Okay, I started out several years ago with trying to plant a 'green
fence' for privacy in my front
yard, giving me some shade, hide those on the street from being able to look straight into my windows; give me something to look at other than the neighbor's house, and in season... some fresh fruit. At the time I didn't have
enough space to deal with all my needs and hadn't heard of
permaculture....
If you are lucky here (because of late and sudden frost snaps you can lose your peach blooms and first-set) and one in three years you get a crop. Now I have a lovely Contender Peach, when I first planted that lonely twig in 2006, if you were lucky and put your lawnchair just right it'd shade the back of your head. It is now mature and we have gotten two crops off it; oh are they delicious! This spring we tried to thwart mom-nature and watered the tree during bloom and a snapfreeze to coat it with ice and keep the blooms alive. We did so though it got to 28f. Yay. Three days later we got two nights and three days of cold, some snow, and about 20f for a low. THAT was the end of it. Okay, I have some superdwarfed
apple trees; and started looking for a rootstock to bring my Contender down to a trimmable 7' height to be able to afford to cover it with floating row cover or a snap over hoop frame I can toss sheet plastic on. I want a couple of rows of these near my planned walipini...
Any suggestions? I do have two urban acres now; including that small front yard with two rows of different fruit trees all dwarf or superdwarf except that Contender; and they are starting to all mature and do their duty; except the quince. Last year it had tent caterpillers, this year it's drawing squash bugs... but I love the preserves and pies I get from it. Any thoughts there either? Oh, due to town covenants, I actually have the location and distance from neighbors TO have
chickens, I'm mulling some guinea hens again, just to eat all the bleeping bugs (squash and ticks). My neighbors wouldn't love me and it would tie me to tending warmblooded livestock... hm. Maybe moveable coop for daily grazing...
Oh, I could so use a copy of Stefan's Orchard CD!!!
[front yard, Contender Peach; 4 Lil Big Pixie Crunch; three Stella cherry, one Carmine Cherry (#2 didn't make the winter, first winter in) one unknown pear that has never bloomed (has neighbor's Bradford within 100 yards); one Scarlet Sentinal Columnar
apple (thing blooms forever, the cross pollinator for the Pixies), a Siberian Quince that starts with a K; and three grape vines. (one's green seedless, one red seedless, one concord and beware the seeds) the Bonfire Patio Peach (just acquired, someone really botched pruning it, poor thing)] Want to put a few rows in near the walipini to be built this summer as winter windbreak and do superdwarfing, of fruit producing peach trees...
