Illinois zone 5 newb -- I want to hear your plans for this year and would appreciate general advice

Howdy!

I'm hoping to propagate some saskatoon berries and red mulberries this year.

What are you planning this year and what zone/area are you in? If you could go back in time and give advice to yourself when you started out with permaculture/homesteading what would you say?

Hi Bryan, Welcome to Permies!

For starters, on those Saskatoon berries I would recommend making sure you have alkaline soil.  I grew up in zone 5 in Illinois and we usually had a slightly acidic soil.  Most plants like slightly acidic soil, but Saskatoon berries are one of those oddballs that like higher ph soils.

I did try growing Saskatoon berries a few years ago but they flopped for me on account of acidic soil and neglect.  I wish you better luck.

Good luck!

Eric

Thanks for replaying Eric. I'm thrilled to be doing this sort of stuff.

Eric Hanson wrote:
I did try growing Saskatoon berries a few years ago but they flopped for me on account of acidic soil and neglect.  I wish you better luck.

I was aware that blueberries liked alkaline soil, but didn't know saskatoon were the same way. It makes a lot of sense. I'm thinking I ought to run around with some pH test strips soon. I live right next to a saskatoon bush and it puts out a lot of root suckers. It'll be free to try propagating it this year.

Actually blueberries like acidic soil, as in so acidic other plants frequently can’t survive.  That’s part of what makes Saskatoon berries so odd.  

Good to know you like doing this kinda stuff.  I am sure that the longer you stick around the more you will go down the Permies rabbit hole.  Please enjoy and please keep us updated on your projects.

Eric

Eric Hanson wrote:

Actually blueberries like acidic soil, as in so acidic other plants frequently can’t survive.  That’s part of what makes Saskatoon berries so odd.  

Eric

Oh oops thank you for the correction! That is odd.

I’m also Illinois zone 5b!  I would say start out with a few things you are certain will thrive (e.g stuff you see growing all around your area), especially plants from neighbors if they’re the sharing sort. That way you have some successes even if more adventurous experiments fail.

I have hostas, forsythia, black raspberries, mulberries, goldenrod and ozark blue star that were gifts from neighbors or just flat out volunteers that increase every year such  that I have split them up to share. I’ve also bought currants, pawpaws, grape vine, and cherry, fig, and plum trees. All but those last two have done very well.

This year I am excited for harvesting some hopniss (groundnut/apios) that I planted last year. I am also growing a garden of native crops including corn beans and squash from the Miami and Potawatomi people on whose land Chicago was built.

Mk Neal wrote:I’m also Illinois zone 5b!

We're neighbors!

I'm very interested in the ground nut. It looks like a great candidate for the vine layer of a food forest around here.