Welcome back to Peaceful Valley's "In The Loop", a monthly newsletter that provides you with timely tips, great deals, and news on the latest developments in organic gardening and farming.

In this issue

Best Deal on Trees

Get 10 fruit trees delivered to your door for $199* when you order before Nov. 30th.
Coupon: 10FOR199

Planning a Home Orchard

Tips, Tricks & Know-How

Bare Root Booster Blend

Organic Blend Developed for planting Bare Root Fruit Trees

Tree Dormant Oil

If your leaves have dropped, now is the time - learn more.

In The Loop Blog

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Preparing for Fruit Trees
& other bare root plants

More and more people are starting home orchards, and with good reason. A single tree can produce over one hundred pounds of fruit for your family once fully established. Plus, trees require little maintenance when compared to an annual vegetable garden. Below are staff tips on planning a home orchard and preparing for planting.

* If you place your order before November 30th, we'll deliver 10 fruit trees to your door for $199. Just use coupon code 10FOR199 when you checkout. Tress will be available to ship mid-December. Offer excludes multi-fruit trees, pomegranates, jujubes, persimmons, nut trees & potted figs, citrus & olives.

Our Bare Root Booster Blend is also on special: Buy1, Get 1 Free with any tree purchase until 11/30.This all organic blend provides just what your plants need to get off to a great start. As an extra bonus, the Bare Root Booster Blend will Ship for Free with corresponding tree purchases. Use coupon code FREEBOOSTER at checkout.

If you've already started your home orchard, Thanksgiving (or leaf drop) is the perfect time to prune and apply dormant oil to prevent future outbreaks of disease. Read more about selecting the correct products for your trees on our blog.

Bare Root Booster Blend

We created this custom blend to get your bare roots off to a great start. This all organic blend provides just what your plants need. It has small amounts of all the major nutrients and micronutrients, made more available by the biologically active compost and the humates in the mix. In combination with the mycorrhizal inoculant, your plants' roots will have the ideal environment in which to grow and multiply. Contains: soft rock phosphate, compost, sulfate of potash, feathermeal, kelpmeal, mycorrhizal inoculant and micronized humates. Use one 3lb bag per bare root tree, half a bag for grapes and berries.

F2000 3 LB Bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Normally $4.99 ea

Buy 1, Get 1 FREE with any tree purchase until 11/30.

Ships for FREE with corresponding tree purchases.
Use coupon code FREEBOOSTER at checkout.

Planning a Home Orchard

If you have full sun in a section of your yard as well as good drainage and an appetite for fruit, you have what you need to start a home orchard!

Step 1 - Sunshine: Observe the sun in your yard. Sketch out the shape or size of your future orchard based on the sun's path.

Step 2 - Spacing: Assess the number of trees you can fit in this area. You may be surprised to find out that trees can be planted quite close together. Some people plant 4 different varieties of a single type of fruit in one 4'x4' area and prune it as though it's a single tree or bush (read more on this technique from Dave Wilson online). A lot of people we talk with plant their trees about 8' apart and keep them pruned to about 10' in height. Commercial orchard leave 20'-30' between trees to allow for tractors.

Step 3 - Selection for Successive Ripening: "Backyard orchard culture is high density planting and successive ripening," to quote Dave Wilson. Now that you know how many trees you'll be planting, it's time to select the fruits you'll enjoy most. Three things to keep in mind when selecting fruit are:

(1) Will the tree flower after the last chance of frost has past in my climate?

(2) When will the fruit be ready to harvest?

(3) Does this tree need another tree for pollinization purposes?

To position yourself for success, select trees that blossom after your last frost. After you've eliminated varieties that bloom too early, try selecting fruits that will ripen successively. You will extend your fresh-fruit eating season by selecting an early apple and a late apple for example. To help you in your decision making, reference the Fruit & Nut Harvest Dates chart online or buy the poster (23"x27") for $2.99.

Step 4 - Pre-Order Now for Best Selection: Peaceful Valley has the best selection at the best price! We will be carrying 144 different varieties of fruit and nut trees this year starting at just $19.99 each. We offer flat rate shipping of just $30 nation-wide for up to 10 fruit trees.

If you order on or before November 30th we'll deliver
10 fruit trees to your doorstep for $199! Just use coupon code 10FOR199 when you checkout. Tress will be available to ship mid-December.Offer excludes multi-fruit trees, pomegranates, jujubes, persimmons, nut trees & potted figs, citrus & olives.

Step 5 - Prepare the Planting Holes: Fruit tree roots tend to grow outward more so than downward. A very general rule of thumb is to dig a hole 1 foot deep and 3 feet wide. When you are first planting a tree is the best, and really only time, to provide nutrients directly to the root zone.

To do this, mix a bag of Bare Root Booster Blend and 1 cu. ft. of organic compost with the dirt you dug out of the hole. Before planting the tree in the hole, you may want to consider using gopher baskets. Gopher damage to young tree roots can kill a tree in its first year. View our planting and growing guide online (a copy will also be sent with your tree shipment).

Fruit Tree Care:
Pruning & Dormant Oil

Twice a year, during winter and summer, you will likely need to prune your trees to keep them sized according to your taste.

Two to three times a year, at leaf drop and bud swell or at Thanksgiving, New Years & Valentine's Day, it is advisable to use dormant oils in combination with natural fungicides or bactericides to prevent damage by insect pests, fungus, and disease.

If the leaves have dropped off your trees, now is the perfect time to apply dormant oil.

Peaceful Valley carries three choices for fungicide and/or bactericides: Lime Sulfur, Sulfur, and Copper. Choose one along with the horticultural oil for dormant spraying. Read more about choosing the right products for your orchard on our blog.

Stay In The Loop Online

In The Loop is Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply's general gardening blog full of tips, tricks, videos, and even recipes. It's updated daily to give you the most timely gardening know-how!

Staff, farmers & gardeners all contribute to this rich resource. Your fellow gardeners and our amazing staff will answer your organic gardening questions. Share your stories and experiences, send us your pictures, and share your love for organic growing.

Anyone can become a contributor to the blog by posting questions, sharing stories & methods, or writing comments to others' posts... or simply read along. Enjoy!