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Orcharding in Amia and its Associated Islands

by

Sage Starkweather




Introduction


Amia and its associated islands provide a variety of environments which makes the cultivation of myriad fruits, nuts, flowers, and more that are useful in many ways. In these pages I hope to introduce to prospective orcharders both professional and amateur information they will find useful in their endeavors.



Chapter 1: Apples



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The Basics
The apple tree is a deciduous tree in the rose family best known for its sweet, pomaceous fruit, the apple. It is cultivated worldwide as a fruit tree. The tree is believed to have originated in Kozakura, where its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, is still found today. Apples have been grown for thousands of years across the world and have been spread by pioneers wherever they go. Apples also have religious and mythological significance in many cultures.


Cultivation and Care
Because of a number of problems that will be discussed later it is best to grow these fruits in cooler and less humid environs. Trees are widespread and can be found in Bendir Dale, at the drow shrine near Kampo's, the Salandran temple, Caraigh, and in Kohlingen in addition to other places that meet these qualifications. The ideal time to harvest the fruit is in late summer and early autumn.

There are two ways to grow apple trees; by seed and by grafting onto roots. Apple trees grown via seed are larger than those grafted to roots. Both the tree and the fruit are prone to fungal and pest infestation and need to be tended to regularly.

There are five species of aphids commonly found on apples: apple grain aphid, rosy apple aphid, apple aphid, spirea aphid and the woolly apple aphid. The aphid species can be identified by their color, the time of year when they are present and by differences in the cornicles, which are small paired projections from the rear of aphids. Coding moths and apple maggots are also known pests that affect apple trees. In addition, animals such as deer and mice are prone to feeding on the soft bark of young trees durng the winter months and thus the trees should be monitored during these times as well.

Apple scab, or sooty blotch, can be reduced by removing leaf litter and trimmings containing infected tissue from the orchard and incinerating them. Additionally, scab lesions on woody tissue can be excised from the tree if possible and similarly destroyed. Mildew can be treated best by eliminating the conditions which cause the disease and by burning the infected plants. Other serious problems are fireblight, Gymnosporangium, and black spot.


Uses in Daily Life
Apples are quite versatile in their uses. Apples are often eaten raw, but can also be found in drinks and many prepared foods like desserts. When eaten raw it is advised to eat around the core of the fruit as the seeds are known to be poisonous and can cause fatality if eaten in large quantities. Many orchards have juicing machines nearby, which allow one to make apple juice, a wildly popular drink. When fermented, apples are also used in apple cider. Apples are a popular filling in pies both because of their ready availability and their sweetness. Some cooks also like to make a dish with apples and cabbage.



Chapter 2: Bananas



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The Basics
The banana is an edible fruit, botanically a berry, produced by several kinds of large herbaceous, flowering plants. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called plantains. The fruit is variable in size, color, and firmness, but is usually elongated and curved, with soft flesh rich in starch covered with a rind which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe with yellow being the most common. The term "banana" is also used as the common name for the plants which produce the fruit.


Cultivation and Care
Bananas are a tropical fruit and require warm to hot climates to grow. They are believed to have originated in Chult and were brought to other areas via trade and conquest over the centuries. From Chult they are known to have spread into western Samarach, the Black Jungles and Mhair Jungles, the Shaar, and even southern Mulhorand. it is also believed that parts of Maztica are now growing the fruit. On the Amian isles they can be found in the hot areas around Khem.

Cultivated bananas are parthenocarpic, i.e. the flesh of the fruit swells and ripens without its seeds being fertilized and developing. Lacking viable seeds, propagation typically involves farmers removing and transplanting part of the underground stem (called a corm). Usually this is done by carefully removing a sucker (a vertical shoot that develops from the base of the banana pseudostem) with some roots intact.

Bananas are subject to a number of diseases. Some fungi can cause the plant to wilt as they get into the plant and cut off the flow of water an nutrients. Black sigatoka can infect the leaves and is known to turn the leaves black which causes the amount of fruit to decrease and will make the bananas that do grow ripen prematurely. Some disease seems to be spread via aphids and will cause the leaves to have a bunched appearance and fruit to not be produced; this disease can only be treated by removing and destroying infected plants.

Care must also be taken when harvesting and transporting the fruit. Bananas are known for being home to the nocturnal and deadly black tarantula. Those dockworkers who load them at night are often known to sing as the dawn approaches.


Uses in Daily Life
Bananas can be eaten whole by peeling off the skin. Some will use them in various treats or meals. They are unsuitable for juicing.


Chapter 3: Cherries



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The Basics
A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The exact origin of the fruit is unknown. They are cultivated in temperate regions. The fruits range from bright red to dark red. Cherry trees with low exposure to light tend to have a bigger leaf size so they can intercept all light possible. Cherry trees with high exposure to light tend to have thicker leaves to concentrate light. The most common varieties are sweet but some sour species exist. On the Amian isles cherries are found at the Salandran temple, Caraigh, and Kohlingen.


Cultivation and Care
Cherries will blossom in early-to-mid spring and reach their peak season from the end of spring through the middle of summer, with the peak time being later the further north one goes. Cherry trees are known for being difficult to grow and keep alive. They have no tolerance for wetness. Aphids cause the leaves to curl at the tips of branches. Blackfly colonies exude a sticky secretion which promotes fungal growth. Cherry fruit flies will lay eggs in the immature fruit and the larvae eat the fruit, boring their way out; this boring is an entry point for fungal infection after rainfall. There are additional problems like brown rot, root rot, and crown rot.


Uses in Daily Life
Cherries can be eaten whole with the exception of the large pit. Cherry juice is sweet and nutritious, while cherry beer is a sweet drink. Cherry pie is another favorite in many parts of the islands and with many races.



Chapter 4: Coconut



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The Basics
Contrary to popular belief the coconut is classified not as a nut but as a stone fruit like the cherry. The trees are a variety of palm that can grow to heights of nearly 100 feet and their leaves can range from a dozen to a score feet in length. Coconuts are generally classified into two general types: tall and dwarf. The coconut can be found in most tropical coastal environments and Khem's shores are a popular place for harvesting.

Cultivation and Care
On fertile soil, a tall coconut palm tree can yield up to 75 fruits per year, but more often yields less than 30, mainly due to poor cultural practices. Given proper care and growing conditions, coconut palms produce their first fruit in six to ten years, taking 15 to 20 years to reach peak production. As stated above, the coconut naturally occurs along tropical coasts but can be found further inland when cultivated by sentient beings. In the wild they will be found where there is abundant sunlight and regular rainfall, and the plants are tolerant to salinity. The trees are intolerant of cold weather but can handle some seasonal variation. They can survive brief drops to temperatures right at the point of freezing but severe frost is almost universally fatal.

Coconut palms can be damaged by many varieties of butterfly and moth. The coconut leaf beetle feeds on young leaves and damages trees of all ages. Coconut mites can cause a loss of nearly nine-tenths of production. Other pests include the rhinoceros beetle, the red palm weevil and the coconut leaf caterpillar.

The most common disease is lethal yellowing, for which no cure is known. Other diseases known to affect coconut palms are black scorch, bud rot, powdery mildew, and stem necrosis.


Uses in Daily Life
As the coconut is readily available along coasts it can be found used in many ways by coastal peoples. Coconut milk is potable and may be the only safe thing to drink for a shipwrecked sailor. Coconut oil is used for skin and hair care. Coconut "meat" is safe to eat and is often baked into cookies.



Chapter 5: Dates



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The Basics
Dates are the fruit of the date palm. The trees grow to about 70 feet in height. The trees may either grow singularly or in clumps where several root stems form a root system. They are found in many tropical and subtropical climes and are believed to have originated in Mulhorand. On the Amian island system they can be found most readily in Khem.


Cultivation and Care
Dates have separate male and female plants and only the female grows fruits. Dates from seedling plants are usually smaller and poorer quality than those from mature plants. Naturally they will grow around oases but some groups have taken to planting the dates elsewhere. Dates palms will produce 150-300 pounds of dates per year but, as they do not all ripen at the same time, they will require multiple harvests each year.

Date palms are susceptible to a fungus called Bayoud disease. Red palm beetles are also known to attack the tree. As to the fruit, the most common problem is found only with birds that make off with them and thus they are often bagged as soon as possible.


Uses in Daily Life
For the peoples of deserts dates can be one of their best sources of nutrition. Dates are edible once the seeds are removed. Some dates are hollowed and then filled with cheese. Date wine is far sweeter than traditional grape wine.



Chapter 6: Grapes



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The Basics
A grape is a fruiting berry of the deciduous woody vines. Grapes are one of the earliest known examples of cultivated plant both for its proximity to early human culture but also because early growers discovered that, due to the yeast that naturally occurs on the skin of the grape, it was easy to turn grapes into alcoholic beverages. Grapes grow in a variety of colors and can be crimson, black, dark blue, yellow, green, orange, and pink. There are known grape orchards on the Amian islands to the west of the Amia frontier on the way to the Forest of Despair and at the Duchal manor at Kohlingen. (There are also rumors of grapes growing in Tarkuul but this author can assure you he has NO desire to confirm this report!)


Cultivation and Care
Grapes grow mostly in temperate climates but tropical varieties are not unknown. Different varieties can be interbred and this allows for diversity. As grapes are so common in the areas in which they can grow they don't typically require much to get them to grow beside giving them a place to do so.

One should be careful to monitor for aphids, weevils, and some butterfly and moth species.

Disease should be monitored and dealt with immediately by cutting out the troubled part of the crop. Grapevine yellows is a common problem and symptoms include discoloration and necrosis of leaf veins and leaf blades, downward curling of leaves, lack or incomplete lignification of shoots, stunting and necrosis of shoots, abortion of inflorescences and shriveling of berries.


Uses in Daily Life
Grapes are edible right off the vine. The diversity in climates in which grapes grow allows for a number of different breeds of grape and thus a number of different wines are produced. Grape juice is a sweet drink that is non-alcoholic. Raisins are dried grapes and are popular with travelers as they are quite resilient.



Chapter 7: Almonds



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The Basics
Almonds are also a stony fruit like the cherry and coconut. Almonds consist of an outer hull and a hard shell with the seed, which is not a true nut, inside. Shelling almonds refers to removing the shell to reveal the seed. Almonds are sold shelled or unshelled. Blanched almonds are shelled almonds that have been treated with hot water to soften the seedcoat, which is then removed to reveal the white embryo. They are believed to be native to Mulhorand but have been widely disseminated. On the Amian islands they are known to grow on Caraigh.


Cultivation and Care
Almonds grow best in climates with warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Almonds begin bearing an economic crop in the third year after planting. Trees reach full bearing five to six years after planting. The fruit matures in the autumn, 7–8 months after flowering.

Almond trees can be attacked by insects, fungi, and disease. Colletotrichum acutatum is an almond-specific fungus and will cause black spots on leaves. Plants with this disease should be culled before the disease spreads.


Uses in Daily Life
One must take care when dealing with almonds. Domesticated almonds are harmless but wild almonds are another matter. Wild almonds have a bitter taste, but more importantly produce deadly cyanide and are fatal by eating even a few dozen in a sitting.


Chapter 8: Hops



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The Basics
Hops are the flower of the hop plant. They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer but also have use in other beverages and herbal medicine. They are believed to have been initially grown in Damara and can be found in Kohlingen.


Cultivation and Care
Hops production takes place in moist, temperate climates. They prefer the same soils as potatoes, and many leading potato-growing areas also grow hops but not all areas that are good for one will grow the other. Cultivation of hops for commercial production requires a particular environment. As hops are a climbing plant, they are trained to grow up trellises made from strings or wires that support the plants and allow them significantly greater growth with the same sunlight profile. Male and female flowers of the hop plant usually develop on separate plants. Hop plants are planted in rows about six to eight feet apart. Each spring, the roots send forth new bines that are started up strings from the ground to an overhead trellis. The cones grow high on the bine, and in the past, these cones were picked by hand. Harvest comes near the end of summer when the bines are pulled down and the flowers are taken to a hop house or oast house for drying. Hop houses are two-story buildings, of which the upper story has a slatted floor covered with burlap. Here the flowers are poured out and raked even. A heating unit on the lower floor is used to dry the hops. When dry, the hops are moved to a press, a sturdy box with a plunger. Two long pieces of burlap are laid into the hop press at right angles, the hops are poured in and compressed into bales.

Hop cones contain different oils, such as lupulin, a yellowish, waxy substance, an oleoresin, that imparts flavor and aroma to beer.


Animal pests include the hop leaf aphid, red spider mite, and Kozakuran beetle. As for disease the most prevalent are downy mildew and powdery mildew and both can be treated best by eliminating the conditions which cause the disease and by burning the infected plants.


Uses in Daily Life
Hops are generally only used in beer and don't find much use elsewhere with the notable exception of sleeping tea.


Chapter 9: Walnuts



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The Basics
The walnut is another fruit that is often mislabeled a nut. It is used for food after being processed while green for pickled walnuts or after full ripening for its nutmeat. The walnut tree is widely grown in temperate zones and this author believes the tastiest are located in Kohlingen.


Cultivation and Care
Walnut trees need an abundance of light and benefit from protection from the wind. The species is hardy against drought. When grown for nuts, care must be taken to select cultivars that are compatible for pollination purposes; although some cultivars are marketed as "self fertile", they will generally fruit better with a different pollination partner. Many different cultivars are available for growers, and offer different growth habits, flowering and leafing, kernel flavors and shell thicknesses.

Walnut trees tend to be very hardy in terms of predation by pests and fungus and for this reason are widely cherished.


Uses in Daily Life
Walnut meat is often enjoyed when freed from its shell. The meat is often used to enhance other goods like breads or pies. The wood of the tree is valued for many uses as it is hard, dense, tight-grained and polishes to a very smooth finish.

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