A Tour of the World’s Best Fruit Tree Orchard with California’s Favorite Garden Influencers!

Join Charles Malki, Biologist and Plant Expert at https://ivorganics.com/ as he teams up with some of your favorite gardening influencers for an exclusive tour of Zaiger’s Orchard in Modesto, CA—home to the world’s leading hybrid stone-fruit breeding program. Discover the incredible amount of time, energy, and scientific precision that goes into planting tens of thousands of seedlings every year. After years of growth, evaluation, and expert analysis, only a select few go on to become the prize-winning fruit varieties enjoyed around the world by commercial and backyard growers alike! #IVOrganic #Zaigers #StoneFruit Be sure to follow some of our favorite California gardening influencers who joined us on this special tour: ‪@TomSpellman‬ ‪@EdAbleSolutions-qw9zb‬ ‪@urbanfarmstead‬ ‪@TheFigHunter‬ ‪@GardenloveHomestead‬ ‪@TheBusyGardener‬ Here are some of the highlights: 0:00 – Intro 0:25 – Leith Zaiger Gardner – Lab tour and brief history of Zaiger’s Orchard 2:32 – Tour of rootstock trials and how they affect fruit flavor, size, and ripening time 4:55 – Tom Spellman shares insight on the weekly Zaiger Orchard tours and the criteria for commercial vs. home growers 6:45 – Lacey Gardner explains her responsibilities in advancing cherry variety selection, including early-ripening, crack-resistant, self-fruitful, and low-chill varieties 8:34 – Charles Malki and Tom Spellman discuss pruning fruit trees for backyard orchard culture 12:11 – Multi-grafted fruit tree 13:02 – Traci explains the hybridization process for commercial growers vs. home gardeners 18:16 – Discussion on white peaches with Kyle Hagerty, Ed Laivo, and Traci; the importance of marketing fruit by its exact variety name rather than general categories like “white peaches” 19:56 – Tom Spellman explains how multi-grafted trees are gradually narrowed down to a single superior variety compared to its adjacent “sister” grafts 23:09 – Traci describes a white sub-acid peach that makes the COC (“Cream of the Crop”) home-garden list vs. commercial lists 24:05 – Tom Spellman explains how 1–2-year-old seedling fruit trees begin in the field and how evaluation blocks are managed 26:31 – Ed Laivo explains the significance of sugar spots and their effect on Brix testing 28:07 – Conversation with Leith Zaiger, Cameron Akrami (The Busy Gardener), and Charles Malki 30:14 – Introductions: Lacey Gardner, Kyle Hagerty, Mike, Ed Laivo, Cameron Akrami, Diana Bain, David Burke, and Tom Spellman 32:21 – Ed Laivo discusses cross-pollination between interspecific stone fruits 35:02 – Demonstration of the pedigree of a current variety, tracing its lineage back decades 35:20 – Ed Laivo describes the value and characteristics of several ripe Zaiger hybrid stone-fruit varieties 36:37 – Tom Spellman’s closing remarks and thank-yous 37:29 – Charles Malki identifies a sunburned, struggling fruit tree and explains how it can be treated—and how these issues could have been prevented naturally using IV Organic 3-in-1 Plant Guard. IV Organic All-Purpose Fertilizers provide all six plant macronutrients to support maximum health and yield. Check out our ‘Shop Local’ tab to find a store nearest you! Contact your local nursery to find out if they stock our product. If not, please ask the manager of your local nursery to call or e-mail us directly; contact (e-mail and toll-free phone) can be found at http://ivorganics.com/ Stay connected with IV Organic®:   / iv_organics     / iv_organics   https://www.facebook.com/TreeGuardPai...