December 2009
The Daley News
We would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a Fruitful New Year, from all the team at Daley's Nursery.
Christmas can be a time when we all overindulge in many things, too much food, too much shopping and too much money spent can leave us dissatisfied and over fed. What can we all do to pull in the purse strings, to do something really positive for the world and for all our futures this Christmas?
Plant a Fruit Tree
Planting a fruit tree in your own backyard is a fabulous way of beginning to produce some of your own food. With no transport cost, no storage and no picking prematurely the fruit will not only taste better it will be better for your body and better for the world we all live in. This is something that our Grandparents did, they grew vegetables and fruit, and they milked their house cow and made butter from the excess cream skimmed of the top. They made jams and preserves and stored the excess produce from the harvest for the leaner months of the year. When I was young I helped my Grandfather in his gardens, he had several extensive vegetable patches that fed all the family for the entire year. He had a potato patch, a corn patch and then a mixed garden of greens, he also grew the best tomatoes I have ever tasted and I am sorry he is no longer around to ask him for his advice.
Which Fruit Trees are right for me?
The first question many people ask is what should I grow? The answer to this question lies in the taste buds of the person growing the tree. What do you like to eat? This is always the best place to start; there is little point in growing an avocado tree just because it suits your climate if you really don't enjoy eating them. Make a wish list of what you like to eat and would like to grow and then seek advice as to the suitability to your area.
Trees for every backyard
The humble lemon tree, although I think that almost every backyard in Australia already has a lemon, if you don't then you don't know what you're missing out on? Lemons are almost a staple backyard tree, even though they are a fruit that is not eaten straight off the tree, we use them in sauces, marinades and dressings as well as in jams, cakes, slices and desserts, making them a very versatile and handy fruit to have at hand.
Lime Trees are slightly more difficult to grow than lemons and are used in much the same way; they are also a very popular backyard tree. 
Sticking with citrus trees, the kumquat tree is one of my personal favourites, the small bite sized orange fruits are in season just when the burst of vitamins they contain is needed by the body to keep away winter colds. "A kumquat a day keeps the doctor away" could be how the old saying should go.
Mulberry Trees are my all time favourite, they are a fruit that does not travel well to market so they are seldom seen in the shops, and this makes them an essential backyard tree in my book. There are mulberries for all sized backyards and all climates so if you want a fabulous, shade tree with the added bonus of fabulous fruit the mulberry is a great choice.
If you have space the pecan tree is an excellent shade tree and the nuts as we all know are very tasty and versatile and they store well in their shells. 
If you live in a tropical or subtropical climate the mango tree is an all time favourite, as is the papaya, if you want something a little more unusual that you are less likely to find in the shops, the black sapote or chocolate pudding fruit is a lovely dense, bushy and highly productive tree.
If you live down south in a temperate climate, the deciduous fruits trees like figs, nashis, pomegranates, blueberries will be a productive addition to your garden.
Gifts that Keep Giving
If you are stuck for Christmas gift ideas, a gift that keeps giving will do more for the world than a box of chocolates.
Send a fruit tree as a gift.
Support a charitable organization that is doing positive things for the world. The staff at Daley’s Nursery are once again supporting Rainforest Rescue because we love what they are doing, they are a local organization and a gift from them will ensure that our Australian rainforests will survive for future generations. This not for profit organization has both local and international projects to help save and plant rainforests.
You can help save our iconic species, foster a koala and give you friends a very special gift, available through both Friends of the Koala or the Koala Foundation
http://www.friendsofthekoala.org/fok/support
https://www.savethekoala.com/foster.html
Or better still get out and plant some trees to ensure their survival in the wild. A full list of koala trees is available of the Koala Foundations web site.
