Introducing myself to Scott's forum

Thanks @Ruben. So funny we had the same thoughts about being here in Virginia. I actually went to your area and picked up a few Hogs Island fig trees I am now growing. They are tasty little figs. Many of them dropped the first year for me but I ate a few. I have one in the ground and one in a pot.

Ironically, on my way home I stopped by Cape Charles to see the town and it was so nice I had to walk around a bit and took a drive around town. I found a fig tree and knocked on the door of the owner and they shared the story and a few figs and cuttings.

If I ever come down again I can share it with you. And the same if you come to Northern VA.

.

1 Like

So funny we had the same thoughts about being here in Virginia. Lol itā€™s true!
Iā€™m glad that you had some of them already, I just acquired one couple years ago but as you know they are many out there that we donā€™t know about them!
Yes Cape Charles is a nice town, Iā€™m glad that you had the opportunity to visit.

Thanks for your offer, If I happen to go up that way Iā€™ll let you know as well if you come back this way let me know. Take care

1 Like

Tell me about your unknown figs?
Only early ripe figs work for me in the Puget Sound lowlands.

Hi. It seems most of the figs I have found in Virginia ripen in August. I am testing one I found in Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore which I am not sure about yet. This next season I will know more about that one.

2 Likes

Hi everyone, stumbled upon this fantastic forum researching what fruit tree to plant in my recently purchased home in Long Island NY.

6 Likes

Welcome Jim! I think you will find that one tree will turn into as many as you can fit in the yard without your neighbors or your family getting upset! I started with a few pawpaws and a persimmon 2 years ago and Iā€™m planning on dozens more (apples, mulberry, quince, jujube and more) this spring. My suggestion with the heavy clay would be trying to incorporate some sand or other materials in the immediate area and remove clay, but I am not an expert on the topic.

1 Like

Welcome aboard, Jim. This forum is a right place for you if I may say so.

However, if you donā€™t mind, please post your questions in the General Fruit Growing category. In doing that, you will attract more viewers who will be happy to help you.

This thread is for an introduction so we would like to keep it that way.

By the way, I think we have some members from Long Island if my memory serves me right.

4 Likes

Hi Everyone! Iā€™m Mike. Iā€™m from southern Anne Arundel county zone 7B in Maryland. Been into gardening since I was a kid. Studied Economics with a biology minor in college and grew a garden right in the middle of my parentā€™s backyard after my freshman year. my gardening obsession died down in my 20s but got really into it when my wife and I bought our first home in 2015 on 2.25 acres. been building larger and more complex vegetable gardens each year since weā€™ve lived here. I just got certified as a Maryland master gardener intern this fall. just need to complete my volunteer hours to become a full fledged master gardenerā€¦but I still have sooo much to learn.

This is the first year Iā€™m thinking of planting perennial fruiting trees and shrubs on the property and wanted to join so I could pick the brains of my fellow gardeners. Iā€™ve been doing research on some less common fruiting trees/shrubs for over a year now. I have a tendency to overthink things and get stuck in analysis paralysis so maybe talking about it can give me the confidence I need to get my first tree/shrub in the ground.

my biggest challenge is time. I work full time as a project manager and have a 4 year old and a 5 month old so finding the time to go out more often than once a week can be difficult task. Looking for fruit trees/shrubs that require less maintenance, no spraying and have good natural disease and pest resistance in my area. some other challenges include an excess of Walnut trees that cause juglone poisoning and Cedars that are known carriers of cedar apple rust (I see the galls each spring). Iā€™m a big guy with bad knees and ankles so I have some mobility issues as well.

my current interests include strawberries, alpine strawberries, U of Saskatchewan Bush cherries, gooseberry, jostaberry, currants, goumi berry, pawpaw, jujube, hardy kiwi, persimmons, blueberries, and figs.

14 Likes

Since Iā€™m first, start on some pawpaws! They are not bothered by walnuts, are not bothered by pests or diseases (generally), and are the largest native fruit to North America! see my website for more information www.growing-pawpaw.webnode.com and additionally there is a thread started here. Just search growing pawpaw. Serviceberry is another option near walnuts.

1 Like

Mike,
Welcome to the forum. You are on the right track based on your list of less-issued fruit trees. However, it would be good if you could have opportunities to try some of pawpaws, jujubes, persimmons or even figs to find out if you like them.

I know people who planted those trees because they heard other people singing praises of those fruit. Then, they have been disappointed because they donā€™t like the taste or texture, or smell or all of the above.

I have friends who donā€™t like pawpaws or persimmonse at all. You never know.

Please ask away on our main General Fruit Growing category. We have some members who are Master Gardeners. Glad youā€™ve found us.

3 Likes

Pawpaws are on the top of the list but Iā€™ve never had one and I read they can take a long time to produce fruit. I would hate to spend years growing them only to dislike the fruit. wish I could get my hands on some of the popular named varieties. serviceberry is a no-go because of apple cedar rust susceptibility.

2 Likes

Hi Mike! Welcome! Iā€™m a new home owner myself and just purchased some currants and gooseberries because I read they were easy to take care of. Iā€™m sure more experienced people will chime in and we will both learn alot from the wealth of knowledge thats found on this forum.

3 Likes

Hello everyone, I introduce myself to the forum.
Iā€™m Jose, I live in Villarrobledo, a town in the central plateau of Spain, located in the region of Castilla la Mancha.
My region belongs to the climate zone 8a, and I have a fantastic fruit orchard of about three hectares (about 7.5 acres), which I have been forming over more than 20 years.
My business is hospitality, and I am the owner of a hotel restaurant.
Because in my country the laws regarding wastewater discharges are very strict, and my business is located outside the town, more than 30 years ago we installed a wastewater treatment plant, which generates a large amount of water. , which I use ecologically to water the green filter trees.
Logically instead of planting poplars, I decided to plant fruit trees (it is my passion).
Initially I was unaware of the fruit world, so I made countless mistakes, so I started reading, participating in forums, interacting with technicians in the fruit sector, and breeders in my country, learning every day.
Until today, that I continue to maintain the same or greater passion than when I started.
I have a wonderful family, and two fantastic daughters, the oldest is finishing the college career of Electronic Industrial Engineering, and my little daughter wants to be an architect, so her father has no choice but to work a lot hahahahahaha.
In my orchard there are innumerable varieties of almost all fruit genera, except the varieties that need soil with low pH, since in my region the pH of the soil is very high, for which I cannot grow Kiwis, or chestnut trees for example. .
My collections are very extensive, covering many fruit genres (peaches, flat peaches, nectarines, flat nectarines, cling peaches, almond trees, plums, pluots, plumcots, apriums, apricots, cherries, persimmons, apples, pears, pure Asian pears and hybrids , pistachios, etc ā€¦).
I hope to contribute all my knowledge in this fantastic forum, and help everyone who needs it as much as possible.
So I send a very cordial greeting to all of you.

Jose

P.s .: Sorry if my English is not very good

26 Likes

Iā€™ve had severe mummy berry problems with blueberries in my 7b climate (Georgia), and my guess is that itā€™s a growing problem in Maryland too. Fungicde sprays will probably be required. Mummy Berries in Blueberries | North Carolina Cooperative Extension

Welcome to the forum Jose! It is wonderful to see another accomplished orchardist among our ranks. I have much to learn from you and many others.

Welcome Jose. I am looking forward to reading about how orchards grow in Spain.

1 Like

Jose, this is Mrs.G. You live in Spain one of the finest fruit growing areas on our planet. We eat your oranges all winter long. We too grow many almonds, actually all nuts. I think you are too far south to grow chestnuts. I am in Provence and we grow them here. You need a bit colder climate perhaps. If you can grow pistachios, you cannot easily grow chestnuts.

2 Likes

Mucho gusto.
Tu tiene UVAā€™s?
Prefiero moscato.
I used to have a good sized vineyard in my back yard, and did a few hybrids of my grapes.

2 Likes

Hello everyone, thank you very much for this warm welcome.
Boizeau, yes, I have some varieties of grapes.
About 700 vines of the white variety Airen, which are destined for distillation and making a good homemade brandy, such as Italian grappa.

This variety

And as table grapes, I donā€™t want to be pretentious, but I have very good varieties of seedless grapes, for example these:

  • Cotton Candy
  • Starletta Seedless
  • Itumnine
  • Itumten
  • Itumtwelve
  • Adora Seedless
  • Scarlotta Seedless
  • Magenta
  • Allison
  • Sweet Celebration

I have ordered some varieties for this winter, such as:

  • Sweet Sapphire
  • Funny Finger
  • K2
    and some varieties of Chinese and Japanese origin
    -Linlong
    -Kyoho
    -Tianshan
    etcā€¦
    And in a short time I will increase this type of varieties, since I have friends who work in this sector of seedless grapes.

Regards
Jose

10 Likes

Welcome to the fruit growing forum Jose! I am interested in learning about the different varieties of fruits that you grow, specially the top varieties of each fruit type. Personally, I love most fruits, and stone fruits are my favorites along with mangoes! Perhaps you can start a new post to tell us about your wonderful orchard!