We moved to our corner lot in NE Ohio last year, and I spent last spring and summer learning more about gardening on our land. I’ve helped my mom before and had some (failed) houseplants, so I’ve got a lot of lessons to learn.
Ideally, my husband and I want to move onto more land, and maybe (MAYBE) have a small orchard/berry patch for the kids, maybe for profit if we’re really good at it (I’d be surprised…). So, I want to start learning now so that I’m more prepared for if/when we reach that goal.
I doubt we’d leave zone 6B, we want to stay close to family, so I’m not as worried about those variables. For now I’m learning what’s worth growing, taste vs difficulty growing, what to watch out for and what to never repeat. I’m so glad this forum exists specifically, I’m on other general gardening forums but it can be hard to narrow down to such a specific topic when I want to learn different species/threats by name.
Anyway, thanks for existing, and I’ll post more soon!
@TNHunter That’s EXACTLY the kind of list I want, thank you! I’ll start looking at it and making a list of what I can handle!
Right now I’m thinking:
Cherries - we have a TON of natural cherries all around that produced a LOT of fruit last spring, I just don’t know what kinds they are. But it makes me hopeful that they’d “stick” if I planted them!
Plums - I love plums and would love to have them handy
Pears/Apples - I’d do either or both, I have to figure out which will do well, and where.
Ideally someday I’d also do almond or pecan trees, plus paw paw and maybe some kind of mulberry or elderberry tree. We have a peach tree on our neighbor’s property we can pick from, so I’m less worried about one of those for now.
Berries:
Blueberries (no thorns!)
Strawberries
Raspberries (have a shoot from last year but I don’t know if it survived the winter)
MAYBE blackberries - I get annoyed by the seeds
Some form of chokeberry or ground cherry, I really don’t know what I like.
Gooseberry/currants - I want to try them before I plant them.
I don’t know what rhubarb goes under, probably not fruit, but I forgot I wanted it last year so I really want it this year!
I have Gerardi dwarf… easy to keep 8-10 ft tall… produces delicious berries for near two months… No spray needed, low maintenance.
I also have silk hope, oscar, kip parker, lawson dawson. Adding 2-3 more this spring.
Many in more northern locations grow illinois everbearing
I have 12 varieties of persimmons. American, Hybrids and a couple asians. No spray needed.
In zone 6 you may have to stick to America and cold hardy hybrids like JT02.
Goumi bushes are easy to grow, fix nitrogen in the soil and make hundreds of tasty berries. No spray needed.
Here in my southern TN location. Strawberries ripen first… then goumi, then loganberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry.
All of those are no spray for me.
The mulberries ripen with raspberries, blueberries and blackberries.
Persimmons and figs and CHE fruit ripen iin the fall… i do not spray any of that but do bag figs… or Swd wasps hornet’s yellow jackets can cause fruit damage.
I really want to try persimmons, paw paws, goumi and Che fruit - I wanted to try mulberries last year but never found a branch low enough in my neighborhood. I’ll have to find good bags - do you have any you recommend?
@MamaHawk … you can find organza bags on amaon in various sizes.
I use 4x4 bags for figs and blueberries… and I have some larger bags too… like 6x9 that I use to bag clustters of grapes… or larger clusters of blueberries.
I bought some 3 years ago and I am still using the same bags. If you take care of them they will last a few years.
They work well to protect fruit from birds and insects.
I meant to visit there last Spring, maybe I’ll do it this year…towing a toddler and waddling with the one due in June…I’m full of great ideas, aren’t I?
@TNHunter Thank you! I like reusability so I’m really glad you can vouch for those bags; I’ll probably buy those after I figure out what plants I buy but they’re good to have on the list. Thanks!