My American Plums have arrived!!!!!!!!!!

Alas, I am too busy to get them into the ground right now, excepting the 2 that I planted together in my back yard. MOST of the plums will go out to a rough patch of land that I own outside of town: I will know when the plums are ripe when the plums in my back yard are ready. I did this with asparagus and it works well enough.

When the asparagus in my back yard is ready then the bigger planting outside of town will be ALMOST ready. I expect that it will work the same with the plums. I ordered a total 25 trees from the state forestry department, and when you include the roots these are 3' tall.

I also ordered a crystal that should help them get established, and I got about 10 times more than I will need. I think I will try it out on vegetables outside of town as well!

Yay, Terri! 

I received 75 native fruit and nut bushes and trees today, from our Department of Conservation.  They will be forming an edible hedge around the property.  Well, around half of it, anyway.

One of my permie books says "You'll need a nursery to grow the thousands of plants you will need".  He got that right.  When I put my property line into CAD and laid out the plantings, I was shocked at how small a dent it put in my 2 ac., soon-to-be-former hayfield.

Named varieties of nuts and fruits will form the Food Forest, closer to the house.  Hopefully the native edibles will satisfy the deer and keep them out of my garden.   

I mailed another check to DofC yesterday for some N fixers.  I forgot about them when I ordered the edibles.  Email says the comfrey and other herbs have been shipped from the herb purveyor, too.

I was unexpectedly busy.

My youngest child wanted to borrow $5 to buy "coins" for an on-line game. I have a prepaid credit card for that purpose, but, the problem was he had already borrowed money during spring break and had not paid me back, yet.

I offered a compromise: he could work outside with me and I would pay him $5 an hour. So, we got the little trees in instead of me cooking and I bought him sonic for his dinner.

He is now buying his "coins", though I think that he will not have much time to play before 9 PM.

The larger trees were not well planted: there were a lot of tree roots just 1 foot below the surface and the larger plum trees (about half of them)  had longer roots than that. So I planted them at an angle, and neither DS or I had the strength to dig more tonight. I have wonky ankles and DS
is not allowed to lift because the cast on his arm just came off. DS stomped the shovel into the ground and I lifted the dirt out!

I was not to impressed with the crystals: they did not adhere well at all to the roots. They did get some, but.....I think that I will mix the soaked crystals with the earth, instead of trying to get them to stick to roots.

Well the larger trees might be crooked but they should live: the soil was in excellent condition and I used all of my skill when I packed the soil around the roots: just firm enough and no more! And. the trees were very properly dormant. They should thrive and give me juicy plums!

And, as a bonus the daffodils are blooming. I will be in that area on an errand in a day or two and I can pick them then.The first flowers of spring are ALWAYS welcome! I was too tired to get them tonight, and it was time for both of us to stop.

I am lucky enough to have a wildflower that will fix nitrogen, and it is a big and handsome plant. But, it does not come back every year, just in the years when the moisture is correct. I am not really sure how much nitrogen gets fixed because it is so erratic!

S2man, what kinds of trees and bushes are you planting?

how do i get trees from my Department of Conservation?

What state do you live in? Can you google (Your state) forestry service, or (Your state) conservation service and check out the website? Or, can you contact (Your state) extension service?

Most states have trees that they sell for very little for conservation uses: My state forestry service sells them for the purpose of stream erosion control They charge about $1 a tree. I could also have ordered trees for a windbreak through the extension service, and all I would have to do is to say that I needed a windbreak and they would sell them to me.

OK, there IS a stream on my property, and any trees planted near the stream will enjoy more water in the soil and have a better chance of survival. Surely my stream can use a little more stability? I had a selection of trees they could have sold me, but willow trees do not produce fruit and plums do. We all like plums, so that is what I chose. DS and I planted some near the stream and on up part of a hill. The stream and the hill are possibly a little more stable and we will have plums in a bit: a win-win solution!

If you want to order trees this way do it NOW! They only sell them in the early spring, and you either have a few days to get your order in or you have just missed it: the trees are sent bare root and they are only sent out in the early spring.

From the Missouri DofC:

Wild Edibles Bundle
50 plants includes 5 each of : Pawpaw, Black chokeberry, Wild plum, Elderberry, Persimmon, Red mulberry, Golden currant, Blackberry, Black cherry, Serviceberry 

Nut Tree Bundle
25 plants including 5 each of Shellbark hickory, Pecan, Hazelnut, Black walnut, and Butternut

Plus four extra large, named variety, dwarf fruit trees to start the FF proper, near the house.  I'll be a busy guy tomorrow, when I take off work to plant.  It's supposed to be rainy for the next few days.  Perfect timing!

i put in 4 wild american plums two years ago, but had to move them to a different area last year..with a good heavy mulch and they are growing nicely, one gave me some fits but then took off..

one of the easier baby trees I've put in to get growing.

i put mine in a hedgerow in the north end of my food forest garden..

Took me a while to find out that Missouri's Wild Edibles are SOLD OUT for the year.  Probably need to order in February to get in on it--it's such an AWESOME deal.