I don’t know about any of these! Thanks I’ll research.
Chestnut is such a great apple, and it does well in New England.
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Thanks, saving this chestnut crabapple recommendation!
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Thank you @jcguarneri your advice is really helpful.
Re educating neighbors… how does one do that without coming across as snotty or pushy?
Also, I was thinking to put informational placards, and was just wondering if I should put a little laminated photo of what ripe looks like for that plant. Is that a thing people do?
I like your idea of having just enough border and lawn for it all to read as tended rather than wild. Do you think one of those arching trellises might be a good visual indicator too?
I read a book that said that when living with traditional suburban neighbors, it’s best to get a Natl Wildlife Fed certified garden sign up as soon as possible. It lets people know that you’re not a lazy jerk, but that there’s a method (and a higher authority - no not God but a bureaucracy that certifies stuff) and even a virtue at play. It took me awhile to work my way through the checklist, but I just completed it recently.
Here is one of the fancy wildlife habitat brushpiles that my kiddo helped me build.
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I am starting a small orchard that is part of a subdivision. (Zone 7a/b) I will be growing fruit that most of my neighbors have never tasted or even heard of. Jujube, Pawpaw, Persimmon (Asian and Hybrid), Pineapple Guava and Goumi. Some they have heard of but not these cultivars (Asian Pear, Kiwi).
When I start getting a few fruits then I will offer them as part of a tasting event. Bring a spoon and a small bowl and try something new. Eventually I will have it as a pick your own and also offer to local caterers for novelty deserts and ice creams.
As for placards I was thinking of using QR Codes which are free. Let them use their smart phones. I need to gather data on the various trees and bushes.
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Another garden gal here (Lakes Region NH, 5b) - I have two rows of raspberries and they don’t seem to sow away from the rows. I contain them by just mowing around them every week as they are in my yard and not in a plotted garden. One of my hay fields is right nearby so maybe that acts as a buffer? It is between the raspberries and my neighbor. My raspberries are so easy; I don’t know the variety unfortunately. I cut out dead canes and pull out weeds, that’s about it. My property is on a water table so that helps immensely with irrigation; I never have to do it with established plantings. You have made a great start and I like your idea - best wishes for a fruitful garden!
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I made a hobby of of adding edibles to the public parks. I started by dealing with the invasive Bradford pears. I cut very small trees down and put Tordon on the stumps to prevent suckers. Larger trees I graft to Asain pears. They don’t even cut up the dead trees that are on the park. I plug them with edible mushrooms. I plant fruit trees with multiple varieties so they all are self pollinating. Reintroducing Pawpaws to their native woods. Having a good time. It will interesting when they start producing edibles. I suspect people on their desperation and ignorance they will pick them all before they even ripen. Going to talk to city officials and see if I can get a program started to get greater awareness and possibly get the fruit to the food bank . Perhaps get the community involved in doing something beneficial to the city.
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That’s a really neat idea using QR codes to link to plant data
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That’s so cool!!! No HOA prohibitions?
I own the subdivision of two lots which is next to a much larger subdivision. No HOA here. It used to be in the county and was owned by a couple who I bought it from. Now it is in the city. Built on one lot 20 years ago and am now making this one my retirement plan.
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Very cool. I like your retirement plan.
We only have 3/4 of an acre, but it abuts to a neighbor’s 10 acres of woods. (Ha! “Only” says the former apartment dweller)
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Thank you to everyone who generously contributed thoughts!
One of my very favorite things in the world is to talk to folks who have this whole hidden universe of knowledge squirreled away inside, on topics I know little about. This forum is lovely.
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I am in Zone 6B and although i have a different layout for my orchards and food forests… alot of my thought process came from watching The Permaculture Orchard. He (Stephan Sobkowiak) has a great youtube channel as well. He follows Bill Mollison for the most part and has alot of trial and error learnings over 30 years.
Since you are just starting i think it would be wise to start with things that are precocious and bear fruit quickly and add other things that take a bit of time.
I would start with one or two grape vines, a few strawberries, a couple of black raspberries, red raspberries and blackberries. Each one of these will give you many plants that you can expand or give away or sell.
Each one commands attention to prune or thin however. Same with fruit trees… you will have to prune and also train branches.
If you really want to feed a community propagation is key. With just a small amount of plants you can really share alot of food.
Dont forget about the pollinators and the natural predators that keep your food forest healthy.
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Thanks, I just subscribed to the Permaculture Orchard on YouTube. Appreciate the pointer!
I think I have the pollinators covered (or will when I get the hellebores in), that was year one.
How do I encourage the natural predators?
EdibleAcres sounds like a youtube channel up your alley. They have a mature permcaulture system going in the Ithaca area.
I second TN’s recommendation of Goumi for a beginner. The fruit is just ok but it WILL succeed and give you a crop immediately. That will do wonders for your gardening morale. It’s the ultimate permaculture berry and I think the plant is very attractive.
I think Volume 2 of “Edible Forest Gardens” is the single best reference book for permaculture plants. I would pass on the 1st volume if you have all those other books. Gaia’s Garden will give you anything you need there. There’s good basic permaculture theory to be learned but a lot of junk specifics that are aesthetics based or holdovers from a different climate or time. I like the “permaculture adjacent” stuff by people like Lee Reich or Robert Kourik. Glad to see you got the Reich book…he is a great resource for your region. You can interact with him on his blog.
I was definitely inspired by permaculture and i’m just kind of on my own experimental ride now. I’m still ecologically minded but my main goal now is just to find stuff I can grow no-spray that thrives in my climate.
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Pollinators covered- take a look into bee hotels etc. Also planting things that bloom early like willow etc to get the ball rolling.
Predators- birds. Its nice to have insect eating birds that need to feed their young… also hummingbirds eat alot of aphids and SWD… up to 2000 a day supposedly.
The Permaculture Orchard:Beyond Organic is also a video on amazon… also if it interests you The Biggest Little Farm kinda touches base on some issues.
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Nobody ever talks about buffalo berry… which is supposedly a wonderful nitrogen fixer with health benefits, and a food source. Also a food source (superfood?) and cover for birds etc. I am going to try it next year.
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Instead of bee hotels, try leaving Aster and Mint family flower stalks over the winter, then cutting them back to 10" stubs. That provides a lot of bee homes without the pest and disease issues the bee hotels have. Also, bare ground is important for ground-nesting bees.
@IntrepidNewbie hellebores are a good start, but you’ll want plants blooming over as long a period as possible, and from a variety of taxa. Many of our native pollinators are only active for a few weeks, each species at a different part of the year. Also, many of them require pollen from a specific genus of plants to feed their young. They will pollinate other plants, but require that specific pollen for their young. If you take care of the specialist pollinators, your generalists and beneficials should also be all set. The aster, carrot, and mint families will be your real workhorses, but you’ll also want some other things to cover April-June more thoroughly. Some good examples of plants to include are willows, goldenrods, Silphiotrichum asters, Monardas, anise hyssop, New Jersey tea, native columbine, black-eyed Susan, and Echinacea. These are all native or native-ish to New England and will cover a wide swath of time and pollinators. Sweet goldenrod (solidago odora), NJ tea, Monarda, and anise hyssop all make good tea or culinary herbs. Having a good mix of the common culinary herbs and letting them bloom will also help a lot. Many of the plants I’ve listed are also attractive to hummingirds. There are many other good selections, but if you get that list together, you’ll have a pretty good start. Check out Prairie Moon nursery for a lot of good options to fill in the gaps. They also sell collections of plants and seeds with different habitat types in mind.
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