Too late to start?

I've been here for a little while now, casually having a look around. Been reading and learning new things while only feeling a tiny bit overwhelmed by how much I have to learn. So now, after much procrastination, I want to get started and I'm worried that I've waited too long to do anything meaningful.

Here we are in mid October and I'm in extreme western Missouri, thinking I can at least plant some fruit trees before winter. What else should I plan on developing, building or planting through these cooler months? I've recently run a water line (my only grid connection) to the area I want to plant and now that the days are a tolerable temperature, I'm itchin to get to work. I already have compost breaking down, so that's at least one thing checked off the list. What should I focus on next?

Definitely put down a lot of mulch (shredded leaves, grass clippings, wood chips, etc) to break down over the winter months on any future garden plots. Especially if you put some chickens on it, you will have a good headstart on a garden for next spring.

Now is a perfect time for planting pretty much any kind of trees, much better than spring. They have opportunity to start rooting in without the stress of doing that and growing above ground at the same time and you don't have to water every few minutes.

Also perfect for planting tree seeds, walnuts, pecans, apples, pears peaches. I plant all of those just by scraping away grass or weeds with a hoe, dropping the seeds and covering with an inch or so of compost or just soil if you don't have compost. Actually you can plant the larger seeds like walnut a a little deeper if you want too, about and inch or two. Then I cover it up with boards, or rocks, or old rugs, what ever I have and pull the cover back off the next spring. It's an easy way to direct plant where you want the tree to live rather than transplanting and you'd be surprised how fast a seed sprouted tree can grow, never having had the experience of transplant shock.

Probably lots of other perennial things could be planted now too. Maybe various berries, rhubarb, horseradish, lots of things. Also the cooler weather of fall is good for work like clearing areas, trimming trees, cutting firewood and so on.  

Lets say that you wanted to plant 200 fruit trees on 1acres. Dig all 200 holes now. Thats plenty of work. And make them million dollar holes too. 3ft x 3ft x 3ft.

Like other have said planting in the fall is better, the roots keep on growing until the soil freeze and in the spring they explode in growth absorbing nutrients  way before the leaves show up on the tree, and this make for a healthier tree that doesn't need as much watering.

For my site, I worked on the soil before I start planting the trees or started harvesting. Like you I put in water/swales/etc. Then I planted 50lbs of dutch clover for nitrogen fixation and alot of tillage radish, to plow/aerate the soil and bring up minerals and feed the soil life with the rotting tubers. I then added soil life via aerated worm compost tea (soil and foliar), mushroom slurry, and the packet from fungiperfect.  

Mark Reed wrote:Now is a perfect time for planting pretty much any kind of trees, much better than spring. They have opportunity to start rooting in without the stress of doing that and growing above ground at the same time and you don't have to water every few minutes.

Also perfect for planting tree seeds, walnuts, pecans, apples, pears peaches. I plant all of those just by scraping away grass or weeds with a hoe, dropping the seeds and covering with an inch or so of compost or just soil if you don't have compost. Actually you can plant the larger seeds like walnut a a little deeper if you want too, about and inch or two. Then I cover it up with boards, or rocks, or old rugs, what ever I have and pull the cover back off the next spring. It's an easy way to direct plant where you want the tree to live rather than transplanting and you'd be surprised how fast a seed sprouted tree can grow, never having had the experience of transplant shock.

Probably lots of other perennial things could be planted now too. Maybe various berries, rhubarb, horseradish, lots of things. Also the cooler weather of fall is good for work like clearing areas, trimming trees, cutting firewood and so on.  

Ooo thanks for the reminder to dig out those rhubarb seeds! I was just looking at the big walnut tree and wondering if some of those very straight "up" whip thick branches would make or take to rooting...?

just wondering if the fruit trees your thinking of planting are bare root. if so its best to plant them in dormancy after all the leaves have fallen and everything is asleep for the winter. digging holes is a lot of work. if they are not too big, roots a foot or less, you might save yourself a whole bunch of hole digging and use a hoedad or a dibble bar.

As others have already mentioned, now is about the best time to plant.  The roots have time to get established before spring greenery appears.

I say go for it!

Eric

Mark Reed wrote:Now is a perfect time for planting pretty much any kind of trees, much better than spring. They have opportunity to start rooting in without the stress of doing that and growing above ground at the same time and you don't have to water every few minutes.

Also perfect for planting tree seeds, walnuts, pecans, apples, pears peaches. I plant all of those just by scraping away grass or weeds with a hoe, dropping the seeds and covering with an inch or so of compost or just soil if you don't have compost. Actually you can plant the larger seeds like walnut a a little deeper if you want too, about and inch or two. Then I cover it up with boards, or rocks, or old rugs, what ever I have and pull the cover back off the next spring. It's an easy way to direct plant where you want the tree to live rather than transplanting and you'd be surprised how fast a seed sprouted tree can grow, never having had the experience of transplant shock.

Probably lots of other perennial things could be planted now too. Maybe various berries, rhubarb, horseradish, lots of things. Also the cooler weather of fall is good for work like clearing areas, trimming trees, cutting firewood and so on.  

THIS! Thank you. I was worried planting them now would put them into shock. Does this apply to citrus as well or just cold hardy type fruits? We dont get below 30°F here tyia!

@Cherry
It sounds like you are in zone10 which makes me think of Phoenix, AZ or Miami, Florida. In both of those location, I dont see how you would shock a citrus/tropical tree by planting now vs another time in the year. So I recommend planting it now. If you had the plants indoor it would still give them time to acclimate to the soon to be colder temp outside.

S Bengi wrote:@Cherry
It sounds like you are in zone10 which makes me think of Phoenix, AZ or Miami, Florida. In both of those location, I dont see how you would shock a citrus/tropical tree by planting now vs another time in the year. So I recommend planting it now. If you had the plants indoor it would still give them time to acclimate to the soon to be colder temp outside.

Close! 9B! :) moving to a house that will be right on 9a/9b! I worry for them going from a solid 72° day and night to a sudden 70° Morning but 48°ish night.   I wish florida.. i could plant all my heart desires there!!! XD california :) mid northern. Moving to more northern but not quite.

Thanks for the advice!

You might lose the citrus fruits if there are any on it. But the plant will be fine. Even with the 70F to 50F daily temp swing. The earth them will be a more stable 60F and that 10F difference isn't too shocking.

bruce Fine wrote:just wondering if the fruit trees your thinking of planting are bare root. if so its best to plant them in dormancy after all the leaves have fallen and everything is asleep for the winter. digging holes is a lot of work. if they are not too big, roots a foot or less, you might save yourself a whole bunch of hole digging and use a hoedad or a dibble bar.

Yes, I was thinking bare root but I'll plant whatever I can find locally. And I was planning on late fall so that I could get them in the ground while they're dormant. I'm not worried about getting the holes dug as I'm no stranger to digging. I wish I were! I'm not planning a whole orchard, just a few each of apples and pears to start with.

I have found that apples and pear required alot of spraying and babying. So I recommend getting a few of these:
Jujube (you can put 2 in one hole)
Pawpaw ( you can put 2 in one hole about 14inches apart, Sunflower + Prolific, they are dwarfing/slow)
Hybrid Persimmon (Nikita is one of two hybrid that I have for small space)
Dwarf/Weeping Mulberry
Currants/Gooseberry/Jostaberry
Blackberry/Raspberry/Dewberry
Native Grapes (not the European/Middle eastern ones)
Artic and Hardy Kiwi
Akebia (these are unique pest free vine, look them up)

S BENGI, is that last one used much?
Called Chocolate vine, but tastes a mixture of banana, passionfruit and lychee, with others being mild, or even insipid.
Sounds weird.
What is Akebia used for?
When the stem of this herb is used internally, it helps to cure fungal as well as bacterial infections, in addition to infections of the urinary tract.
This herb is also effective for inducing lactation and menstruation.
The root of Akebia quinata is employed in the form of an anti-pyretic substance.
An antipyretic (, from anti- 'against' and pyretic 'feverish') is a substance that reduces fever. Antipyretics cause the hypothalamus to override a prostaglandin-induced increase in temperature. The body then works to lower the temperature, which results in a reduction in fever.8 Oct 2019

S Bengi wrote:I have found that apples and pear required alot of spraying and babying. So I recommend getting a few of these:
Jujube (you can put 2 in one hole)
Pawpaw ( you can put 2 in one hole about 14inches apart, Sunflower + Prolific, they are dwarfing/slow)
Hybrid Persimmon (Nikita is one of two hybrid that I have for small space)
Dwarf/Weeping Mulberry
Currants/Gooseberry/Jostaberry
Blackberry/Raspberry/Dewberry
Native Grapes (not the European/Middle eastern ones)
Artic and Hardy Kiwi
Akebia (these are unique pest free vine, look them up)

I want all of this. XD I heard pawpaw wont grow well here though. Same with raspberry but I do know a guy in town who babies his and they are growing pretty well. Dewberry is new to me… looking up!

Anyone know anyone who ships currants that are ready to fruit? We got some last year and nothing. :/

S Bengi wrote: And make them million dollar holes too. 3ft x 3ft x 3ft.

Haha, love it, and totally agree. I have dug a lot of million dollar holes for trees. It was absolutely worth it.

@John C Daley
Yes its also called Chocolate Vine. I actually like eating the fruit, similar to pawpaw different cultivars have slightly different flavors. But worse case you can just eat them with some tart like say lemon juice. And yes the entire plant is edible, the root, stem, leave and skin of the fruit.

@Cherry Blair
I am surprised that raspberry doesn't grow well for you in your zone9 N.California climate. They have ones that grow in zone 11 Florida, so it's just a matter of finding the right ciltivar, look for a nursery in S.Florida or S.California and have them ship it to you if you can't find something local. Personally as long as it is in the rasberry/blackberry sub-family I would plant and eat it, independent of whatever name they want to call the dozens of hybrids and species. Give Jaboticaba a try, it just might make it in your zone9. As for currants/gooseberry/jostaberry, check out these guys, I got my jostaberry from them and they bear the 1st year. https://onegreenworld.com/product-category/berries/jostaberry-berries/ If you cant grow pawpaw you can try one of it hardy relative that goes also dormant for the winter. https://toptropicals.com/cgi-bin/garden_catalog/cat.cgi?uid=Annona_squamosa

S Bengi wrote:@John C Daley
Yes its also called Chocolate Vine. I actually like eating the fruit, similar to pawpaw different cultivars have slightly different flavors. But worse case you can just eat them with some tart like say lemon juice. And yes the entire plant is edible, the root, stem, leave and skin of the fruit.

@Cherry Blair
I am surprised that raspberry doesn't grow well for you in your zone9 N.California climate. They have ones that grow in zone 11 Florida, so it's just a matter of finding the right ciltivar, look for a nursery in S.Florida or S.California and have them ship it to you if you can't find something local. Personally as long as it is in the rasberry/blackberry sub-family I would plant and eat it, independent of whatever name they want to call the dozens of hybrids and species. Give Jaboticaba a try, it just might make it in your zone9. As for currants/gooseberry/jostaberry, check out these guys, I got my jostaberry from them and they bear the 1st year. https://onegreenworld.com/product-category/berries/jostaberry-berries/ If you cant grow pawpaw you can try one of it hardy relative that goes also dormant for the winter. https://toptropicals.com/cgi-bin/garden_catalog/cat.cgi?uid=Annona_squamosa

Oh! You have purchased from top tropicals personally? I was wondering how legitimate the site was. I know it was closed down much of last year. I will definitely check both out! Thank you!

Yes I have 2acres in Ft. Myers Florida they are a legit company with a storefront in metro Fort Myers, Florida, sadly I don't have a house in Florida, but one day.