For Alex and others who may be interested there are some programs to buy or lease city owned vacant lots. Here are some additional links regarding those programs:
https://pittsburghpa.gov/dcp/toolkit
Also as an FYI if anyone in the city limits has a city owned vacant lot adjacent to their property you can buy it pretty easily for minimal cost: https://apps.pittsburghpa.gov/finance/sideyard_sale_program.pdf
I wonder if similar programs exist in Westmoreland County. I’ll have to do some research, I’d love to have a little plot to plant more trees.
Jason, thanks for the info! I will have to do some in depth research when the time comes.
I have two Maekawa Jiro from Starks which is supposed to be a cold hardy kaki. One arrived broken so they sent a replacement, but it ended up making it so I have two. They are in 15 gal pots at the moment but I’ll be putting one in the ground shortly.
I also have a JT-02 hybrid on order from Cliff England for this spring.
To add to this, I have a small Nikita’s Gift and have ordered Barbara’s Blush, Early Golden, JT-02, and Celebrity. I will be grafting a few more onto seedlings at my office, to be determined. There is some great information on different cultivars on a few threads, here is a good start Jerry Lehman's Orchard Fall 2017 - #22 by Barkslip
I am ordering trees from England’s and some scions from fruitwood because I have some other stuff coming from them. England’s also sells scions. Pikes Peak in Indiana County sells 18-24" seedlings in packs of 50, I think $1.30 a tree. I will be picking up my order from them in about a week.
hey buddy, can you spare a scion?
I like the localized pgh area member grouping!
anyway
I know the scion harvesting window is closing…
I’m searching for known paw paw or persimmon scions that I could pick up
in PGH or Youngstown (there on weekends) area.
I have a lone 25 year old persimmon tree that looks perfect for bark graft. see pic
I’ll pm you Fran!
Does anyone know of a good local supplier for Surround WP, diatomaceous earth, or high nitrogen content fertilizer? The guy at Agway looked at my brother like he had three heads when he asked about surround lol
I shopped around for Surround last year and ended up going with Keystone Pest Solutions. Their price was a bit better than others I found. The website isn’t the easiest to navigate but there’s a search bar which makes it easier. Customer service was pretty friendly. They say they ship from PA or Idaho based on your location but my package was shipped from Idaho lol. There’s also a code you can enter for $5 off $50+ for new customers: save5
Thanks Tony! I see that tractor supply has 40lb bags of diatomaceous earth on sale (and neem oil in stock). I’m betting that is a better option than shipping it. I’m trying to start my insect and disease arsenal with the more “earth friendly” products. I can just see my dog licking death chemicals off of a tree trunk and I’m trying to avoid that 
If you can find what you need locally then definitely go that route. I couldn’t find Surround anywhere local. Yeah, I try to stick with the less toxic pesticides and fungicides as well. I have to spray for ambrosia beetles this year since I had a couple trees get drilled by them last spring due to the May 9th freeze. Hopefully we don’t get a freeze like that again this year!
You gotta do what you gotta do. I’ve been going through Scott’s low impact spray schedule for probably the fourth time, just to learn the terminology/oils/chemicals available and what they do. I think I’m getting somewhere.
In my area DE sold at Tractor Supply Stores is a powder form. That can be used as pesticide to prevent pests emerging from soil like slugs. You need to put it on each time after rain, though.
DE for soil amendment is granular type, larger particles. It is usually as oil absorbent and sold at auto stores like Napa Auto Parts, O’Reilly Auto Parts. Obtisorb is the brand often mentioned.
It is difficult to find Surround locally. Mail order is the way to go. Places like 7Springs Farm, Grow Organic, etc. are where I have ordered mine. it is about $40-43 per 25 lb bag. That does not include shipping and handling yet. If ordering 2 bags will save you some money, order 2. It is kept well in a dry area. I keep mine in buckets with lids.
By the way, I saw Gurney advertised Surround for $31.99. I thought that was suspicious (not a fan of Gurney). I checked it out. It is for a 5 lb bag! What a rip-off!!
Ryan, if you do end up ordering Surround online, and if you can save on shipping by buying a larger quantity, I’d be happy to go halfsies with you. I haven’t gotten around to ordering it yet.
I will probably put an order in today. I’ll pm you Alex.
A few things that I thought might be interesting for others on this thread to share:
I can report success with Arp rosemary making it through the winter with no protection whatsoever (zone 6b). Three out of three plants survived. I’ve added Salem rosemary this spring - will report.
Regarding foraging, I know there are ramps/wild garlic in a local park. I didn’t take any, with it being a state park. Trying to grow my own instead. Curious to hear what others forage for.
Good to hear about your rosemary. I’ve had a potted one that is about 5yrs old that I bring in each winter and would love to just keep it in the ground.
I enjoy foraging and mushrooming pretty much year round. Even in early spring there are some wild greens and other things starting to pop up. Most relevant to this site would be juneberries, mulberries, elderberries, wineberries, and black raspberries around Pittsburgh, a wild pawpaw patch near Wheeling wv, and various roadside/wild/abandoned apples that I’ve come across.
The only abandoned apples I find are pretty poor quality from pests and disease.
The only things I have ever found in decent quantity for harvesting in the wild are black walnuts, which are a pain to process, and blackberries, which I can sometimes find enough of to put in the freezer as well as eat fresh.
We usually just cover my wife’s rosemary with some straw each winter. It is next to the house and grows well each spring. Not sure of what variety…
Jason, I just put a list together (based solely on research, NOT firsthand experience yet) on this thread. I hope yinz guys find it helpful.
Alex and I may take our crews for a trip to Ohipyle this year for a wild pawpaw hunt (I have intel on where to go). I’d assume the more the merrier! I also know of a couple decent spots for mushroom hunting but I’m not sure if I want to share those haha.
There is a recently created local park near Murrysville that appears to have a huge amount of wild raspberries/blackberries along one of the trails and a good amount of crabapple trees in another area. A few improvements might be made to some of those trees in the next few years.
I like where your mind is at with those apples.
For yinz close to downtown along the south side riverfront trail there are tons of feral mulberries, some of which are really good quality. Also in the same area there are juneberries planted for landscape purposes. My 2yr old absolutely loved helping me pick/eat them last yr.
