unfortunately, yes but at least they are keeping her name alive by naming the thrift store after her and doing good with the money they got from it. from what ive heard of her, she was a very giving person.
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im game to trying P.Y.O but if we have issues ill be willing to harvest with his 2 sons and sell them at his thrift store.
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PYO is a no-go for me, mostly due to the liability aspects of inviting the public onto our property. Iām a Zone4a here Steve. Iād say my best root stock has probably been M.111, BUT I believe you and I have very different soil types. Iāll follow up with you on whatās been precocious, and on what root stock. I do my winter pruning in late February / early March, Iāll let you know what scion I have available. I believe I have approx 150 varieties currently, but still evaluating and prepared to eliminate a few in the future, or should I say āreplaceā a fewā¦
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i think the soil at this site is much better that whats at my house but wont know for sure until i get a good look at it next spring. thanks for the offer of scion wood. i think im going to grow some early and some late disease resistant ones.
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Iām thinking itāll finally give me a fruit or three next yearā¦but Iād say the Northwest Greening is a healthy and easy care multi purpose apple for the northā¦and Iām hoping it does OK here, for itās a pretty tree having healthy foliage.
that would be great. thanks.
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If you run a business, shouldnāt you get liability insurance, I would.
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congrats steve
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ill have to talk to the land owner if he wants to even go that route. might just sell the fruit at his thrift store.
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thanks Dax.
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In addition to the thrift store you also could probably have a help-your-self kiosk, open on convenient schedule when you are working in your orchard and can watch from the distance. You can add some easy veggies and some berries to the apple trees and sell them too. Planting some corn for stalks and some decorative gourds will make good sell in fall. Kiosk doesnāt bring much of liability issues if it is fenced from the orchard with āNo trespassingā signs. Then, if it is financially possible, you can add a greenhouse and start late fall greens there somewhere in August. You will have greens for yourself and sell the surplus. There is also farmerās market possibility. Load your trunk with apples and go.
Ok, stop me right here, looks like I am starting buying the ideas I am selling here 
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whatās your growing days there at 28F and above? Iām asking naturally for (a) reason. thanks and its worth your time. if I cxan get you at 137-days w temps not cool during mid-July sort of thru August, IIm a send you some pecans trees. Dax
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probably met that criteria. id say may through oct is mostly above freezing during the day. this year its still above freezing right now but we got killing frosts in early oct. which is normal here. i dont know how pecans would survive -40f which we get occasionally. -30f is common.
they hardy to 4a/maybe 3b.
ill send something different next Spring thatās hardy and sure to crop for you.
from the sounds of things, itās to cool for pecans & besides you got your hazelnuts.
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I donāt have Northwest Greening yet, definitely a variety I would like to graft.
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OK. I got it from smsmith in MN, but probably could send a couple small scions if you
should desire that.
Great news Steve! You now have room to have even more work to do! Just kidding, I know how tempting it is. I would suggest European hybrid chestnuts. You can get seeds for any number of varieties from Burnt Ridge, but make sure they are hardy in your zone and resistant to blight. Iāve planted Maraval and Marigoule seeds here in Vermont. Seedlings will not be true to the named parent, but very close. Direct seed in fall, excellent germination. They can start to produce at 6 years and live for a hundred years.
Easy harvest since they drop to the ground in their own husk, two or more nuts in each. The nuts are unlike most nuts as they must be handled fresh, like fruit, or dried or refrigerated for keeping. I couldnāt find the video, but I have seen one grower who had people, mostly Asian or European who traditionally eat chestnuts, traveling hundreds of miles to pick their own. The U.S. imports many thousands of tons from Italy for the Christmas season (roasting on an open fire, as the song goes). In Europe they have been a staple for hundreds of years.
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at Camp Humphries, Korea where i was stationed in the early 90ās there was a knoll near the soccer field that had dozens of chestnut trees. when they were ripe the locals would descend on them in droves to get the nuts. they were huge trees and very old. i tried eating one fresh and it was very bitter. only found out later you had to cure and roast them. if i could get them to survive id definitely grow a couple here.
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Consider doing a nursery. Propagating all sorts of things is rewarding on its own and a lot less complicated than harvesting and retailing perishable produce.
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yep. i plan on doing that as well. going to have a dedicated nursery bed just for rooting cuttings over winter. that seems to be the most fool proof for me here.
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