Post by Manda on Jun 14, 2012 18:07:59 GMT -5
I live in Michigan so much different weather than you. I put a little orchard in here and there and everywhere here lol. I only have 2.24 acres so I had to be a little clever with planting. My driveway is 300 feet long so I lined one side of my driveway with apple trees (only 50 ish feet to property line on that side and its treed but i could put one line of apple trees in) On the other side I have a lot of open space but I had to work with the land and the wood pile etc. But in the North center of the property I have a bunch of peaches. I have 5-6 that I bought and then I received 8 older ones for free... surprisingly 7 looks like they will live despite the stress of transplanting them. They went from heavy black dirt to dry sand but I pruned them heavy and they look like they will live.. Then just south of those I have my cherry trees. I have 7 Sour Cherry and 4 Sweet Cherry. To the west of those I have a blueberries... plus i have another blueberry patch up north closer tot he road nestled on a flat spot. (trying to work around a sand hill) West of those I have a few apple trees, a single plum tree... hmm maybe 1-2 more sweet cherries... then on my west property line I have a fig tree.. that is only 8 inches tall so it has awhile lol. These encompass perhaps a half acre of land. In between them I am running gardens. Some day I will run out of room but for now it works. They are all young trees. Up by the house I have 2-4 more apple... plus an old old old apple which in many years gives us a lot of apples but soon as my young ones mature I will be pruning that tree out. Then just east of the house I have a cluster of Pears. I have 9 Pears. everything has been planted within the last 3 years. I buy a few in Spring from walmart- no nurseries around here. In the Fall I buy from Lowes. Lowes actually have had some of the best trees ever! They are a little more expensive than Walmarts. My trees stress that i buy in th Spring but the fall plantings do very very well. Part of it is probably the source but also, they just do better. I bought ooh yes 2 more Pears.. forgot about those...anyways so i have 11 pears.... those ones are struggling from Lowes. We have had a hot dry Spring.
I figure some day I am going to be absolutely drowning in fruit! But I tell my children they can come home and raid my trees. It will help them feed themselves and their families. I WISH I had planted 10 years ago when we bought this property. A few times I thought about it but then I kept trying to move so then i'd put it off... then we wouldn't move... and i'd think about it again.. then i'd try moving. Finally one day I was at Lowes 3 years ago and saw 3 awful looking scraggly Peach trees for 75% off... and I bought them.. the next year I bought 8 Sour cherries at the end of the season from walmart... and planted them. (again still each year thinking i'd move but at least this time i started buying stuff) That next Spring I got my first sour cherries and its like a light bulb went off in my head. I started buying more and more trees. A couple each payday. NOW I have decided there is no way in the world I can move.. i have too many fruit trees and too much time and love invested lol! But anyways. Too bad I hadn't done it sooner but thankful its done now. At least i am only in my 30s so I should be able to see out the life of the trees. (as many semi dwarves and dwarves only live 30-40 years)
This is my grand total... give or take cause i will probably forget some
3 Flemish Beauty Pear
7 Barlett Pear
1 Keiffer Pear
7 Sweet Cherry
1 Plum
1 Fig
10 various apple
5 Honey Crisp apple
1 really really old who knows what Apple (actually about 7 trees mangled)
8 older free peach (about 5-6 yr trees)(only 7 will probably live)-Red Haven and Flaming Fury varieties
6 other peach... i think they are called Elberta and Red Haven.
plus in the small fruit way I have... about 24 blueberrys (all planted this year... so i get a little fruit but it will be awhile before a good number of harvesting) then I have some wild raspberries and blackberries I transplanted into my yard plus I bought some thornless blackberries I bought from walmart (4 plants) I also planted 9 Grape vines this year so hoping for grapes in the next 2-3 years.
Most of what I have its giong to be a lot of pampering and tending to for a few years before they really start giving back. This year we had a very early Spring and enough frosts to wipe everything out... and I almost had a good number of Pears but a late FREEZE knocked the rest out. So this year I am going to have a whopping 2 Sour cherries lol. But next year... i expect good things. Last year I got a decent number of peaches off those 3 "scraggly" first trees which they have become beautiful trees.
Anyways im rambling... anyways
you might wonder where I have room left for cows. They have about 1/4th of an acre.. yep that is all... Bought in hay and I scoop their poop out daily and make a compost pile. My soil is poor here so they are helping me immensely.
I figure some day I am going to be absolutely drowning in fruit! But I tell my children they can come home and raid my trees. It will help them feed themselves and their families. I WISH I had planted 10 years ago when we bought this property. A few times I thought about it but then I kept trying to move so then i'd put it off... then we wouldn't move... and i'd think about it again.. then i'd try moving. Finally one day I was at Lowes 3 years ago and saw 3 awful looking scraggly Peach trees for 75% off... and I bought them.. the next year I bought 8 Sour cherries at the end of the season from walmart... and planted them. (again still each year thinking i'd move but at least this time i started buying stuff) That next Spring I got my first sour cherries and its like a light bulb went off in my head. I started buying more and more trees. A couple each payday. NOW I have decided there is no way in the world I can move.. i have too many fruit trees and too much time and love invested lol! But anyways. Too bad I hadn't done it sooner but thankful its done now. At least i am only in my 30s so I should be able to see out the life of the trees. (as many semi dwarves and dwarves only live 30-40 years)
This is my grand total... give or take cause i will probably forget some
3 Flemish Beauty Pear
7 Barlett Pear
1 Keiffer Pear
7 Sweet Cherry
1 Plum
1 Fig
10 various apple
5 Honey Crisp apple
1 really really old who knows what Apple (actually about 7 trees mangled)
8 older free peach (about 5-6 yr trees)(only 7 will probably live)-Red Haven and Flaming Fury varieties
6 other peach... i think they are called Elberta and Red Haven.
plus in the small fruit way I have... about 24 blueberrys (all planted this year... so i get a little fruit but it will be awhile before a good number of harvesting) then I have some wild raspberries and blackberries I transplanted into my yard plus I bought some thornless blackberries I bought from walmart (4 plants) I also planted 9 Grape vines this year so hoping for grapes in the next 2-3 years.
Most of what I have its giong to be a lot of pampering and tending to for a few years before they really start giving back. This year we had a very early Spring and enough frosts to wipe everything out... and I almost had a good number of Pears but a late FREEZE knocked the rest out. So this year I am going to have a whopping 2 Sour cherries lol. But next year... i expect good things. Last year I got a decent number of peaches off those 3 "scraggly" first trees which they have become beautiful trees.
Anyways im rambling... anyways
you might wonder where I have room left for cows. They have about 1/4th of an acre.. yep that is all... Bought in hay and I scoop their poop out daily and make a compost pile. My soil is poor here so they are helping me immensely. 
