M.K. Dorje Sr.

pollinator
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since May 09, 2020
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My interests (besides permaculture) include: mycology and mushroom cultivation, wildcrafting, astronomy, seed saving, heirloom fruit trees, guitar music, etc.
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Oregon Coast Range Zone 8A
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Recent posts by M.K. Dorje Sr.

To clarify, it might be a year or two before I'm selling or donating any chestnut trees. (They haven't even germinated yet!)  Plus, I don't do mail order. At least, not yet.  But if you're in western Oregon next spring, send me a mooseage... :)

Here are the trees I have available right now for pickup or delivery in western Oregon:

https://permies.com/t/273705/Fruit-Trees-Plants-pickup-Oregon

1 day ago
Thank you to Jeff, Riona and all our customers! Permaculture Nursery is now open for the 2026 season, check out the newest catalog listing here:

https://permies.com/t/273705/Fruit-Trees-Plants-pickup-Oregon

Delivery is now available in the Cottage Grove, Eugene, Roseburg and Florence areas. Or schedule a visit at the nursery- just a 15 minute drive south of Cottage Grove.

5 days ago
Permaculture Nursery is now open for the 2026 season. A gigantic thank you to all of our customers!

Peach (Salish Summer) on dwarf rootstock; One of the best peaches and a good pick for the Pacific NW. plus dwarf peach companion. 3 gallon for $20.

Plumcot (Flavor Supreme) 3 gallon. An incredibly delicious treat! Sweet and juicy plum/ apricot cross. 3 gallon, 6 feet tall:  $27.

Plum (Bluesjam): classic plum jam variety, late season: big tree in 3 gallon: $27

Apricots (Creswell) Seedlings in 2 gallon: $20

Nectarine (Golden Prolific) Seedling, Delicious dwarf variety: 2 gallon $20

Cornelian Cherry: A fruiting dogwood with small, edible cherry-like fruits. 3 gallon, 6' tall: $25.
 
Figs (Desert King) Most dependable fig of all: 1 gallon: $15- $20 each. also Violette De Bordeaux Fig $11.

Peach (Indian seedlings) Curl resistant, late season, self-pollinating and super delicious! various sizes- $10 - $20 each

Autumn Olive (Eleagnus): Sweet /tart berries: 1 gallon pots $7 each

Black Mulberry: John Jeavons and Illionois Everbearing varieties. The berries are delicious and chickens love'em, too. in 1 gallon pots: $10 each

Strawberries (Hood) June bearing NW variety- several plants each in big pots $15-$20

Perennial Tree Collard in 3 1/2 inch pots: $ 4

Evergreen Huckleberries: 1 gallon pots: $10 each

Hardy Kiwis (Issai): self-pollinating: 1- 1 1/2 gallon: $10-$12 each

Artichokes ( Green Globe): 5 inch pots: $3 each

Asters (New England):  favorite fall plant of honeybees- they love the purple, daisy-like flowers.  1 gallon pots: $4- $5 each.

Thornless Blackberries (Triple Crown), massive fruit harvest with no thorns. 1 gallon pots: $6 each

California Black Oak: 2 gallon, 4' tall $7. Also 1 gallon: $4.

Catnip: 5 inch pot: $2.

Spineless Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia ficus) Luther Burbank selection. The "pads" are used in Mexican cuisine and the red fruits make a delicious jam or drink! 4" pots: $5 each.


Permaculture Nursery is located just 15 minutes south of Cottage Grove, Oregon, just a few miles from I-5. Delivery is also available in Cottage Grove, Eugene, Roseburg and Florence areas! Photos available on request. Please purple mooseage for directions and more info.




I'm doing fine!

I never use paypal- they're on my list of bad companies.

Just give Field And Forest a call tomorrow and they will answer your questions: 1 800 792-6220. They're open 8-4 M-F. They are helpful and informative.

Keep in mind that because of the "Polar Vortex" that is still stalled over the north central U.S., they might be reluctant to ship spawn right now. Good luck!
3 weeks ago
Thank you for your replies everyone. I'm always interested in hearing about other people who grow chestnuts.

I transplanted two Chinese Chestnuts here about 10 years ago and they flowered for the first time last summer, but no chestnuts formed inside the burrs. I'm hoping for the first crop this year. The trees receive minimal care except for Scotch broom mulch and a bit of organic fertilizer.

The seeds I planted a few weeks ago were from Silverleaf Chestnut, a chestnut that is a predominantly Japanese hybrid variety. I'm trying this variety out because it can produce in the forth year after planting, doesn't get too gigantic and is resistant to blight. If I had the room though, I would like to try some of resistant American Chestnut varieties. They are remarkable trees.

Here's a video called "The Chestnut Grove" from a three part series about chestnuts by Akiva Silver, a fellow permies member, nurseryman, author and chestnut enthusiast:



He's got lots of other  cool videos about growing fruit and nut trees.

1 month ago
I was checking out the Good News Network this morning and found an amazing article and documentary about the return of the American Chestnut in Maine, thanks to Dr. Bernd Heinrich, author of Ravens in Winter and many other great books. Check this out:

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/once-wiped-out-by-blight-thousands-of-american-chestnut-trees-are-thriving-on-biologists-land-in-maine/

The American Chestnut was decimated by chestnut blight in the early 1900s, which killed million of trees through the eastern United States. But thanks to Dr. Heinrich, they are making a comeback in Maine. This article was very inspirational for me because I just planted and began stratifying several dozen chestnut seeds a few weeks ago. I'm planning on planting, selling and donating lots of chestnut seedlings once they begin germinating. Chestnuts are amazing trees and can live for hundreds of years. And they are delicious roasted!

Anyone out there growing chestnuts? What species do you grow and where do you live?

1 month ago
The Turkey Tail mushroom is a proven medicinal mushroom species that is increasing in popularity. Although inedible in the conventional sense, they can be used in capsules, teas and tinctures. They are also added to the new trendy medicinal mushroom coffee blends. They are quite common throughout much of the world, in fact, they often appear on Shiitake logs as a "weed".  But since many people have problems with identification, I've decided to post a video about how to tell the real Turkey Tail from its many lookalikes. This video from Feral Foraging is very clear and should help anyone who would like to harvest and use this species safely:



Below are some photos of Turkey Tails in my garden.



1 month ago
Here's some photos of some Oregon Bellybutton Hedgehog (Hydnum oregonense) mushrooms I harvested on a recent foray. They are sometimes abundant from December-February in western Oregon in older, wet forests under Evergreen Huckleberry, Western Red Cedar, Western Hemlock and Douglas-fir. They are almost always found near Yellow-Foot Chanterelles, another choice edible.
1 month ago
Field & Forest is from Wisconsin. I have used their spawn successfully for over 20 years and they are a great family-owned company. Here's a link to their TeePee Kits:

https://fieldforest.net/shop/mushroom-grow-kits/indoor-grow-kits/teepee-kits/

If you live in a different country, you could  order from a local grain spawn producer and use your own bags. Filter patch bags are sold by big mushroom grower supply houses or you can make your own. If you use grain spawn, be sure to keep it away from rodents, since they will do every thing they can to eat the spawn.
1 month ago
Although I've never used this method, it sounds really simple and really fast compared to the log culture I normally do. In fact, I'm tempted to try this method myself after seeing how ridiculously easy it looks! Here's a really good video from Field & Forest on how to grow oyster mushrooms on toilet paper rolls:



Field & Forest sells their "TeePee Kits" for this method. One kit contains 7 filter patch bags, 2 lbs. Grey Dove Oyster spawn and rubber bands for $28. They've also got two other "TeePee"  kits.

As you can see, they use grain spawn. I would also use unbleached toilet paper. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

1 month ago