im extremely happy. been looking to buy a small piece of plant able land for awhile now. a couple that just bought 140 acres right next to me offered me 3 acres to do what i wish with. it used to be grazing land for milking cows 40 yrs ago but has been in soil bank since then. its on slightly sloping ground and gets over 12hrs of sun a day. these folks want to give back to the local community so i agreed to donate a portion of what i grow to the needy. the rest i can sell for a profit. what easy to harvest fruit do you guys think i should grow? berries are quick to grow but very labor intensive . im thinking early fruiting apple cultivars. what apples set fruit fairly quick. im in a z4 growing zone. looking for low spray cultivars as well. dual purpose apples sell the best here.
Will they sign the 3 acres over to you? Asking this since i had a friend once in oklahoma get a large farm full of ditches from a family member. The house was not liveable. He fixed up the land and house. He filled the ditches with wood and plowed them shut. House was redone. The place was so nice the relative took the property back and sold it. Not saying that can happen in your situation but saying it happened to him and his family. Definately think its a wonderful oppurtunity as well.
I agree with clakinks. If you do it, do it on the assumption that it might go wrong later. Those kind of things rarely work long term. My advice- Put very little money into it. Maybe plant a lot of rootstock and graft later. That’s cheap and gives you some time to feel it out. For all you know they could die in a car crash next year. Then the kids don’t want you around. So many ways to go wrong.
Maybe they would be willing to sign a 5 year lease on the 3 acres. Perhaps they would let you buy the land on contract for deed otherwise. Definately worth asking.
Agree, and I’d make it an even longer term lease that states exactly the conditions under which lessor or lessee can terminate the lease or renew the lease. I have a Virginia orchardist friend who had the rug pulled out from under her and lost years of work. If it were me I’d sit down with a local lawyer and go over the situations that could arise because this is not a normal ag lease where the lessee is growing annual crops only.
That is so super duper awesome! 
I’m so excited for you! Congratulations!!! 
Plant seeds from fruit that you have on your property. You will only be out your time, for the most part, if the deal goes left.
Anyway… CoNgRatuLaTiOnS (for now! lol) 
Stone fruit and mulberry would put you in the game fast. Less years=less risk. Mulberry is super easy to propagate. Pretty sure you can graft anything but cherry onto peach seedling.
What is the water situation like? Should you make some kind of water retention setup like swales or a pond? I would call the local food bank and ask them what food they wish they had more of or, just as valuable to know, what they get too much of and use that info to determine what to grow.
Interesting question- what is the best cash crop in the fruit world? Blueberries?
Maybe plant some honeyberries before they get banned.
Apples are good- after you sell what you can, you can try to sell the rest to a local brewery for cider.
Regardless of the conditions, congratulations Steve. Great news. I’ll look at my lists tomorrow on the apples and see what I’ve researched over the past few years. There is a New England apple thread that has some good ideas too.
Is mulberry a cash crop (bought by packing houses) in some regions?
Yeah, in Asia. They are just a quick cropping fruit here.
Probably more money in strawberries than anything. They bear quick as well. If the neighbors change their mind no big deal strawberry plants are cheap. Also grow pumpkins and watermelons tomatoes and sweet corn. All are cash crops that everyone loves anyways.
Apples are nice but it doesnt get people excited at least where i am from. Apple Pie and Apple Butter maybe.
Maybe some of the needy people could run a fresh market stand and help out on the ‘farm’.
May as well start getting the community involved in composting too… the people that bring the compost to feed the crops will start to take interest and likely help in many other ways. There are lots of people that want to be involved but just dont have the land or ability to grow things.
Congratulations! Not sure about the right fruit for your area but you are right about the large amount of time required to pick blue/blackberries. Takes about an hour to pick 10-15 pounds. Apples pick a lot faster and have the advantage of not being overly fragile. Tomatoes would produce revenue in the first year if they will tolerate your climate. It’s going to take 4 or 5 years to get your money back on a field of back/blueberries and much longer on Apples… A high tunnel would help with heat loving crops like tomatoes and USDA has grants for high tunnel construction.
Some honeyberries. Some blueberries. Apples & pears.
As for apples, somebody in Maine can probably give more useful advice.
Existing orchards. FEDCO. MOFGA. Those should offer useful info.
Best to you.
Good idea. And callery pear seedlings may be free in some locations…just for digging.
I plan to do some this dormant season myself.
I bet @JesseinMaine has some good suggestions for the far north. He has many years of experimenting with a variety of fruit.
If you want some northern hardy apple or pear scions, let me know.
thank you all for your ideas and concerns. my wifes known these folks family for over 40 yrs. they came from very humble beginnings as most have here. the money they came into to buy the land came from a medical malpractice suit that took their 17 yr old daughter. they turned the large building that used to be a car shop into a thrift store in their daughters name. they also bought the 6 bedroom bankrupt assisted living facility across the street and are planning to reopen it. there is a shortage of them in the area. ive known them for 10yrs or so and while shopping at the thrift store, Tad asked me to go for a ride with him. he showed me the land and said its free to do what you want with it. it almost brought me to tears. also showed me a very old orchard that was probably started 100yrs ago next to the old milk farm that used to be there. we agreed to go clean out the brush and give the 20 or so apple trees a pruning. he said they were very good apples. they are located at the top of the hill about 50yrs from the land he gave me. at the bottom of the rise of the 3 acres theres a small spring fed steam maybe 30yrds from the edge of the property. we plan to make a pool in it and put a pump for water. Thad just bought a used tractor and 5 implements so all i have to do is pay his fuel and he will till and mow for me. i will add shallow swales and plant in them. he said him and his 2 sons will help me for the bigger jobs. though it will take some time im thinking grafting 50 semi dwarf apple seedlings of early fruiting disease resistant apples. maybe 4-5 semi dwarf cold hardy peaches. maybe 20-30 hazelnuts. im rooting about 30 aurora honeyberry cuttings right now , so i can plant those out there next fall. going to do sugar peas, beets , onions, pole beans and some tomatoes. maybe some squash. im not worried about him back tracking on me but its all so new i may approach him about buying once we feel out each other. hes not in it for the money. quite the opposite. he wants to do as much good as possible with this money. we both have the same goals and if i make a little on the side and sell the rest in his store to help the needy im fine with that.