Trees

most pine trees grow fast and offer a wind block, if that is what you need. If I had an open area I would plant fruit and nut trees and then pine (wind block), maple, oak, smoke tree and some lilacs.

I can't say I would disagree more about the Pine windblock thing. Have you ever been into a pine plantation after a storm? They have weak, shallow root systems and are easily blown over in the wind. If you want a wind-block, plant something with a deep root system that supports it.

Is it your understanding that when coppicing a fruit tree the suckers will not yield fruit?

My land is mostly forested, from the last time that it was clear-cut the only trees which have sprouted back up again from the stumps has been the maples. None of the other species here can survive being cut to near grade.

Do you have experience with coppicing?



Why only heritage apples?

When selecting our apple trees, we did select a few heritage varieties, though we included a few modern varieties as well. Extremely high sugar content varieties along with bitter varieties, focused mostly on cidering.

Crabapples grow very prolifically in this area. Select apple varieties usually pollinate on their own nicely. Why would you bother with crabapples?

Do you make pectin? My Dw does. She finds that she needs very small quantities of pectin, and we forage plenty for those needs.

How about mullberry? They make a nice wine as well.

I planted 3000 virginia pines as a barrior(road) & later on to be a crop., yesterday I planted 500 long leaf pines as a crop.

my first choice here was evergreens for wind and sun blocks..and they also provide habitat..then i would go with good deciduous trees for shade and habitat..you might want to put in some maples for syrup, and trees for future firewood..people say no to apspens, but they do burn in our wood furnace well and they are like weeds..so you can't ever run out of them..an aspen woods will keep you warm for a good long time.

they are also good nurse trees for hardwoods..

of course my first choice would always be fruit and nut trees, but here the first things i planted were pines (white and red), canadian hemlock, spruces (white and black and blue), cedar, juniper, etc..along my fencelines..and then ash, maple and oak for shade trees, we already had a huge aspen woods with red maples and wild cherry...our field has alder,

I like the idea of planting a couple white oaks in a special location for the benefit of future generations. They live hundreds of years. We have mostly red and white oaks on our rural property, and after I make a clearing for the house, I'd like to plant a few red maple cultivars along the forest edge just for the fall foliage. I also love sycamores, but they are messy near the house. I'll probably plant a few off in the woods somewhere.

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"What one generation tolerates, the next generation embraces." -John Wesley

Do not plant Pines near the house. They are a fire hazard and are always dropping limbs if the ice doesn't get them. I have a few pine in the woods but will get rid of any that comes near the house. Chinese Chestnut is another good one along with an oak that is from China cant remember the name but the Forestry nursery can provide them and all they are good for is fire wood because the grow fast. Saw tooth oak is the name.

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God must have loved stupid people because he made so many of them.

With coppicing you leave about a 1' at the base of the tree, not cutting to grade. Suckers will yield fruit, but obviously if you are cutting every few years, your yields are probably going to be zero for at least the first 5 years of the new growth, until it matures.

Heritage apples would tend to be open pollinated which is a huge benefit on a small plantation, they also tend to taste much much nicer than modern fruit which have been bred for size and colour rather than flavour.

It depends on your area. If you don't have Crabapple nearby, they are nice for the birds, and you can also make a jelly from the fruit. THe colouring during fall is wonderful too.

Nope, I'm a farm manager in Kenya currently, no time for making stuff. Mulberry is a nice idea, I think they can be a bit messy because of dropping the fruit, but its definitely a nice tree.

Cheers
Rowan

Crabapple trees are those which are wild; open pollinated and wild planted [they are most often planted by bear or deer].

When the DNA mixes you have no foretelling of what the resultant fruit will be like. Usually small, bitter and high in pectin [thus crabapple like].

Our local Organic Farmers and Gardeners association has a group of crabapple foragers. They go out in our forests in search of new varieties. There is always a chance that a crabapple tree might yield good tasting apples.

Whenever one is found, the scions are brought in during our scion exchange event.

This is how 'new' varieties are discovered in this area.

At the annual 'Common Ground' fair in Unity, we have an apple tasting event. Which lasts 3 days. Hundreds of varieties of apples are brought in, and are available for tasting.

A few dozen varieties are grafted in local organic nurseries, and made avail for purchase through the farming co-op.

But most of them are exchanged at the scion exchange, for folks to graft in their own orchards.




Yes, they are the source of pectin for jelly.

Have to agree about the pines and windbreak. We've had all the pines near our house removed. That's after a hurricane dropped 3 big ones. They blew over revealing just how shallow rooted they were. Fortunately they fell away from the house. Those pines measured between 18" and 2' across the trunk. Our house would have been crushed if they'd fallen towards it.

And they are bad about dropping big limbs and losing their tops in ice storms. Before we had ours cut, we had a big clean up job after every major storm, especially ice storms. Finally after worrying about them for years, we had them cut. Removed 17 from the front yard and 10, if memory serves from the backyard. All were mature pines.

Lee

Same here, even before the fruit and nut trees, which the windbreaks would help to protect and to create a microclimate. I chose Black Hills spruce.

When a Crabapple crosses with a garden apple lets say, it doesn't affect the initial generation of fruit. It only affects the next generation (I.e. if you plant the seeds from an apple which has been OP, then you have no idea what the next generation will be like. However, the initial generation fruit will be normal)

I maybe misunderstanding what you are saying, but, yes you can get the pectin from the Crabapple (to use in other recipes), but you can also make a jelly / preserve from the fruit themselves.

Cheers
Rowan

Me too. I would favor the black locust over the honey locust.

"Sweet sap silver maple" from st. lawrence nursery for syrup - I can tap them before I die.

Willows here and there where it's wet. A few poplars where it is drier. I'll be feeding them excess N later.

Oaks with low tanin acorns as a mast crop.

Mulberry for chicken feed and to keep the wild birds off of my food.

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[raising chickens] [diatomaceous earth] [permaculture] [rocket mass heater] [lawn care]

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Let's see, Acacia Mangium for quick wood, and cattle feed from the leaves, makes nice living fence posts too. Almendro for a beautiful tree, huge when old, great wildlife tree, required for lapa verdes (Great Green Maccaw), Roble Coral, a kind of oak, great for deer, good wood too. Surá for beams for home.

I could go on and on, but it isn't going to help most of you much, since I live in the tropics.

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Growing trees and food in Costa Rica.