I’m hoping to lean on the wisdom of the experience around here and maybe avoid making TOO many newbie errors.
My husband and I have purchased 10 acres and are in the process of building a house. The acreage in question was, effectively, untended for about 30 years. Satellite photo:
North is up, in standard convention. The little pink shapes are the planned house, barn, sugar shack, chicken coop, etc. Much of the land is currently overrun with Autumn Olives, which will likely mostly get cleared as we move through the building process. A lot of young ash trees near the front will also come out, as they’re all infected with the Emerald Ash Borer and unlikely to survive anyway. The West side of the property contains a decent sugar bush that will stay. The Northwest corner may end up with a pond, depending on how much excavation needs to happen. The North and Northeast contains about 3.5 acres of walnut plantation. The entire parcel is pretty much pancake flat. A small creek/“county drain” runs across the Southeast corner. The water table is about 4-5 feet down. The central section of the meadow is likely going to be pasture (sheep). I’d like to eventually graze them rotationally through the walnuts as well, in an effort to control the blackcaps, Autumn olives, multiflora rose, and honeysuckle that is rampant.
Currently, there is one stately old apple tree of unknown variety that I intend to save, as well as a couple fairly nice crabs along the creek. Much of it is also overrun with blackcaps, and there are occasional wild gooseberries in the woods… I’ve had the soil tested and it’s a little low in K, with a pH of 6.2. (Traditionally, this is blueberry country). T
I’d like to eventually have a few apple trees, a couple pears, peaches, sweet and sour cherries, and maybe a couple plums. (I’m planning a British-style hedge, starting on the North border, and I might just try to work some damsons into that). I’d also like a decent berry patch - red raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, red and white currants, blueberries, and saskatoons. (Strawberries will probably end up in garden beds behind the house. Maybe raised, to save on backs and knees).
What’s the best location for trees? How far from the walnuts do I need to stay? Where should I locate those berries? And do I need to worry about disease transmission from the wild plants?
This is West Michigan, zone 6a (although best treated as 5, from a hardiness perspective, as our land is in an area that is sort of river bottom). I’ll probably concentrate on some of the more unusual varieties that I can’t just buy at my local farmers’ market. I may experiment with some grafting, at least with the apples. Recommended varieties to try or avoid? Same for rootstocks?