Want to know what I can do with the land I have now, mainly gardening or whatever else is useful. I would ask around but I'm not entirely sure how to talk with my neighbors without having ever met them before. Trying to do what research I can online lately. Things have been going well enough so far so I want keep going. Does any of this sound good so far?
- First idea was some fruit trees at the back of the property where it gets the most sun at the edge of the treeline. Soil seems good, just needs cleared out. General plan is to chop most of it until the larger trees on the right (pic related). I like the wooded areas so I plan on keeping most trees past that way. - Second is some garden beds but most of the front is partial sun/shade. There are some nice spots like along the house, the slope towards the road, and parts of the current flower garden. If you want I can draw a crude map. Just not sure what to commit to yet. I guess is there any resources to help me decide? How much does it matter? Or anything about having garden beds or if in-ground planting is any better. Whatever experience you've have with it all.
- I also have a large hole that used to be a pond but it's since been drained. Currently I use it to burn off dead leaves and such which is fine by me. Wondering if there's anything better for it. Around 5 feet at its deepest, and 20 by 36 or so for size. Nice bean shape around a tree. - Then some less important stuff I haven't looked into as much. There's an old raised deck (8×12) that I could use for something else, but I'm not really attached to it. Wondering if it's a good idea to turn into some kind of chicken or rabbit space in the future. There's some Honeysuckle & English Ivy everywhere . The vines are very annoying, wouldn't mind having ideas for keeping it back or getting rid of it.
Try there >>2862904
>>2864863Thanks, I'll try there first
>>2864926>gardeningpests are my biggest issue. deer, possums, raccoons, squirels, plus all the insects. potatoes are a great crop to break out new ground because animals dont eat them and bugs are controlled with sals suds and neem oil 2tbsp each per gallon. also you can ammend your soil with tons of leaves. tree leaves are acidic and potatoes like acid soil. you will have to add some nitrogen to your soil because the leaves decomposing will use up notrogen, piss is a good free source of nitrogen. hotwire fence is great to keep the animals out of other crops.>orchardtry to find out varieties that grow well in your area. i bought 15 trees 6 yrs ago and only two have produced fruit, i suspect i bought the wrong varieties or something. tyty nursery sells cheap bare root trees that have grown great for me. plant fruit trees asap, they are a longterm investment. they need FULL sun. >pondyou can put pigs in it and let them root aound in the mud, this is supposed to seal your pond off. are you in the US? what zone?
#1)Destroy the English Ivy.Mow it.Burn it.Poison it.Eradicate at all cost.#2)Research trees for your zone.Just because they sell Species X at the local home depot doesnt mean it does well there.Citrus will die from winter freeze.Apple wont produce without cold winters.Buy the largest you feel comfortable spending money on. The difference between a 2 foot sapling and a 5 foot sapling might be fruit 3 years earlier. And youll never make up those lost years of increased production.Dont overlook plants like pecan or blueberry- plant what you actyally like eating.Verify cultivars (variety) before you buy any tree/bush. Some are self polinating.Some require 2 "identical" trees because male flower opens at different time than female flower (american chestnut, avocado)Some require a different cultivar because that particular named cultivar is male sterile (many pecans, pears and apples).It sucks to plant some trees and then 5 years later find out you need a pollinator to actually get fruit and you have to plant another baby and wait 5 more years...
And just for the record-Any named cultivar (Honey Crisp apple, Fuji apple, Stewart Pecan, Meyer lemon, any rose with a name) are all clones. Planting seeds from any of those will create a new cultivar with random traits (fruit size, taste, disease and pesticides reaistance). Parents do not breed true. They are all clones/cuttings from the original named plant.Either a cutting was rooted or it was grafted onto rootstock.of a common variety. Care must be taken to insure the rootstock does not grow new branches because it will overtake the graft. This is generally just an issue during the first couple years for trees but can be an issue with winter die-back on plants like roses and blueberries for eternity.
>>2864937>>2865096I live in the US in zone 6. Luckily I don't have to rely on Home Depo, I know a local nursery business that sells trees for my state. I would hope they could give me good options for what works best here. For the weather, it gets cold enough for good snow most years, so apples should be do-able. I'll make sure to double check with the nursery to make sure they'll pollinate well. For the garden, I'll have to get that fence since I do have a lot of wild animals here. I'll probably spend more time on the trees for now just so not to overwhelm my time or budget.
>>2865160Id get trees in the ground as soon as possible, youll be that much farther ahead.Deer will still nibble on fresh leaves and bucks love to scrape the felt off their antlers on young, soft trees. Ive lost a few saplings when bucks start fighting and crash through anything in their way. So be advised on that. I have 5 foot tall, 2 foot diameter wire cages I use on saplings that matter. Most survive just fine without them though. Also see what are cash crops in your area. Pecans are common here and ive bagged 2,000 pounds in a good year and sold them for a buck a pound to local packers.Walnuts are a pita. Packers want them husked and thats too much work for me.Almonds take a lot of water and probably wont do zone 6. Same with pistachio.But once again id focus on fruits & nuts that you enjoy, not what could potentially bring a few extra bucks.Ive done raised beds and planted specific crops year after year in them.Ive also just decided to til a random place in the yard and plant 500 sq/ft of green beans for just 1 season.Canning is great but very time consuming. I do about 500 quarts of green beans every couple years and at peak harvest ive spent 14 hours in a day picking, snapping and canning just what was ready to pick that day and repeated it again the next day.
