I am not sure what actually qualifies as an orchard. Is it a few fruit trees in your yard or hundreds? Regardless, we placed an order today for lots and lots of trees to arrive shortly, and hopefully, bear fruit in the next 3-4 years. We already have several wild apple trees around our little three acre homestead - enough so that we made lots of apple cider last fall. But we wanted some domestic trees with apples good for eating and cider making, and they need to store well too. I took a course at the Old Stone House last year on fruit trees and the teacher recommended Schlabach's Nursery in New York as a wonderful source for trees. They have no website so we had to call for a catalog and place our order through the mail - very old fashioned.
We ordered 13 dwarf apple trees total: eight varieties, four of which are heirlooms. (We got one Gala tree for me since they are my favorite eating apples!) We also ordered three raspberry bushes to add to the ones we planted last year, and nine blueberry bushes. Can we call ourselves orchardists? I think so!
It's fun to think about all of the food we will be able to grow ourselves once the trees fruit. We already have a ton of wild raspberries growing in our yard in the summer and lots of wild deer and turkey wandering about. Our garden will grow lots of vegetables this year which we are excited to preserve and make into baby food. When the new chicks arrive and start laying sometime this summer we will get about a dozen eggs a day! We will have almost everything we need to eat without going to the grocery store! (I just need to learn how to make bread and I'll be all set!)
I think we will have to steal Wayne and Cole's idea and make our own little produce stand at the end of our driveway - I wonder if they'll give us their blueprints? :)
We ordered 13 dwarf apple trees total: eight varieties, four of which are heirlooms. (We got one Gala tree for me since they are my favorite eating apples!) We also ordered three raspberry bushes to add to the ones we planted last year, and nine blueberry bushes. Can we call ourselves orchardists? I think so!
It's fun to think about all of the food we will be able to grow ourselves once the trees fruit. We already have a ton of wild raspberries growing in our yard in the summer and lots of wild deer and turkey wandering about. Our garden will grow lots of vegetables this year which we are excited to preserve and make into baby food. When the new chicks arrive and start laying sometime this summer we will get about a dozen eggs a day! We will have almost everything we need to eat without going to the grocery store! (I just need to learn how to make bread and I'll be all set!)
I think we will have to steal Wayne and Cole's idea and make our own little produce stand at the end of our driveway - I wonder if they'll give us their blueprints? :)
It sounds like you are all set. There is nothing like going outside and filling a basket with fruit. It will look so pretty in the Spring when everything starts to bloom. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteMakes me want spring even more after reading your blog and thinking about planting again! Guess I'll order my seeds tonight.
ReplyDeleteAunt Lisa
Home grown fruits and vegetables are the best! Sounds like you will be busy all summer tending to the plants.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! We had apple and pear trees in the back yard when I was growing up ... hardly an "orchard" by anyone's standards, but they produced lots of delicious fruit, and that was all we cared about! Good luck with planting!
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