen after 120 days of being on a tree in a year like this ripens in only 110," Day said. "And, so it's consequently shortchanged out of 10 days of growing."

Master Gardener shares rare fruit source with Chron readers

A Master Gardener with UC Cooperative Extension in Santa Clara County, Laramie Treviño, turned San Francisco Chronicle readers on to a source of fast-producing, unusual fruit trees in a feature story printed over the weekend.

Treviño profiled C. Todd Kennedy and Patrick Schafer, rare fruit enthusiasts who run their online-only nursery as a "personal charity," the story said. Tree prices are $19.50, low considering they are already a good size and most will produce fruit within one year.

Kennedy and Schafer have constructed an unusual business model for Arboreum.biz.

• Two dozen varieties are offered each year, and then those types are unavailable for a few years thereafter
• Only enough inventory is propagated to ensure that its stock sells out
• The company has no catalogs, no printed growing tips, no listed fax or telephone numbers
• Surplus fruit trees will be available at Filoli Garden Center when the estate reopens Feb. 9. Filoli is a historic country estate about 30 miles south of San Francisco that is open to the public.

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