Tuesday, April 6, 2010

New Tree Order Today

Woke up to a dark sky this morning. Grabbed the laptop after I heard thunder & checked out the radar. It looked like it could be a bad storm, lots of orange on the screen but it ended up being mostly rain. We do need the rain. It has been dryer than normal here. Last night in Illinois, a few places got baseball size hail. Wow! Can't imagine how that sounded! Hope everyone recovers quickly from the damage that caused.
Hoping to hear back from the realtor one way or another this week about the showing yesterday. Steve & I have been talking about what to do if it sells. Of course "move" :-), but where until the shop building sells. The most logical thing to do would be find a one bedroom close to the shop. There is also a chance we could live at the shop. There is an extra room that we use for storage & a kitchen area. Would need to put in a shower though. The money we would save by doing that would be a great help toward working on the barn. No, it wouldn't be the most fun thing to do & I would have to keep Steve from working 24 hours a day, but it is a possibility.

Here is the order I am putting in today...
Aronia 10
Siberian Pea Shrub 4
Russian Olive 4
Paw Paw 4
Kiwi 3
Gooseberry 4
Jostaberry 2

The more fruit the better as it is a huge part of our diet. Most people think the kiwi is only grown in the tropics. Ahhh, not so. It grows in zones 4-9, so a good fit for our farm. Kiwi have 20 times more Vitamin C than most citris fruits and almost as much potassium as a banana.
Paw paws are zone 4-8 and are said to taste like banana custard. I've never ate one, so I'll take their word for it. They can weigh up to a half a pound per fruit. It has very high protein, Vitamin A & C.
Gooseberries are zones 3-8 and make delicious pies & preserves and should bear after the first year.
Jostaberries are a combination of currant & gooseberry, grown in zones 3-8. They are loaded with Vitamin C & are resistant to most major pests.
Aronia (Nero) has up to 10 times the antioxidants as other berries and is rich in Vitamin C. Can be planted in zones 3-8. It is also called the chokeberry.
That's it for ordering plants this year. I will still be buying seedlings like tomatoes, peppers, etc. since I can't start my own this year due to the house being on the market.

I bought a new book that came yesterday. It is "From Asparagus to Zucchini" by the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition. (MACSAC). It has some great recipes that I can't wait to try when the garden starts producing.
That's all for today. I need to get to work...
Last year the plants I started in the south facing dining room.

17 comments:

Jenna Gayle said...

Wow, I was one who believed Kiwi was only a tropical plant! I'll have to put that on my list of wants, too :)

As for the rain you're missing... I know where it's at! HERE!! We've had probably twice the rainfall as normal this past year. The mosquitoes are loving it :( You can have the rain back now!

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

When it was much to do at my little garden center I used to live there just to save some time from driving. Worked really good but I did have a shower there.

It´s only the Pawpaw that can´t live in my garden. Gooseberries does live out in the forest here too. What kind of goos berries did You order? I have an old red sort here that gives the most sweet berries one can find :-)

I´m not sure if I still have my Kiwi here after this winter. It´s been one of the coldest for many years.

Have a great day now!
Christer.

the wild magnolia said...

This is so exciting, even from a distance.

Ordering a fine array of succulent fruit trees and vegetable seedlings. Jostaberries, gooseberries. Thrilling gifts of nature.

Wishing for you all a quick sale of the townehouse and cozy workable place to reside until the move to The Big Red Barn.

Have a great week.

Barb said...

Hi Chister...I ordered Pixwell Gooseberries. I hope they are the same as yours. :-)

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Unfortunally i have no name on my goos berries, but I still haven´t tried a goos berry that wasn´t delicious :-)
Christer.

Kids and Canning Jars said...

I can't wait to get my hands on that book. Sounds like something I would love.

melissa

Kids and Canning Jars said...

I can't wait to get my hands on that book. Sounds like something I would love.

Melissa

Vee said...

We'll be ordering trees within the next week, including the chokecherry (aronia, you called it). My seedlings are doing well. I hope your plans come in tight and work how you want them to.

Vikki at http://vikkisverandah.blogspot.com

Judy T said...

Oh, I want a Kiwi. Maybe next year- we need to figure out where to put the trellis. And I've got plenty to plant this year already!
I hope you hear good news about your house.
Judy

Lynn said...

I've lived a sheltered life...I think the only fruit I've had that you named is kiwi. I love kiwi, but it suddenly turned on me several years ago and can no longer eat it.

Not familiar with Russian olive...but we live in perfect country for olive trees. I started doing an internet search on olive trees, etc. There is a start-up olive farm about 3 miles down the road from us. I have been intending to make a visit. It is definitely moved up on the list.

Your list is quite exciting and hope your looker turns into the buyer. :D

Anonymous said...

Paw Paw's are just WONDERFUL!!! They do have a bananna/strawberry taste. Here in West Virginia they grown along the river banks. They are the size of a medium size potato...and so so yummy!...debbie

Barb said...

Hi Judy...I plan on using the fence by the orchard to grow the kiwi. Hope it works!

Unknown said...

We live in western Michigan and grow pawpaws on our land. They also grow along the Muskegon River.

They do taste like banana, my husband loves them. Also a lot of our customers do as well.

A couple of years ago, I made banana bread using the custard from the pawpaw instead of the banana. It was pretty good.

Barb said...

Thanks Debbie & Annamarie. Now I know paw paws will taste good :-)

Carol............. said...

I'm anxious to get on with my gardening.

I have a jostaberry bush and I make a red currant-jostaberry jelly that's eveyones favorite.

I'd love to have a paw-paw but I'm not sure if they're hardy enough for Washington.

angie said...

Hi Barb,

I hope you get an offer.

Great list of fruit!

Did you get a broadfork?

Barb said...

Thanks Angie, I hope so too :-).
We are waiting until the beginning of May to get one. Will you be getting one too?