Hi, newbgarden, and welcome to the gardenweb! I recommend that you take the guesswork out of your enterprise by getting in touch with your county office of the UT Agricultural Extension Service. Most Tennessee counties have agents or master gardeners who specialize in fruit production, and these folks can be of enormous help to you. If you need particulars, shoot me an e-mail. Misterbaby.

misterbaby puts a lot more faith in university types than I do. They tend to have a mind set for commercial scale and NOT organic methods. Back yard growing is very different.
That said, you asked a lot of questions, and more than can be answered in one post. I recomend starting with reading back on some of the many good blog\thread\posts that you can find right here at garden web. Here are some brief responses to your questions:

---When is a good time to plant (especially the trees)?
Most come as bare root and that is usually the cheapest way to get good trees

---What's the best way to ensure your newly planted tree survives?
First, planting it right. there are several good posts here about that
Second, water, most trees die because the roots dry out before planting or because of too much or too little water after. Depends on your location, slope, soil and rainfall. talk to neighbors that have the same soil as you.
Last, soil is like a bank, you build it and it yields returns. I recomend organic mulching to build a great soil.

---When and how do you prune? (this is one that gets me, especially the 'how' part)
There is a LOT of chat about that. and its a little different for different kinds of trees. again, check the many good posts here already, then come back and post your specific questions about things you didn't understand or need more info about.

---Typical length of time before you can expect fruit?
some trees will try to make fruit even the first year. You should remove that and let the tree develop branches and strength the first year. Even the second and third year, don't let much stay on, thin it a lot. Build a great tree first, then you will have great fruit for years to come

---How do you encourage good fruit growth (my friend has a peach that rusts all the time, and there is barely any flesh around the pit)
Again, this starts with a great soil. Next there are specific remedies for specific trees and specific regions. Start with reading some of the posts hear about rust on peaches, for instance, and you will find lots of answers. Use the search feature and then check back with your questions.

---What kind of ground do they like, amendments? (we have heavy red clay here that is on the acidic side--wild onions and strawberries seem to like it)
That is a great question. You give some detail about your soil and it shows your observing and that is the hallmark of a great gardener. Soil tests are helpful but can only tell you so much. As I mentioned, I recomend mulching, and mulch has a way of tempering soil and adding lots of nutrients and other value. Check out threads about mulch and organic gardening.

---And, last but not least, what varieties do you suggest?
Hopefully some folks from your region will give their offerings for their fav's.

I wanted to throw in my newbie advice. I started about six years ago. Gardenweb is a fantastic resource, along with your state extension service, and other articles on the web or books to round you out.

Specific to my learning curve, I researched varieties of apples and pears and bought disease resistant varieties. But I didn't know what I didn't know. So I have one disease resistant variety that is highly resistant to fireblight but susceptible to cedar apple rust, and another variety that is the reverse. The trees met the nurseries claims at one level, but not really. I've also learned to manage the diseases, and I do have some varieties that are all around disease resistant. I won't recommend varieties because my trees (planted as one year old whips, on Mlll root stock) are 4 years old now and I haven't had an apple yet (some on the trees this year, and I expect much more in the following years).

Blueberries/raspberries and figs seem to invincible. Your winter might add a point or two on difficulty for figs.

My grape varieties are Mars and Venus, seedless table grapes with some disease resistance, they start bearing heavy the third year.

Part of the enjoyment for me has been the learning as you go. You have good questions. Soil prep and varieties are the first things you need to come to, and you'll have some time to learn the others as you go.

Good luck.

- Robert

You've listed eight different fruits, which is fine, but time consuming. Start with planting one or two the first year, and add one more each successive year. The reason I say this is not that the planting is a lot of work, but the maintenance each year IS a lot of work. Go slowly until you become adept at the needs of each fruit.

Enjoy your garden.

Thank you all for your input.

I did indeed intend to start slowly. The hard part is deciding which I would like to try first. I'm leaning toward cherry or peach.

The first year, I would start with blueberries and/or blackberries and a pear tree. They are the easiest in our climate, plus the blueberries and blackberries will be quick to reward your efforts.

The best time to plant is generally in the late fall, so you have several months to research and plan.

I can't give you much advice because your growing conditions are so different from mine.

If your soil is acidic, you have a good chance of growing blueberries. They are easy to grow, healthful, and delicious.

Don't believe what the nurseries say about their plants. It is their job to sell plants, so every variety they sell is "the best one ever".

Your state extension website will have articles that recommend varieties for your area and give a more realistic description of the plant and fruit.

Ask local gardeners what they are growing and how the fruit is doing for them.

Rootstocks seem to do best in specific regions. What I use in Oregon doesn't seem to be used on the east coast and what you use, I've never heard of.

Go to Garden Watchdog to check on the reputation of nurseries. There are plant files on daves garden that are free to use and give evaluations of many types of plants.

Ask here, on this website, about the varieties of plants you are considering.

My vote is to plant all at once. My reasoning is that every time you bring in a plant from outside, you risk bringing in disease.

Get you plants and then close the herd to outside influences. But that means you must study carefully so that you know what plants you want to grow.

Sorry but only 2 comments - on the small fruits, take the time to amend your soil for a year or maybe 2 and keep the weeds beaten down during that period, then plant. I finally managed to do that myself starting 2 years ago and planting Caroline raspberry last (09) spring, it has payed off handsomely.

Soil tests can't tell you everything but they can tell you an awful lot if the samples are properly taken. Knowing little to nothing about your soil, I highly recommend sampling it down to the depth of the root zone of your anticipated crops and go from there. County Extension may not be able to interpret the results for specific fruit crops but they may be able to point you in the direction of the information. Having the test results in hand will also allow you to ask questions of others in your search for knowledge. Simply saying a heavy clay soil certainly means something but is only a beginning, keep looking for answers and don't give up even when you think you have them!