How Many Fruit and Berry Plants Do You Need?

When I made my orchard plan a few years ago, there is one factor that I didn't take into consideration - how much fruit does each type of tree or berry plant yield? I recently did some research on this topic and  I was astounded by some of my findings. The dwarf prune plum tree we just planted, for example, will only yield between 1/2 and 1 bushel of fruit. When the plums are all dried into prunes, that's really not much. On the other hand, when our apple trees are all in production, we can expect to get between 50-75 bushels of apples each year. That's a lot of applesauce. 

Here are some estimated annual yields for commonly grown fruit and berry plants in the United States. Obviously, your results will vary based on your location, climate, etc., but this is a good place to begin your planning.   

FRUIT TREES:

'Jonafree' apple bud, May 2013

Apples - 

• Dwarf - 5-6 bushels per tree
• Semi-Dwarf - 10-15 bushels per tree
• Standard - 15-20 bushels per tree 

Apricots - 

• Miniature -1-2 pecks
• Dwarf - 1-2 bushels per tree
• Standard - 3-4 bushels per tree 

Cherries, Sweet -

• Dwarf - 8-10 gallons per tree
• Semi-Dwarf - 10-15 gallons per tree
• Standard - 15-20 gallons per tree 

Cherries, Sour - 

• Dwarf - 3-5 gallons per tree
• Semi-Dwarf - 12-18 gallons per tree

Nectarine - 

• Miniature -1-2 pecks
• Dwarf - 3-4 bushels per tree
• Standard - 6-10 bushels per tree 

Peach - 

• Miniature -1-2 pecks
• Dwarf -3-4 bushels per tree
• Standard - 6-10 bushels per tree 

Pears - 

• Dwarf - 6-8 bushels per tree
• Standard - 12-15 bushels per tree 

Pears, Asian - 

• Dwarf - 1 bushels per tree
• Semi-Dwarf - 1-2 bushels per tree
• Standard - 3-8 bushels per tree 

Plums, European - 

• Dwarf -1/2-1 bushel per tree
• Standard - 1-2 bushels per tree 

Plums, Japanese - 

• Dwarf -3-4 bushels per tree
• Semi-Dwarf - 4-5 bushels per tree
• Standard - 5-6 bushels per tree 

BERRIES: 

Blackberries from my garden

Blackberries - 3-4 plants per person. Average yield per plant is 1 quart. (Note: My Triple Crown blackberry vines far outproduce this estimate.) 

Blueberries - 2 plants per person. Average yield per plant (if you have multiple types for cross-pollination) is 3-4 quarts. 

Raspberries - 25 plants per person. Average yield per plant is 1-2 quarts. 

Strawberries - 25 plants per person. June-bearing strawberries (the ones that produce all of their berries at once) yield about 1 pint per plant. Everbearing strawberries (produce small amounts from June through first frost) yield about 1/2-1 lb per plant. 

Most folks run out of room in their yard long before they plant enough trees and berries to produce an entire year's supply for their family. With judicious planting, however, even small yards can produce bountifully. We have an entire acre that we can use for our orchard and berry planting, if we find that we can maintain that much! In five years, it is technically possible that we could grow all the fruit we eat! Of course, that leaves the problem of storing and preserving all that fruit, but that is where a root cellar, canning, freezing, and dehydrating comes into play.   

References: 

I compiled this information from the Plant Manuals at starkbros.com. I highly recommend Stark Bros. We have bought all of our fruit and berry plants from them and are very pleased with their quality and customer service.