Angie's Eco Contribution: Dwarf Fruit Tree Jitters

(It's the end of the world people! I'm updating twice in one day!)

OK, so around Christmas time (yes, I've been thinking about this for almost a 1/2 a year), I read a really interesting book called The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen. If you are into the whole "Greener/Self-Sufficient" living thing and you happen upon the book in your library, I would recommend picking it up for an interesting weekend read. Or if your like me and have a Barns & Noble gift card burning a hole in your pocket, you may want to consider purchasing the book. Even if you are not into the whole green living thing, the book can give you ideas and inspirational tips of how to be a bit more frugal in your life. (Lets face it, who doesn't want to save money?) Lets just say that when I picked up the book, my intentions were to get a few gardening tips and maybe a few DIY up-cycling project inspirations from within its pages. However, after finishing the book, I now have drafted plans for my duck coop in my future backyard of the home I have yet to buy (lets face it, ducks are cuter then chickens) and have visions of growing a peach tree off of my non-existent balcony.

Make no mistake, this is not a book that gives detailed instructions on how to build chicken coops or how to install DIY hot water solar heaters on your roof. It's just not that kind of book. It gives you just enough to realize "I can totally do this!" Which in my case, can be a very dangerous thing. I have been known to jump right into things that I have no business doing. (Like building a duck coop because I want duck eggs.) So the only reason there is no dilapidated shack or a massive looking twig with no leaves sitting in a very large pot right now is simply because I am not living in my own place right now. Fast forward to the present time a 1/2 a year latter, when I am finally in a position to think about getting my own place, the top things I want to put on my list for my future realtor are a backyard with a patio or a large balcony.

I have realized a very conundrum during my ponderings over the past 6 months, I know nothing about growing fruit trees. The fruit trees that my father planted growing up never produced any editable fruits. Yeah they were beautiful during spring, but I was always hoping for some fruit off of the trees that I never got a chance to eat. So I decided to do some research to further my understanding. Coyne and Knutzen mentioned dwarf fruit trees in thir book, but during my research I have come across another form of potable fruit tree: Ultra-Dwarf Fruit Trees. (I know, highly original name...) These trees are even smaller than draft variety of trees, averaging only 3 to 6 feet, a perfect size for an apartment balcony, or for even an indoor garden. Here are some helpful sites that I have found along the way: