What if anything fruit or berry wise could I plant in the lowest part of the orchard? It was dug out to build up the for cement floor for the barn foundation back in 1974. The entire orchard drains here.
I was thinking I could just keep on cleaning it out with the tractor, chip up for wood chips, cut firewood and have it available for all the dirt we would ever need. Right now I’m just scooping bucket fulls out along three of the outside edges to fill in low spots in the orchard, fill up raised beds and holes around the farm. It’s also to direct water along the three edges so it drain into the pond. But also to keep the north side entrance open for the tractor to get in and out of.
Odd that you would mention pawpaw. My neighbor just offered me several wild pawpaw she picked that are growing about 20 acres away. She only had 5 ripe ones so i refused.
It hasn’t rained in 5 weeks and its more than dry enough to get the tractor in there to start cleaning it up. I’m hoping that scooping out buckets of dirt along the edges will help it drain better. Its stays pretty wet most of the year. Late winter/early spring there is standing water, what doesn’t drain into the pond.
The pond is on the east side of a berm that I need to repair because it has erroded. Since i’m going to have to repair the berm anyways I could put a drainage pipe in the berm to keep the standing water in this area to a minimum.
Elderberries are the most tolerant of truly flooded soil.
If it only gets waterlogged in spring for a couple weeks Plums on many rootstocks or apples on M111 would do fine so long as you made a mound 3-5’ in diameter and 2-3’ high for the root crown to breathe
Elderberry, persimmon, blueberry, cranberry, lingonberry, Viburnums (multiple edible), and plenty of pollinator support options like Joe Pye, Ironweed, Thin leaved mountain mint, plenty of spring ephemeral flowers for early support.
It’s all the free dirt we would ever need… and I plan on keeping some of it clear for dirt. I’ve already filled in all but one low spot around the farm with the dirt. I need to get the chainsaw out and finish cleaning up, theres some big trees to drop still. But that’s for when its cooler outside, ac in the cab of the tractor is too nice right now. I am looking forward to more firewood and wood chips👍I hope willow is good for wood chips, it doesn’t burn hot enough to be of useful for firewood.
I think I decided on a few on a few pawpaw and maybe some high bush cranberry. I just dont know what varieties yet. I’m all ears if anyone wants to share pawpaw or high bush cranberries varieties they like.
What about a series of swales and raised beds like this guy is doing… the swales help manage the extra water run off… and it looks like you could grow just about any fruit tree, bush, canes, vines in the raised ground along the swale.
