I’m trying several black currants…but so far the jam and the ease of propagation are to my liking.
@krismoriah … i have seen that vid in the past… and have seen lots of permaculture vids of people with comfery growing like a weed.
Found that below with goog search…
Comfrey grows best in USDA Hardiness Zones 3-9 . But will grow almost anywhere. Comfrey prefers a sweet soil with a pH of 6.0-7.0 and grows best in rich, moist soil in full sun, but will tolerate some shade. * It will grow well in clay, light sands or loams — whether in dry or wet areas.
I am going to try some here… z7a… and bet it will grow more like a weed here.
it definitely grows like a weed here but if you dont want it for its biomass and want something edible that equally grows like a weed here, grow rhubarb. there’s one that was released from Australia that’s heat tolerant. i think one green world sells it. like comfrey you only need one then take root cuttings to spread them around. gardening know how says you can grow the colder weather ones in the south as a annual by planting roots in the fall. if you want to try that i can dig you some roots.
plant on mounds and try to put them where they get some shade.
I wish I coud do currants here, but it’s christmas tree country and almost the entire genus is unwelcome in the county.
I do think I can get away with Jostaberry and am hoping to get to try some off my own bush this year. Fingers crossed, but I may still be a year off. They stay reasonably small as I recall, and can be treated like a hedge if needed.
I wouldn’t do blueberries at all. Blueberries require far too acidic soil for them to be good neighbors. I currently have 6 cultivars of blueberries. They will not do well in the soil that my peaches, chestnuts, sweet cherries, apples, persimmons, pomegranates, nectarines, apricots, figs, etc., live in. I listed what I have because I don’t know which fruit trees you have there. I agree with the others on not having room to maintain your trees with another bush/ plant/ tree underfoot. If you are determined and you must go this way, I would try small raised box beds with herbs, provided you get enough sun for them. May or may not be relevant, but be careful of black currants and some other ribes near white pines in your area. Some states prohibit then completely and some require planting them at least 900 feet from all white and 5 needle pines due to them carrying blister rust. Hope this helps
Im surrounded by wild blueberries and as a kid i have fond memories of picking them with my parents. We have always kept a very healthy bird population and they spread them all over for themselves. Lots of thickets of them surrounding me.
Ferns grow here like crazy… i could legit open a fern business. Wild pawpaws seem to be doing well here too they like acid soil as well.
So i guess most of my soil is acidic. My soil is very high in organic matter which in turn makes it acidic.
Blackberries and Raspberries do very well in my soil.
Honestly i didnt know that blueberries grew that large and required pruning etc… so i wont interplant them…but put them in an area of their own. I think they will do fine here. If they are anything like their wild counterparts.
It would almost make sense to put some flagstones in a couple areas you intend to put your ladder as a solid base that doesn’t have plants growing.
There are a few varieties such as Reka which are more tolerant of higher pH soils. From what I read Reka can handle 6 pH, and there was another I recently saw but I can’t remember which.
Sounds awesome! Nice little biosphere you’ve got there! I’ve seen, and still visit, beautiful natural places like that upstate NY and enjoyed being there immensely. Does sound it may be a “bit” acidic, lol. From your answer… it sounds like you possibly haven’t tested your soil’s ph? Do you have the room to separate that nice area from an area that’ll support other fruit trees that like a sweeter soil …or can be amended for that? Testing yourself can be done, but contact your local extension office on doing a soil test. Explain what you’d like to do and they’ll instruct you on how to collect samples in the area you want to plant. After you get the results, they give you recommendations on what you need. From there you can decide on how you want to go about amending… either the organic or the chemical school of thought. Or pick some trees that’ll tolerate the existing conditions. Only proper testing will tell you what you need to know.
I havent tested it but my dad did…and we always had to spread lime to grow food crops in certain fields. This is an old tobacco plantation which also likes acidic soil. Our tobacco grew well here… i think my challenge will be growing fruit trees not cane fruits or blueberries.
Im just going to plant a dozen or so and if they grow like weeds i will keep them… if they dont i have plenty to keep me busy.
This place in WV kinda looks like my farm and they do well with them… worth a shot anyways.
I have a variety of bushes/shrubs/plants growing between my treees, both edible and not. As fruit trees grow and spread out some of the shrubs will be removed if in the way. Meantime, they are nice to have in that space. This area for me is a “rough” swath, as in I only mulch young things for a few years then they have to co-exist with the other vegetation so I haven’t anything requiring more care such as strawberries or herbs. I have both blueberries and haskaps as well as raspberries, all extras from my main plots. They may not be as vigorous and as large a harvest as those in the mulched, pampered beds but they do fine and do put out fruit, for me or the birds.
Large fruiting fillers are aronia, nanking cherries, hazelnuts, elderberry, juneberry. I had quite a few gooseberries which were nice until last year they all showed signs of WPBR, so all were removed. Also have quite a few non-fruiting shrubs like dogwood, honeysuckle, snowberry, pea shrub, lilac, mock orange, and many autumn olive. Plus the natural growing wildflowers and planted daffodils which seem to grow anywhere. I like the diversity and the trees seem to like it as well. And it’s fun if you like to plant things. Wish you the best with your ideas! Sue
we have similar soil . why conifers are the dominant trees here. water table is pretty high unless on a hill which is where the maples and beeches grow.
If you do Nanking cherries get the white fruited kind.
…interesting idea, those flagstones. But I have over a dozen ladder placements just for the harvest and pruning of one smallish fruit tree. That would be 48 stones, and if there is a one-inch difference in the plane of any 4 stones, the ladder is wobbly. Placing the ladder on bare ground helps make a 4-leg contact as any one leg can sink in slightly. With 3-legged orchard ladders, not as much of a problem.