Files for Download
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Citrus Tree Buying Guide
A guide for selecting citrus trees that will grow well here in Houston. Includes a list of growers that produce citrus trees for Houston-area nurseries, and what rootstocks they use. Before buying a citrus tree, check the tag to see where it was produced, and then look up what rootstock was used. If it turns out the tree is grafted onto trifoliate, you can buy with confidence. Otherwise, buyer beware.
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Click image to download.
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Growing Fruit Trees in Houston
Slides from an Earth Day presentation I gave last year on the different kinds of fruit that can be grown in Houston. The presentation provides an overview of when different fruits are available throughout a typical year. It lists specific varieties that I have grown, and includes lots of pictures of fruit grown in my yard.
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Links
Texas Rare Fruit Growers - http://txrfg.org
Citrus Growers Forum - http://citrus.forumup.org/
Urban Harvest - http://www.urbanharvest.org
John Panzarella's Website - http://sites.google.com/site/johnpanza/
The Mr. Texas Place - http://members.fortunecity.com/pjsauber/
Aggie Horticulture Fruit - http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/fruit.html
CRFG Fruit Facts - http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/
UCR Citrus Variety Collection - http://www.citrusvariety.ucr.edu/
The Citrus Industry - http://lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/
Figs4Fun - http://www.figs4fun.com
KSU Pawpaw Program - http://www.pawpaw.kysu.edu/
Gulf Coast Fruit Study Group - http://gcfsg.weebly.com
Recommended Fruit & Nut Varieties for Harris County - http://harris.agrilife.org/files/2011/05/fruitnut.pdf
Ison's Nursery - http://isons.com/
Aggie Horticulture Propagation - http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/propagation/
Plants for All Seasons - http://plantsforallseasons.com
Laughing Frog Farm - http://thelaughingfrogfarm.com/
Texas Manual on Rainwater Harvesting - http://www.tank-depot.com/common/RainwaterHarvestingManual_3rdedition.pdf
Citrus Growers Forum - http://citrus.forumup.org/
Urban Harvest - http://www.urbanharvest.org
John Panzarella's Website - http://sites.google.com/site/johnpanza/
The Mr. Texas Place - http://members.fortunecity.com/pjsauber/
Aggie Horticulture Fruit - http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/fruit.html
CRFG Fruit Facts - http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/
UCR Citrus Variety Collection - http://www.citrusvariety.ucr.edu/
The Citrus Industry - http://lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/
Figs4Fun - http://www.figs4fun.com
KSU Pawpaw Program - http://www.pawpaw.kysu.edu/
Gulf Coast Fruit Study Group - http://gcfsg.weebly.com
Recommended Fruit & Nut Varieties for Harris County - http://harris.agrilife.org/files/2011/05/fruitnut.pdf
Ison's Nursery - http://isons.com/
Aggie Horticulture Propagation - http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/propagation/
Plants for All Seasons - http://plantsforallseasons.com
Laughing Frog Farm - http://thelaughingfrogfarm.com/
Texas Manual on Rainwater Harvesting - http://www.tank-depot.com/common/RainwaterHarvestingManual_3rdedition.pdf
Books
Year Round Vegetables, Fruits, and Flowers for Metro Houston
-Dr. Bob Randall This is THE book for anyone who wants to get started growing anything here in Houston. It's a great introduction to organic gardening, fruit trees, irrigation, permaculture, etc. |
The Fruit Hunters - A Story of Nature, Adventure, Commerce, and Obsession
- Adam Leith Gollner This book is really really cool. These people are serious about fruit. This book describes several amazing exotic fruits, but not anything I could grow here in Houston without a greenhouse. |
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - A Year of Food Life
-Barbara Kingsolver A really good book about the author's family only eating locally grown foods for one year. This book inspired me to try to make cheese (and fail). Lots of recipes, but the produce seasons of Virginia don't correlate to Houston's. |
The Perfect Fruit - Good Breeding, Bad Seeds, and the Hunt for the Elusive Pluot
-Chip Brantley This guy really loves pluots. I thought this was a really interesting book about plant breeding, and how fruit gets from California to my local HEB. I try to eat local, but I'll have to try a pluot this summer after reading this. |
All About Muscadines...
-Bill Ison A concise guide for growing grapes and berries. It contains lots of practical information aimed at the commercial grower. Diagrams of proper muscadine pruning. |
The Garden of Invention - Luther Burbank and the Business of Breeding Plants
- Jane S. Smith An interesting biography of a quirky character responsible for breeding many familiar fruits and vegetables. |
Introduction to Permaculture
-Bill Mollison This book has a lot of interesting ideas, but is almost better suited to those with a few acres to play with. Definitely not for people with Home Owner's Associations. Still interesting, and worth checking out. |
Putting Food By
-Janet Greene, et. al. This book is definitely worth owning if you have a big garden or lots of fruit trees. It has several great recipes and ideas for preserving your harvest. Really good salsa recipe. |
Farm City
-Novella Carpenter A really cool book about a really cool person who raises fruit, vegetables, chickens, ducks, turkeys, bees, rabbits, and even two pigs on an abandoned lot near downtown Oakland, California. |
Second Nature
-Michael Pollan An interesting narrative about the relationships between gardens, people, and nature. It also includes what I think is a biting indictment of the classic suburban lawn, and the American concept of what our yards should look like. |
Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden
-Lee Reich This is an interesting look at several fruits most people don't know anything about. I would say half of the fruits discussed can't be grown in Houston due to chill hours needed. Worth checking out if you're interested in growing the unusual. |
Our Edible Landscape
-Sam Powers This is a wonderful free book about growing a wide variety of fruits along the gulf coast. Sam is a true fruit growing pioneer, to whom we owe much. |
Discovering Fruits & Nuts
-Susanna Lyle Want to know the cold tolerance of jaboticaba? This is the book for you. Tons of detailed information on hundreds of common and uncommon fruits. A really great resources I wish I had found earlier. |
The Ruby-throated Hummingbird
-June Osborne An easy to read little book which describes in detail the history, physiology, behavior, courtship, nesting, and migration of this fascinating bird. |
Growing Fruits and Nuts in the South
-Bill Adams & Tom Leroy Great book, especially if you're into pecans, pome, and stone fruit. Great sections on pruning and grafting, but the citrus section leaves a lot to be desired. Lots of good information about the yield and time to bear of different trees. |
Growing Fruits, Berries, & Nuts in the South
-George Ray McEachern This is a good little book with really good explanations of the fundamentals. It's a little bit out of date, especially regarding newer varieties, but worth looking at. |
Citrus for the Gulf Coast
-J. Stewart Nagle Sadly, this book is out of print. It is the most detailed and complete guide to growing citrus in Houston you can get, full of great hand-drawn illustrations and descriptions of different cultivars. |
Ambrosia from Your Backyard
-Galveston County Master Gardeners A nice free book about home citrus production, with lots of great insights from Galveston County Master Gardeners. Not overly technical, nice descriptions of people's favorite varieties. |
The Great Book of Pears
-Barbara Jeanne Flores A nice little book with more information in it than you'd think at first glance. The book is 1/3 narrative and history, 1/3 varietal descriptions, and 1/3 recipes. It even has a page devoted to budding. Not the most practical guide, but well worth a few bucks if you can find it used. |
The Pecan Handbook
-Texas A&M A fantastic 2 volume collection of pecan papers, mostly aimed at the commercial grower. Full of valuable information you won't find anywhere else, particularly regarding the dichogamy of pecan flowers. |
The Fig
-William Storey, et. al. A rare fig paper I got courtesy of Louis Peter of Cedar Lane, Texas. Written by some of the fathers of the modern fig varieties we all know today, this book is well worth tracking down if you can. |
Botany of Desire
-Michael Pollan A unique look at the apple, the tulip, the potato, and the marijuana plant, and how they have been shaped by their relationship with humans. The chapter on apples is especially good. |
Dirt
-William Bryant Logan A good book overall, but the author takes dirt not just seriously, but spiritually. Pretty good general description of soil forming processes, without getting too technical. |
Let it Rot!
-Stu Campbell The title almost says it all. This is a nice little practical guide to composting originally published in 1975, full of good practical information for those wanting to begin composting. Inspired me to start blending my food scraps. |
Jujube, The Chinese Date
-Richard Ashton A great introduction to jujubes, with supplemental information and pictures by the late Sam Powers. Book is a collection of articles from several sources. Lots of good varietal descriptions written by people that actually grew them. |
The Incredible Pomegranate
-Richard Ashton, et.al. This book is a compilation from several sources. The varietal descriptions are valuable, but are sometimes contradictory. Richard Ashton owns Oak Creek Orchard in Brownwood, Texas. |
Texas Manual on Rainwater Harvesting
-Texas Water Development Board Free book for download that provides lots of good practical information. |
For the Love of an Orchard
-Jane McMorland A very pretty book, but no real good information for the home grower here. A British book written for British orchards, and not useful for those of us in Houston. Still, lots of great pictures and brief histories. |
Pomegranate
-G.M. Levin A small book full of technical botany, but unfortunately lacking in practical information. Not useful for the home grower. 
Grow Fruit Naturally
-Lee Reich Review coming soon. 
Landscaping with Fruit
-Lee Reich Review coming soon. |
Hardy Citrus for the Southeast
-Tom McClendon A good primer on cold hardy citrus, with descriptions of several unique hybrid varieties. Good discussion on citrus hybridization 
Old Southern Apples
-Lee Calhoun Review coming soon. 
The Edible Front Yard
-Ivette Soler Review coming soon. |
