Home Orchard

[Larry Caldwell]

Is anyone else getting a homestead orchard started. This is not a commercial orchard, it's just fruit for us and maybe the neighbors and friends. This place had some really old fruit trees when we bought it, but they are almost on their last legs, still giving fruit but half rotten, hollow, and likely to fall over any time. For replacement, I have been planting an assortment:

Apples: two gravenstein, a granny smith, a Fuji, a gala, and a honeycrisp.

Pears: a Bartlett, an Anjou an Asian, and a Bosc that didn't make it.

A fig.

An apricot.

A red plum and a Brooks prune.

Two bing cherries, a royal Ann and a pie cherry.

I have seen some other trees that make fruit around here that are not local. I know of one persimmon tree, and peaches are common. I'm also thinking of getting a few grapes going, just table and juice grapes.

Any other suggestions for a homestead orchard?

 

[Rainbody]

I've put in about same this year. Apples, cherry, pears and peaches. Even got an nectarine in there.
I've put in grapes which appear to have taken. Also tried some golden raspberries which are most likely dead. Suck!
But that's what I would suggest. Berry bushes, more tropical stuff if your willing to do potted dwarf trees or greenhouse, and don't forget nut trees. Pecans or walnuts would be good.
There are also those graphed trees which have several types of fruit or types of a specific fruit.

 

[sjerden]

Were starting some blueberries this year. Already have grapes, granny smiths, and yellow delicious.

 

[forgeblast]

We have Blueberries (30 bushes), blackberries (a lot), currants (red, white, black), grapes, apples (all together 10-15 trees and 2 of the pole apples near the house), pears (mix of Asian and non-asian), pawpaw’s, plums, apricots, hazelnuts, hickory nut, black walnut, butternut, cherry trees, bush cherries, high bush cranberries, elderberries, hops, and strawberries.


I still want to do more hazelnuts, some low bush blueberries, and another apricot and some cider variety of apples, probably some persimmon, and quince, maybe a northern fig(green house I am thinking about needs to be done first). I also want more gooseberries(we have some wild), lingonberries, and some crab apples.

 

[arrow]

Is anyone else getting a homestead orchard started. This is not a commercial orchard, it's just fruit for us and maybe the neighbors and friends. This place had some really old fruit trees when we bought it, but they are almost on their last legs, still giving fruit but half rotten, hollow, and likely to fall over any time. For replacement, I have been planting an assortment:

Apples: two gravenstein, a granny smith, a Fuji, a gala, and a honeycrisp.

Pears: a Bartlett, an Anjou an Asian, and a Bosc that didn't make it.

A fig.

An apricot.

A red plum and a Brooks prune.

Two bing cherries, a royal Ann and a pie cherry.

I have seen some other trees that make fruit around here that are not local. I know of one persimmon tree, and peaches are common. I'm also thinking of getting a few grapes going, just table and juice grapes.

Any other suggestions for a homestead orchard?

Yes... do not do even the slightest pruning if the trees have buds on them. I wiped out 6 peach trees once not knowing this. I seem to have rotten luck with orchards. I look at trees and they die. Must have something to do with my former profession. Plum trees however seem to be the zombies of fruit trees. There's nothing I can do to these that seems to kill them so I figure they must be dead already but still yield fruit.

 

[Pirate]

Cleared a small section this year and started a small orchard. Have about the same amount and type trees as you. I am hoping it all takes off.

 

[Triguy1]

I have a friend who own a very good Orchard, Erie Orchards in Michigan. He got me started this year with half a dozen apple trees and about the same for peaches. Also put in blueberries, a bunch of raspberries and strawberries as well. In a year or FOUR all be all set...

Patients is really not my thing. I wonder why I did that? But I feel good about putting the land to use.

 

[Carykong]

I lost three old apple trees in my home orchard. Rather than replacing,I went with elderberry plants. Grow fast,easy maintenance,homemade wine.

 

[schoolsout]

I'm working on it. Just cleared about 10 acres. Will be mix of food plots for deer and fruit/nut trees.

Have hickory and walnut established already, but will add more hickory, walnut, pecan, chestnut along with pear, apple, loquat and maybe a few persimmons. Going to be a long process, but the wheels are turning.

 

[Pete Judd]

I have several apples, a couple of plums, a couple of pears, a grafted sweet cheery tree with both bing and royal anns. And a pie cherry tree. Also a couple of crab apple that have appeared on their own. Peaches won't grow here very well.

It is always nice to have fresh fruit, the sweet cherry's get ripe around my birthday, and I just look at it as mother natures birthday present.