Apperently this was a 2025 plan. I bought some cuttings from Marta at her scion sale. Kei apples, carob, feijoa and loquat. Kei apples I will be attempting to root and carob, feijoa and loquat I will be attempting to graft. Which means another focus of mine in 2026 will be learning how to graft! I have been wanting to learn for a while and just haven’t had the time, rootstock and scionwood to. Now I do!
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ive seen good results with the just place them on the ground and bury them in hay method aka ruth stout method. Sort of best of both worlds in my experience. though easier with straw
Video on the method below
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My 2026 Plans…
Wife wants to try some raised beds instead of 5 gallon buckets for tomatoes. She also wants to grow cucumbers, squash, and probably some other veggies.
I have a Honeycrisp apple tree coming that is a replacement for a tree that was sent wrong back in 2021. I’m looking to add Granny Smith, Gold Rush, and Wolf River on M111. I have an extra M111 rootstock that I plan on starting a stool bed with.
Add Loring, CrestHaven, O Henry, and Saturn peaches on Wild plum rootstock.
I have Ponca, Caddo, Prime Ark Freedom, Apache, and an unknown blackberry from my neighbor (suspected to be Navajo) growing to be planted in the spring. I need to add 2 more rows to accommodate the new blackberries.
I have a list of 10-12 Plums/Pluots that I would like to add, but will probably narrow that down to 5 or 6 for 2026 and then add more later.
I have a spot in our landscaping next to the house that I would like to add a couple of dwarf/patio nectarines.
I’m also thinking of trying Cherries again. I tried about 4 years ago and failed miserably.
I think that is all my fruit related projects for 2026. I have many other projects around my property/house that need to be done/completed.
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If you have room, some willows are smaller trees and if you get a cutting of a proven “Pussy” willow you can have early pollen. I got a Scouler willow (native to the far West) male for that reason. Also, Susan Poizner in/near Toronto wrote willow is one of two preferred sources for home chipping mulch to facilitate fruit tree health and productivity.
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I love Susan Poizner. She is one of my favorite podcasters. I love her stories about her orchard in the city park. She is easy to listen to.
I am trying to buy nothing new. Just maintain what I have and enjoy it. It’s quite a table spread now thanks to this forum.
This forum is probably my favorite place for down time.
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I’ve been planning in my mind where everything is going. Been wanting to put things in ground and waiting for him to help all year but apparently this was all planned by him to make me wait indefinitely. I just recently found this out so I’ll be on my own next year. On a good note, my endometriosis is mostly taken care of for the time being so I’m not feeling like I’m getting stabbed every day for hours at a time now 
Been waiting almost a year now for chip drop and nothing for me.
Main thing will be to put the fence up to try to keep the deer out and try to lay down more grass and clover. Still have a little bit of area to clear up overall.
I’m adding maybe 1 more pear tree to my orchard aside from the summer blood birne that I have preordered. Going to add maybe 3 pawpaws but at least 2 in some corner. Maybe getting 2 or 4 more feijoas once i figure out where i want to put the 35 that i already have 
also want to add a few jujubes as well, maybe 2 or 3 trees, not sure. Or 4. Also hoping to add at least 3 hazelnut trees as well. Hazelnuts and macadamia nuts are my favorite nuts but it looks like I can only grow hazelnuts out of the two.
Got a few more fig cuttings coming as well. I think I’ve collected all the brambles that I wanted and was looking for so I’m happy with that. Figured out my strawberry selections as well last year but may do a few small trials this year of a few varieties.
Been thinking of getting my nursery license as well and helping to supply the nearby nurseries with fig cuttings to help make up for the ex.
I’ll be planting a few peach seeds of my favorites and some feijoa as well. Other than that, I’m almost fully done with my collection of things for my food forest for the most part.
Also hoping to partner up with a few local businesses and non profits to share the excess berries.
I found a few garter snakes and skinks last year and a big garter snake this year. I’m planning on making some rock formations for them to hang out in aside from my driveway and the rocks there. Really hoping I can get a more balanced predator habitat going her as well. I had bunnies jumping for joy and playing every night in my front yard and only 1 owl hanging around. The snakes have been keeping the mice population down for the most part. The bats are finally back to help with the night time bugs before i left which was nice.
Overall, few more trees but almost done overall with collecting them. Few more figs, maybe get someone to help put up a greenhouse as well since I’ve been abandoned. Fencing needs to go up, hoping a cute little possum family decides to move in nearby. Create a more balanced ecosystem and live in coexistence with nature. I want chickens and ducks but i don’t want the responsibility of them… they may come in the next few years after all the fruits are put in. Also need to figure out where i want my garden beds as well.
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For 2026 I ordered lots of scion wood, rootstock, and other assorted plants(yes I’m broke now).
Apples,
100 seedling apple rootstock,
50 G890 colonial rootstock,
41 ish disease resistant apple scions,
10 Unlabeled 2 yo select apple/crabapple from blue hill wildlife nursery,
Assorted crabapple seeds from different places,
Thousand of seeds from goldrush, crimson crisp, and winecrisp (fruit not from my trees).
Pears,
100 ohfx 97 rootstock,
10 birch leaf pear seedlings for rootstock,
29 ish Asian and European pear scions,
A few feral pear seedlings for rootstock,
Seed from large and small fruited feral pear.
Stone fruits,
20 Saint Julian A rootstock ( compatible with plum, peach, and apricot).
Persimmon,
10 4-5 foot American persimmon trees.
Bamboo,
Golden giant timber bamboo,
Spectablilis bamboo.
Mulberry,
10 morus alba seedlings for rootstock.
Nuts,
8 pounds of assorted chestnut seeds,
10 American chestnut seeds,
1 pound of Howard Persian walnuts,
2 pounds of European filbert seeds,
2 pounds of northern pecan seeds,
Lots of black walnut seeds ranging from smaller than a dollar coin to a little smaller than a tennis ball.
Figs,
3 Chicago hardy cutting from @TNHunter,
2 Celeste and 2 unknown cuttings from @Lish.
Grapes,
I contacted Grayson state university in Texas about their free Munson grape cuttings but haven’t heard back since putting in my request in august.
Things I want to get if I can figure out how to make money appear from thin air 
,
Willow cuttings, female figs and caprifigs, pawpaw scions, more pear scions, jujube seeds, trifoliate citrus seeds, and honeyberries. (Along with other stuff)
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Sorry to hear about your situation @Melon.
My aunt also got divorced recently from her abusive husband. But life is better for her and my cousins.
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This is for the best. I would’ve never left on my own cause I’m too stubborn like that
I have no focus. only chaos.
I have 2 blueberry bushes that I need to up-pot over the winter; Legacy and Alapaha. I have 3 more on preorder from Isons; Titan, Krewer, and Vernon. If there is a group Hartmann’s order for some blueberries, I might get a few more. maybe Hannah’s Choice and Sweetheart
I have 3 pear trees (Korean Giant on OHxF333, Honey Asian on OHxF333, and Ayers on Provence Quince) that will go in the ground since now they are in dormancy. I got them as custom bench grafts from 39th parallel this spring and have been babying them in grow bags so far this year. they are in my garage now with my potted figs and 2 blueberries. I was planning on doing it this month but we have been having very unseasonably cold weather and the ground is likely quite frozen. gonna have to wait for a warm spell.
I have the following custom bench grafted pears on pre-order from 39th parallel:
Potomac on Provence Quince
Warren on Provence Quince
Douglas on Provence Quince
Turnbull on Provence Quince
Magness on Provence Quince
I’ll be prepping grow bags for them to go in when I get them this spring.
I also ordered 2 additional Provence quince rootstocks from 39th and I’m trying to get scion wood for Acres Home and Southern King that could be grafted to them (possibly with an inter stem)
I have scionwood from the following apple trees on order that I plan to attempt to graft to a wild crabapple
Arkansas black (spur)
Black Limbertwig
Yates
Butterball
Someone on the forum offered me some candy crab that I will be reaching out to as well to try grafting that too.
My Grimo 89 died so I’ll be ordering a replacement soon. I might also get a Grimo 146. If I do, I will have all of the grimo bred heartnut cultivars (75, 89, 94, 99, and 146)
I’m going to steer clear of fig cuttings this year. I went way overboard on them last year and as a result I have a ton of unsold clones I made last year in my garage. I might propagate a few of the ones I already own, but not nearly as many.
I got a dymo M-3 label maker on Ebay a few months ago so I need to figure out how to work that (it sticks every 13th press) and start making labels for everything.
I plan to plant 13-15 of my fig trees in ground this spring.
Also I just remembered I might also be transplanting my gooseberries from their in ground location to growbags for a season.
I want to pivot back to my veggie garden next year as it was wildly neglected. re-do the drip system, put new landscape fabric in, and build new supports for the tomatoes. maybe a new fence/trellis too.
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Oh boy! Please tell me where you sourced, Golden giant timber bamboo?
I have been looking for a couple types of bamboo with no luck. I really want to get Giant Timber Bamboo, Bambusa Oldhamii as well as Seabreeze Bamboo,
Bambusa Malingensis
Thank you in advance!
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I ordered it at burnt ridge nursery. I think it was 49 dollars not including shipping.
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I didn’t even think of looking there! I should have remembered they have bamboo…
Oh my. I spent a full year removing a small patch of bamboo from one part of my property. Now when I hear about people planting bamboo I shudder…
I also have a large patch I don’t think I can remove and I’m trying to contain it. I have to make a deep trench. The people I’ve talked to say I need to either line it with something very tough or just leave it open and cut roots.
The bamboo completely choked out everything else in that area. But if I remove the bamboo the earth there will be completely destabilized.
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I’m going to say the 2026 focus is apples! (but the to do list is very, very long and there’s loads of other stuff on it).
I’ve been slowly renovating and restoring parts of my neglected orchard. I planned to do the 11 apple trees last because I thought I didn’t like apples. Then, I decided I needed to try a bunch of apples. Otherwise, how would I know if I liked what I was growing or if it was any good?
Turns out that I like apples. I’d just had too many bland and blah ones from the grocery store. I ordered 16 different kinds of scion to topwork my trees. All of them chosen completely by description and only one of which I’ve now tried (goldrush). I also got some rootstock to fill in blank spaces. Wish me luck!
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What apple varieties are you gambling on?
Sweet 16, Pinova, Pitmaston Pineapple, Ashmead’s Kernel, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Hawaii, Frostbite, Swiss Limbertwig, Brushy Mountain Limbertwig, Court Pendu Plat, Sundance, King David, Enterprise, Goldrush, and Black Oxford.
I am suspecting some will not be very successful (eg. Cox’s Orange) but figured I’d at least give it a shot.
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It’s actually easy to manage if you know what it wants to do
Just need to get rid of shoots during a very condensed window in spring when they produce shoots for several years consecutively, otherwise no issues
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Unfortunately, humans die and get injured and sell property. Whoever owns it next may not be so on top of it
I think for cox’s orange pippin, success all depends on location. Mine is doing better than its sport, cherry cox which seemed to have even more problems with rust this past year. Cherry cox is supposed to be more disease resistant, but mine are doing poorly. Maybe yours will be happy!
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