What did you do in the garden today?

[chickmom3941]

Apples, plums and pears!

Yum! I wonder if plums grow in zone 4b? I'll have to look it up, as I would love to grow some of those as well. We have apple and pear trees, but I hadn't thought of plum trees till I saw your post. Great idea.

 

[lazy gardener]

Yes, plums do grow this far north. I had my first plums last summer. Only a couple, but they were tasty.

 

[GardenTillers44]

Yum! I wonder if plums grow in zone 4b?

Apples, plums and pears!

Plums are amazingly hardy and a number of them will survive MN winters. We've had apples, plums, pears and cherries for about ten years. I resisted spraying for years and never got much of a crop. The last two years I relented and have been using an organic spray regimen to control the blackspot, canker and the pesky plum curculio weevil that plagues our fruit. We had bumper crops of apples, cherries and pears this year, and still have apples to process. We planted heirloom varieties which don't seem to have much resistance to disease. I finally added 2 Honeycrisp apples last year that are supposed to be much more disease resistant. I've concluded that, like most of our garden projects, it would be much less expensive to buy fruit from the local orchards. But there is something very gratifying about seeing them bloom each spring, being pollinated by our bees, and getting those first harvests and savoring the fruit from trees nurtured on your own property. I've been grafting the last couple of years and can't wait until my "frankenstein tree" produces 4 different kinds of apples! Good luck with your fruit trees!

 

[CapricornFarm]

Today the guy spread the loads of topsoil where the trees will be planted.

Looks like good dirt!

 

[CapricornFarm]

Plums are amazingly hardy and a number of them will survive MN winters. We've had apples, plums, pears and cherries for about ten years. I resisted spraying for years and never got much of a crop. The last two years I relented and have been using an organic spray regimen to control the blackspot, canker and the pesky plum curculio weevil that plagues our fruit. We had bumper crops of apples, cherries and pears this year, and still have apples to process. We planted heirloom varieties which don't seem to have much resistance to disease. I finally added 2 Honeycrisp apples last year that are supposed to be much more disease resistant. I've concluded that, like most of our garden projects, it would be much less expensive to buy fruit from the local orchards. But there is something very gratifying about seeing them bloom each spring, being pollinated by our bees, and getting those first harvests and savoring the fruit from trees nurtured on your own property. I've been grafting the last couple of years and can't wait until my "frankenstein tree" produces 4 different kinds of apples! Good luck with your fruit trees!

My husband wants a Frankie apple tree too!

 

[chickmom3941]

Plums are amazingly hardy and a number of them will survive MN winters. We've had apples, plums, pears and cherries for about ten years. I resisted spraying for years and never got much of a crop. The last two years I relented and have been using an organic spray regimen to control the blackspot, canker and the pesky plum curculio weevil that plagues our fruit. We had bumper crops of apples, cherries and pears this year, and still have apples to process. We planted heirloom varieties which don't seem to have much resistance to disease. I finally added 2 Honeycrisp apples last year that are supposed to be much more disease resistant. I've concluded that, like most of our garden projects, it would be much less expensive to buy fruit from the local orchards. But there is something very gratifying about seeing them bloom each spring, being pollinated by our bees, and getting those first harvests and savoring the fruit from trees nurtured on your own property. I've been grafting the last couple of years and can't wait until my "frankenstein tree" produces 4 different kinds of apples! Good luck with your fruit trees!

What kind of organic spray do you use?

 

[rebrascora]

Talking about fruit trees....
I'm not sure about your zones but I'm in the North East of the UK where we get frosts and a little snow most winters, occasionally quite a bit. I bought an early apricot 3 years ago. It was just a stick with a few side shoots on a dry root ball and a bargain at £3.99 in my local Aldi store, which was why I bought it. I did not really hold out any hope that it would survive or produce fruit in my climate. I planted it against a south facing stone wall of the house (apparently they like a lime soil) and it gave me 6 massive fruits the second year and 20 this year. They have fabulous flavour too and it seems to be resistant to mildew and other pests, so no spraying required..... the only problem is that I have no idea what breed it is and I really wanted another one. I requested another for my birthday present last year and my partner had to pay a considerable amount more (£30) for a similar stick with dry root ball specimen but a different breed..... I somehow doubt it will be as good as my Aldi bargain tree. I never dreamed that I would be able to grow apricots outdoors in my climate. Every time we have a warmish, sunny day in February, I am out there looking to see if my bees are pollenating the flowers. I have not had to cover it with fleece or take any special measures other than pruning and training it along wires on the wall. It has done far better than my plum or apple saplings.

 

[deepbluesea]

Yum! I wonder if plums grow in zone 4b? I'll have to look it up, as I would love to grow some of those as well. We have apple and pear trees, but I hadn't thought of plum trees till I saw your post. Great idea.

My sister lives in Minneapolis and she has a couple of plum trees. They don't yield a ton, but she does get plums. Not sure what kind, though. Good luck!

 

[CapricornFarm]

Talking about fruit trees....
I'm not sure about your zones but I'm in the North East of the UK where we get frosts and a little snow most winters, occasionally quite a bit. I bought an early apricot 3 years ago. It was just a stick with a few side shoots on a dry root ball and a bargain at £3.99 in my local Aldi store, which was why I bought it. I did not really hold out any hope that it would survive or produce fruit in my climate. I planted it against a south facing stone wall of the house (apparently they like a lime soil) and it gave me 6 massive fruits the second year and 20 this year. They have fabulous flavour too and it seems to be resistant to mildew and other pests, so no spraying required..... the only problem is that I have no idea what breed it is and I really wanted another one. I requested another for my birthday present last year and my partner had to pay a considerable amount more (£30) for a similar stick with dry root ball specimen but a different breed..... I somehow doubt it will be as good as my Aldi bargain tree. I never dreamed that I would be able to grow apricots outdoors in my climate. Every time we have a warmish, sunny day in February, I am out there looking to see if my bees are pollenating the flowers. I have not had to cover it with fleece or take any special measures other than pruning and training it along wires on the wall. It has done far better than my plum or apple saplings.

View attachment 1207485

Looks great! I think they call that espalier.

 

[lazy gardener]

Rebra, I love your espaliered apricot. It's gorgeous. You've done a great job training it. You should have even more fruit since you now have a different variety so they can cross pollinate.

My plums are American seedling plums. Nothing fancy. I also have a grafted apricot, and a Manchurian apricot. Planted a peach tree last summer. 2 apples, 2 high bush, a swath of low bush cranberries, Juneberries, Purple, red and yellow raspberries, and 2 new Cornelian cherries. Also, hazelbert which has not yet produced.