Backyard Farming: Fruit Trees, Berries and Nuts - A Book Series Introduction
So you want to grow your own fruit. Maybe some berries. Possibly even nuts. But you don’t have a farm, or acres of land, or any real idea where to start. Same. That’s exactly why I picked up Backyard Farming: Fruit Trees, Berries & Nuts by Kim Pezza, and that’s exactly what this blog series is about.
I’m going to walk through this book chapter by chapter, retelling the key ideas in plain language. Think of it as a reading companion. You can follow along with your own copy, or just read these posts and get the highlights. Either way, by the end, you’ll know a lot more about growing fruit, berries, and nuts at home than you do right now.
What’s This Book About?
The full title is Backyard Farming: Fruit Trees, Berries & Nuts, written by Kim Pezza and published by Hatherleigh Press in 2015 (ISBN: 978-1-57826-532-9). It’s part of a larger “Backyard Farming” series that covers everything from chickens to vegetables to beekeeping.
This particular book focuses on growing fruit trees, berry bushes, and nut trees in your own yard. And when I say “your own yard,” I mean it loosely. One of the things that makes this book interesting is that it doesn’t assume you have a huge property. It talks about container growing, which means even apartment balconies and small patios are fair game.
The book covers a solid range of topics:
- A brief history of how humans started cultivating fruit trees
- The basics of growing fruit trees, berry bushes, and nut trees
- How to propagate your own plants (so you don’t have to keep buying new ones)
- Container growing for small spaces and cold climates
- Specific varieties of fruits, berries, and nuts you can grow
- Tropical varieties and how to grow them outside of tropical climates
- Harvesting and preserving what you grow
- Recipes to actually use your harvest
That last point is underrated. A lot of gardening books stop at “and then you pick the fruit.” This one keeps going and gives you ideas for jams, jellies, desserts, and more.
Who Is Kim Pezza?
Kim Pezza is the kind of person who actually walks the walk. She grew up in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, surrounded by orchards, dairy farms, and muck land (that’s the super rich, dark soil you find in certain areas of upstate New York). She’s raised pigs, poultry, game birds, rabbits, and goats. She grows herbs and vegetables. She teaches workshops on everything from art to making herb butter and infused oils.
She splits her time between her grandparents’ farm in New York (a place that dates back to the mid-1800s) and Southwest Florida. So she knows a thing or two about growing things in completely different climates, which shows up in the book when she talks about tropical varieties and container growing.
The point is, this isn’t someone who read about farming on the internet and wrote a book. She actually does this stuff.
Why This Series?
A few reasons.
First, growing your own food is one of those things that sounds complicated until someone explains it in normal words. A lot of gardening content is either too technical (written for people who already know everything) or too vague (pretty photos, no substance). This book hits a nice middle ground, and I want to make it even more accessible.
Second, you don’t need a farm. That’s worth repeating. The book makes a strong case that even one or two fruit trees, a couple of berry bushes, or some container-grown plants can be a meaningful addition to your food supply. You get to control what goes into your soil, whether you go organic or not, and how you harvest and preserve everything.
Third, there’s something genuinely satisfying about eating fruit from a tree you planted yourself. Or making jam from berries you picked in your own yard. It connects you to your food in a way that the grocery store just doesn’t.
What to Expect
Each post in this series will cover one chapter or section of the book. I’ll summarize the key points, add some context where it helps, and keep things straightforward. No fluff. No filler. Just the useful stuff.
If you’re someone who has been thinking about adding fruit trees, berries, or nuts to your yard (or your balcony, or your patio), this series is for you. And if you’re someone who just likes learning about how food grows, you’ll probably enjoy it too.
Let’s get into it.