Reviews and Mentions for the BackYard Berry Book
“Stella Otto is a gardening guru. She gave me everything I needed to begin the plan for “small fruit” in my garden. .…I felt prepared to make choices on what types of fruit I wanted to plant in my yard.… I used Otto’s detailed information about spacing, climate, plant needs and fruit bearing amounts to help me reach my decision.….
This book will be a go to for me when it comes to gardening!
- Reviewed by Mom blog [link]
“For the best flavor, most fruit should not be picked until fully ripe, says Stella Otto, Michigan-based horticulturist and author of “The Backyard Berry Book.” When picking your favorite fruit, Otto recommends handling with care.….…”
View more tips for the ins and outs of How to Pick and Prep Fruits on this great slide show.
- Mom.Me [ link ]
“The Backyard Berry Book is a book I will be re-reading with a highlighter very soon. I am hoping to re-visit my strawberry situation with a new advantage! This book was packed with information on selecting the right plants and even the trial and error of different varieties. I might even try my hand at a different berry like blueberries or blackberries — now that I’m armed with some practical information.”
– Lisa Rupertus, AsTheyGrowUp.com [ link ]
“…I’ve grown raspberries for years and more recently strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries. Raspberries are relatively simple if you tie them to a large vertical support like a fence, and blackberries are also relatively easy if you keep them pruned. But strawberries have to be planted and maintained in a very specific way for best fruit production, and blueberries are an even greater challenge, as they require a lot of organic matter in the soil, excellent drainage, and a highly acidic soil. This book addresses all of these issues in a clear, comprehensive manner, explores various pruning techniques, and has already provided me with some useful tips. It’s also educating me on grapes, which is my next challenge. The Backyard Berry Book includes chapters on growing strawberries, rhubarb, raspberries, blackberries, lingonberries, currants, grapes, and kiwi, and soil preparation, pruning, maintenance, and disease and pest control for each fruit.”
– Todd Heft, BigBlogOfGardening.com [ link ]
“Both the garden novice and the more experienced ‘green-thumb’ will harvest bushels of hands-on advice from an experienced grower and professional horticulturalist. The Backyard Berry Book provides what is needed for any gardener to successfully grow everything from raspberries to grapes, currants to kiwifruit and more.…
If you want to grow berries or fruit trees in your backyard, I HIGHLY recommend getting The BackYard Orchardist and The BackYard Berry Book BEFORE you make any purchases or decision. Stella’s advice will help you pick the best spot, set the soil correctly for what type of plant you are putting in, and then help you care for the plant correctly, to get the maximum fruit and long life from it! raspberries to grapes, currants to kiwifruit and more.…
The book duo would also make an excellent gift idea for the gardener, or back yard enthusiast!”
– Nicole Henke, Bless Their Hearts Mom [ link ]
“How to Select Healthy Fruit Trees and Berry Bushes for Your Fruit Garden article by Stella Otto posted 6/7/13.”
– Nicole Henke, BlessTheirHeartsMom [ link ]
“Selecting Healthy Fruit Trees & Berry Bushes article by Stella Otto posted.”
– Gardens West Magazine [ link ]
“How to Select Healthy Fruit Trees and Berry Bushes for Your Fruit Garden Guest Post by Stella Otto posted.”
– AsTheyGrowUp.com [ link ]
“World Wisdom: Healthy Fruit Trees and Bushes for Your Garden article by Stella Otto posted.”
– Motherhood Moment [ link ]
“…This simple but informative book is a the perfect gardener’s tool that gives one the confidence and knowledge to actually attempt to grow berries in their yard that they can enjoy and eat for years to come.”
– Conny Crisalli, BookPleasures.com [ link ]
“Trend #1 Grow Your Own
With the ever-increasing emphasis on healthy eating, organic produce and sustainable living, gardeners everywhere are trying their hand at producing their own fruits and vegetables. Stella Otto, the ‘Backyard Fruit Gardener’, says the trend is really taking off with younger gardeners.
‘As the generation of mid 20s to early 30s grows up, they are coming full circle and embracing the roots of their post-hippie generation parents. They are returning to the homestead concept, but with a decidedly urban flair of their own. Many are digging into the urban homesteading and farming movement with the intent to become food self-sufficient and ecologically sustainable.’
Otto is particularly excited about growing unusual berries not commonly found in the supermarket, such as:
- Yellow raspberries
- Gooseberries
- Lingonberries
Other less-common fruit suitable for the backyard gardener are blueberries, kiwi, grapes and currants. Of course, every gardener needs to choose varieties suitable to his or her own climate and lifestyle.”
– Michelle Ullman, IdealHomeGarden.com [ link ]
“Berry good reads. Have you collected a bunch of tiny hotel soaps? Put them to work keeping deer away from your berries. Drill a hole in them and twist tie them to garden stakes. Or, spread little bags of human hair around. Stella Otto calls this ‘tankage’ in The Backyard Berry Book. She cautions that trailing or semi-erect blackberry roots must be kept in the dark before planting, even on cloudy days, to keep yields high. But she sheds light on bramble production that will keep you in cobbler. You’ll love her easy trellis designs.
Otto’s companion book The Backyard Orchardist taught me some pruning tips and how to spread branches with toothpicks or clothespins so a fruit tree can spread out for better bearing. She goes with the thought that life without cherries is the pits, and shares how to grow them along with apples, pears, etc. She makes it sound so easy, but I caution that patience is required as one awaits succulent bounty on the branches.”
– Darragh Doiron, Port Arthur News [ link ]
“Stella Otto is quoted extensively in ‘Growing Edible Vines’ article.”
– Jessica Walliser, Hobby Farm Homes [ link ]
“Like grapes, kiwis are vigorous growers and need to be properly pruned, trained and trellised. Good informational sources for their care and maintenance include Stella Otto’s The Backyard Berry Book: A Hands-on Guide to Growing Berries, Brambles, and Vine Fruit in the Home Garden.”
– Jessica Walliser, Hobby Farm Homes [ link ]
“‘Beauty & the Feast: Discover 8 eye-catching vines for your garden and backyard that are as deliciously fruitful as they are beautiful’ by Jessica Walliser appears in the March/April 2012 issue of Hobby Farm Home. Stella Otto is quoted several times, along with mention of her books–Backyard Orchardist and Backyard Berry Book.”
– Hobby Farm Home
“Stella Otto was interviewed 5/12/11 by Martha Stewart Living garden editors Tony Bielaczycon the Homegrown radio show. Homegrown is live every Tuesday at 9 a.m. ET and Thursday at 1 p.m. ET on on Sirius 112. ”
– Marthastewart.com, Homegrown
“In the late 20th century, unfortunately, berries are seen primarily in the supermarket at certain times of year, and while this is welcome, it used to be that everyone had a few berry bushes in the backyard: some currants, some gooseberries and a few rhubarb plants. In The Backyard Berry Book: A Hands-On Guide to Growing Berries, Brambles, and Vine Fruit in the Home Garden, Stella Otto explains how to bring this tradition back and raise lush crops of berries and fruit with pointers on soil nutrition, plant nutrients and mulching that will make your home-grown berries the envy of folks who only see them in the supermarket. This mouth-watering book will get you going.”
– Pool House Designs
“There are so many problems that I contend with in my garden that I can get the answers from a book or magazine.…There are many great books out there that might be worth checking out for your own library or at the library.…including The Backyard Berry Book by Stella Otto.”
– Stephanie Bethke-DeJaegher, The Independent, Southwestern MN’s Daily Newspaper[ link ]
“If you’re dreaming of harvesting mouth-watering small fruits in you own backyard,…read this book!
If you’re already trying small fruit production and harvesting a peck of problems,…read this book.
Stella Otto tells you how to grow the familiar and the more exotic, for big results in a small space.”
– Jan Riggenbach, syndicated columnist, Midwest Gardening and Midwest Living magazine
“Stella Otto has done it again! When we reviewed her first book, The Backyard Orchardist, we wrote ‘What we like most about this book is that it isn’t intimidating. Stella Otto doesn’t act like some expert-from-on high; she gently and convincingly enables us to realize that, yes, we can grow fruit successfully.” Ditto for The Backyard Berry Book…you should by all means read this book.”
– HortIdeas
“…packed with reliable methods and details of berry growing one seldom encounters in books twice this one’s size. Otto provides such a thorough guide to the all-important first step of preparing a site for berries, that it actually can serve as priority reading in starting any kind of gardening.”
– Gene Logsdon, author of The Contrary Farmer
“If you’re even considering growing fruit, you’ll find Otto’s two books priceless resources. They contain everything you need to get started.…except the plants.”
– Lynn Byczynski, editor, Growing for Market
“Likely to be much-thumbed as a reference by the green-thumbed crowd.”
– Small Press
“One of the best books on growing berries I’ve seen in a long time.”
– Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger
“Written in plain hands-on language, clear and purposeful drawings, the definitive how-to guide to small fruit gardening.”
– BackHome
“…enjoyable to read, easy to refer to.”
– Fruit Gardener
Garden Book Club Alternate Selection
Rodale Organic Gardening Book Club Alternate Selection
Feature excerpt in Country Journal magazine
Reviews in newspapers, magazines and trade publications including American Homestyle & Garden, Better Homes and Gardens Deck and Landscape Planner, Booklist, and Bloomsbury Review
Reviews and Mentions for the BackYard Orchardist
“For many of the same reasons that I really enjoyed The Backyard Berry Book, I enjoyed The Backyard Orchardist as well.… Otto once again supplies every last detail to successfully planning fruit trees. I am a total “newbie” at this but I feel very prepared to make choices after reading this book.…
I chose to review these two books together because, quite frankly, I think they are excellent companion books and would make a wonderful addition to your gardening library. The pair would make a lovely housewarming gift as well.…
- Reviewed by Mom blog [link]
“For the best flavor, most fruit should not be picked until fully ripe, says Stella Otto, Michigan-based horticulturist and author of “The Backyard Berry Book.” When picking your favorite fruit, Otto recommends handling with care.….…”
View more tips for the ins and outs of How to Pick and Prep Fruits on this great slide show.
- Mom.Me [ link ]
“If you want to add fruit to your edible landscape, the Backyard Berry Book and the Backyard Orchardist are excellent primers.
Stella Otto certainly knows fruit. A professional horticulturist and former orchard and farm market owner for 25 years, she’s grown just about every fruit that’s possible to grow in Michigan. In the Backyard Berry Book and the Backyard Orchardist she shares her expertise in simple, clear terms that the novice gardener will understand, and the intermediate gardener will appreciate. Each book is full of illustrations, charts and specific instructions for growing the most common fruits in North America.
…I sure wish I’d read the Backyard Orchardist when I was having problems with infections in my pear trees, because I may not have had to cut them down. Oh well.”
– Todd Heft, BigBlogOfGardening.com [ link ]
“I had never really considered fruit trees before opening The Backyard Orchardist. I guess I thought that was only for other states and not NJ. (Funny we go to apple farms to pick apples but it never crossed my mind.) I believe this book will be especially useful when we have a bit of land to take on this adventure. It is literally filled with information from starting out to dealing with problems.”
– Lisa Rupertus, AsTheyGrowUp.com [ link ]
“…Some of the best diagrams and charts in the book show what pears and apple trees can be cross pollinated and are disease free. Both of these are really great to help you make the RIGHT (and budget conscious) decision on what trees to plant! She also has a whole chapter for container gardening for those that don’t have large back yards. If you want to grow fruit trees, THIS is the book to get!”
– Nicole Henke, Bless Their Hearts Mom [ link ]
“How to Select Healthy Fruit Trees and Berry Bushes for Your Fruit Garden article by Stella Otto posted 6/7/13.”
– Nicole Henke, BlessTheirHeartsMom [ link ]
“Selecting Healthy Fruit Trees & Berry Bushes article by Stella Otto posted.”
– Gardens West Magazine [ link ]
“How to Select Healthy Fruit Trees and Berry Bushes for Your Fruit Garden Guest Post by Stella Otto posted.”
– AsTheyGrowUp.com [ link ]
“World Wisdom: Healthy Fruit Trees and Bushes for Your Garden article by Stella Otto posted.”
– Motherhood Moment [ link ]
“…This easy-to-read book is a useful educational tool that gives one the confidence and knowledge to actually attempt to grow a fruit bearing tree in their yard that they can enjoy and eat for years to come.”
– Conny Crisalli, BookPleasures.com [ link ]
“From an article, Quirky, Perhaps, But Easy to Grow (and Fun to Eat)…STELLA OTTO, a Michigan horticulturist, wrote The Backyard Orchardist: A Complete Guide to Growing Fruit Trees in the Home Garden. With more than 25 years of experience growing fruit, she’s been an orchard manager and a farming-workshop leader. ‘Hardy kiwifruit are novel but easy. The smooth-skinned fruit tastes both sweet and tangy.…’”
– Avital Binshtock, Sierra [ link ]
“While it’s difficult to do a lot outdoors in your garden during the winter, time can be spent with some good books that will get you ready for spring. Here are some of my recommendations.…The Backyard Orchardist by Stella Otto (OttoGraphics). Thorough but non-technical, this easy-to-read and well-illustrated handbook covers all aspects of home orchard selection, planting and maintenance. A Benjamin Franklin Award winner, this book is so helpful to beginning orchard owners that we sell it at our nursery.”
– Steve Boehme, owner of GoodSeed Nursery & Landscape, The Chillicothe Gazette and The Clermont Sun [ link ]
“Trend #1 Grow Your Own
With the ever-increasing emphasis on healthy eating, organic produce and sustainable living, gardeners everywhere are trying their hand at producing their own fruits and vegetables. Stella Otto, the ‘Backyard Fruit Gardener’, says the trend is really taking off with younger gardeners.
‘As the generation of mid 20s to early 30s grows up, they are coming full circle and embracing the roots of their post-hippie generation parents. They are returning to the homestead concept, but with a decidedly urban flair of their own. Many are digging into the urban homesteading and farming movement with the intent to become food self-sufficient and ecologically sustainable.’
Otto is particularly excited about growing unusual berries not commonly found in the supermarket, such as:
- Yellow raspberries
- Gooseberries
- Lingonberries
Other less-common fruit suitable for the backyard gardener are blueberries, kiwi, grapes and currants. Of course, every gardener needs to choose varieties suitable to his or her own climate and lifestyle. ”
– Michelle Ullman, IdealHomeGarden.com [ link ]
“‘Beauty & the Feast: Discover 8 eye-catching vines for your garden and backyard that are as deliciously fruitful as they are beautiful’ by Jessica Walliser appears in the March/April 2012 issue of Hobby Farm Home. Stella Otto is quoted several times, along with mention of her books–Backyard Orchardist and Backyard Berry Book.”
– Hobby Farm Home
“Stella Otto was interviewed 5/12/11 by Martha Stewart Living garden editors Tony Bielaczycon the Homegrown radio show. Homegrown is live every Tuesday at 9 a.m. ET and Thursday at 1 p.m. ET on on Sirius 112.”
– Marthastewart.com, Homegrown
“The BacyYard Orchardist is thorough but non-technical. This easy-to-read and well-illustrated handbook covers all aspects of home orchard selection, planting and mantainance…this book is so helpful to beginner orchardists that we sell it at our nursery.”
– Steve Boehme, Chillicothe Gazette
“For every gardener desiring to add apples, pears, cherries, and other tree fruit to their landscape here are hints and solid information from a professional horticulturist and experienced fruit grower. The Backyard Orchardist includes help on selecting the best fruit trees and information about each stage of growth and development, along with tips on harvest and storage of the fruit. Those with limited space will learn about growing dwarf fruit trees in containers.
Appendices include a fruit-growers monthly calendar, a trouble-shooting guide for reviving ailing trees, and a resource list of nurseries selling fruit trees.”
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars: Extremely helpful! Just moved to a new home and wanted to start my plants off right. This book helped me not only in the selection of my plants, but where on my property it is best to plant them, and how to properly plant them. I also learned the correct ways of pruning and fertilizing each plant. I have found this book to be an invaluable tool to a beginning backyard gardener.
5 Stars: I found this book very thorough and informative for someone just learning about growing fruit and nut trees at home. It answered very nearly every one of my questions.”
– gardentipsnow.com
“Beautiful white apricot blossoms are a shimmering sight of early spring, and I think it’s a shame to miss out on the delicious summer fruit. But all fruit trees undergo a period of natural thinning, said Stella Otto, author of The Backyard Orchardist.…Otto suggested pesticides containing Imidan, although Ortho’s home orchard spray is also useful. Follow directions precisely. ”
– Linda Yang, Garden Q&A, The New York Times [ link ]
“…In The Backyard Orchardist, Otto treats fruit trees in a similar, comprehensive manner. This award-winning book won the coveted Benjamin Franklin Award. She has a wonderful chapter on growing fruit trees in containers. Do you have questions about harvest and storage? She answers that and much more.”
– Connie Krochmal, A FRUIT GARDENER’S BOOKSHELF, Suite101.com
“If you are an avid flower or vegetable grower, but missing out on the joys of fruit gardening, The Backyard Orchardist and The BackYard Berry Book are for you. With more than 16 years of hands-on experience, Stella Otto presents the methods and techniques to grow fruits and berries successfully. The BackYard Orchardist includes information on site selection, propagation, soil nutrition, pest control strategies and disease identification as well as specific information on apples, pears, cherries, apricots and more. It is one of the finest sources of fruit growing information available. Well written and bulging with information, it will fill a conspicuous void on any homestead. ”
– Countryside magazine [ link ]
“Also praised by Booklist, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Midwest Gardening, Fruit Gardener, Country Living Gardener, The Garden Gate: Newsletter for New England Gardeners, Rural Heritage, From the Ground Up, Small Scale Agriculture Today, and other newspapers, radio, and TV nationwide.”
“With author Otto as your guide, you might find yourself literally enjoying the fruits of your labors in a few short seasons.”
– The Bloomsbury Review
“Otto’s years of experience lends to a practical guide to growing fruit trees on a small scale.…one of the few (titles) to not only narrow the focus, but to address the special problems and successes of home cultivation.…”
– The Bookwatch
“A handy compendium.…”
– Small Press
“…fills a void in a area where there are few good books available…well worth its modest price…extremely helpful for anyone interested in growing fruit trees.”
– Choice
“A good down-to-earth–no pun intended–guide.…”
– Sacramento (CA) Bee
“.…pertinent chapters give detailed answers to a lot of questions…”
– Milwaukee (WI) Journal reprinted in The Ottawa Citizen
“…especially handy.…well-illustrated information.”
– Healthy News Newsletter
“Otto is a down-to-earth, no-nonsense author, and full of information.”
– Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch
“The Backyard Orchardist is a first rate effort and will fill a conspicuous void on the bookshelf.”
– Horticulture
“A fantastic book. It will really fill an informational void on this topic.”
– Julie Francke, Master Gardener Coordinator, Leelanau County (MI) Cooperative Extension
“…the finest reference (by far) for the beginner!”
– Ed Fackler, Rocky Meadow Orchard & Nursery
“…packed with down-to-earth information that the home gardener and master gardener crave.”
– Journal of Small Fruit and Viticulture
“If you’re even considering growing fruit, you’ll find Otto’s two books priceless resources. They contain everything you need to get started.…except the plants.”
– Lynn Byczynski, Editor, Growing for Market
“…If you’re still daydreaming about that backyard orchard, there are plenty of trees to pick from out there in garden land. But you’d be wise to buy a copy of The Backyard Orchardist and get smart first.”
– Huntsville (AL) Times
“This little gem is the finest single source of fruit growing information published to date.…very comprehensive.”
– Pomona, newsletter of the North American Fruit Explorers
“What we like most about this book is it isn’t intimidating.…Otto gently and convincingly enables us to realize that, yes, we can grow fruit successfully.…bulging with facts which can be put to work by both novice and experienced amateur fruit growers.”
– HortIdeas
Rodale Organic Gardening Book Club Alternate Selection
Garden Book Club Alternate Selection
Finalist for Best Garden Book, Benjamin Franklin Award
Winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award for Best First Book