gina kansas

Sounds like your summers may be similar to the cool Pacific Northwest. We struggle with gdd's also. You may find helpful info from Washington State ag dept. which partners with mt Vernon research station- they are a tremendous resource for those of us looking for fruits varieties that excel in moderate weather.  Just double check the hardiness and you may be surprised at the diversity you will find.  Also look through the web sites of PNW fruit catalogs although you may not be able to order from them. A few I find helpful are Raintree nursery, one green world, restoring eden, burnt ridge nursery and rolling river nursery. Good Luck

@Steve Thorn- I don't think Hudson tastes like a pear, but I am seriously turned off by the texture of pear skin and flesh and have a hard time getting past that to really enjoy the flavor ( with the exception of my first home grown and peeled seckel pear this year- it was pretty darned smooth)  I perhaps mistakenly believed Hudson was initially believed to be a pear because of appearances?
I agree that Holstein has a tropical flavor that is quite enjoyable.
I had never really thought about the russet apples being more disease resistant.  I have noticed they are exceptionally healthy trees. I am incredibly fortunate to live in an area that really has no pressure from insects or disease and have never need to do more than manure the trees.  With the obvious exception of peaches, I could write a novel on climate wiggling, spraying and crying.

When DH and I choose trees for our property we spent a couple of years researching for what are supposedly the best tasting varieties, leaning toward antique, and had to be on antinovka rootstock due to an excessively high deer population.

I think you will be very happy with your gage, they are delicious.  If you can get your hands on a damson they are concentrated plum candy goodness.  Mirabelles are a great treat, however I find they need more water to produce a great crop than other plums -who wants substandard fruit from their own tree?  CA is in a drought so I had to not water the past couple of years and while the mirabelles are doing well the fruit definitely suffered.  Not so with any other type of plum.

Out of the 28 apples my DH and I planted my favorite home grown apple is Hudson Golden Gem, Holstein rates second. For pies only King will do.  Any home grown apple beats the pants off the sorry excuse for human food that store bought apples are.

I have 20 plum trees and by far my favorite Japanese plum is Beauty.  I call it a kitchen sink plum because it is so juicy you will wear it if not bending over Personally I only have disdain for Santa Rosa, if I'm mowing and there's low hanging fruit to grab I'll have a bite to remind me why I'm not impressed but it is nothing I would go out of my way to eat.  Satsuma is pretty darn good it is a drier,(than Beauty) meatier plum.

I use wood ash to clean my copper pots and any cookware that has badly burned food in it (don't judge my cooking haha!)
sure beats soaking and scrubbing with a greenie.

I LOVE my flame thrower! I strap the tank to my dolly so it is not so cumbersome.

Horsetail tends to grow in soil that is very low in calcium.  Don't really mind it in general-makes a good tea, and a girlfriend who had never seen it before commented that it was the prettiest fern she had ever seen.  Gave it new life for me. But I had it overtaking my garden and amended with oyster shell- it is very cheap bought in bulk for chickens - and also added all my egg shells for a year. did not have a single one come up in the garden area last year.

I buy the large bags of sunflower seeds to grow sunflowers- millet germinates readily also- however the niger seed is irradiated because it is not grown in the US and will not germinate.
I do not buy it anymore but rather choose to leave the wild lettuces to grow for the finches to eat- I feel it is healthier for them than irradiated dead food. And don't get me started on sugar water for the hummers...

I came across something that I found fascinating several nights ago in the wee hours while gripped by insomnia, so not really clear on details-sorry- but some guy in India invented these compostable water reservoirs that you bury in the ground, planting the tree in the middle- it is donut shaped, it is supposed to supply a years' (season?) worth of water and decomposes to further feed the tree and is supposed to have a very high rate of success in plant and forget trees.  It is supposed to encourage mothers to not euthanize their female children- to have a tree for their future. (hope that info helps in the search for product?) I have a situation similar to yours and have lost several trees in an out of state property due to not being able to water - I hope you are able to use this tidbit to find the product and get your trees started.  I need to look into it further myself.