Planting fruit trees

Since you have 2 acres and want trees.. why not make yourself a small orchard?

I have about an acre and a half in front of my house and about a half acre behind my house that seemed like i was spending alot of time mowing..

I have turned the half acre into thornless blackberry rows.

I am in the beginning stages of turning about an acre into an orchard. I chose mulberries, peaches and apples. I cannot find mulberries in the store, the peaches and apples are so hit and miss at the stores and roadside stands that i just want my own.

Peaches- O'Henry and Contender are my choices.

Apples- I am still narrowing it down but i think i will do a Grimes Golden, and a Gold Rush, maybe an Arkansas Black. Maybe a Golden Delicious for a pollinator.

All of my choices involve more work than mowing..its a hobby and i enjoy it. If the sound of tending and maintaining and pruning dont sound good then its probably not a wise choice.

If you are tired of mowing a certain plot, you can always sew in a few thousand common milkweed seeds along with perennial pollinator attractors. I have a plot like this and a walkway in the middle about 10ft wide... that way i can walk thru during spring and summer and see all of the bees and butterflies etc.. its very entertaining.
 
IMO as a yardie fruit trees are worse than leaves for yard cleanliness, not only the fruit itself but the droppings from the animals they attract. More "useful" yes but I would argue definitely more work than decorative trees as a whole...just some food for thought. If you like the idea of having abundant fruit and that is primary, then you will be more happy with them. To the previous comments about "just go by a bag of apples"...most people don't just harvest fruit trees for snacking lol. We pick a friend's single mature apple tree every fall to make 2 dozen or so apple crisps that get thrown in the chest freezer for convenient ready-to-bake homemade desserts all year. Go buy a few hundred apples at the store and then tell me it's better than picking them out of your backyard.
 
Someone already suggested nut trees and I second it. Not trouble free but easier to maintain than fruit trees. I’m growing walnuts, northern pecan, butternut and hickory here in the Northern Nevada nigh desert where they are completely out of their element. Even in bad years when we get late and early freezes and no nuts, it’s still good to have the trees.
 
I vote cherries. One of our pie cherry trees provides great shade closer to our patio and is very productive. For whatever reason, cherry trees don't seem to be as buggy as peaches. I agree, and in particular my area - peaches and apricots - just are a battle. Next up recommended are plums/prunes. Lower maintenance than apples, and frankly I just don't eat many apples. Pears are not as bug ridden, but how many pears will you eat?

I say go for it. You just can't get as tasty fruit at the store, even organic.

Agree on the nut trees. Even white oaks you can use the acorns. I have a nice walnut tree but the squirrels are voracious!

Plus I second the shade tree as big non fruit trees. Just don't plant the idiotic cottonwood or poplar trees. Trash trees, almost useless.
 
I would do apple or pear.

Since you have kids, I'd do this if you don't mind the initial layout. Berries are excellent for the body and brain 🧠 food.

Enclose an area with post and chicken 🐔 fence. Plant blueberry bushes and 🍓 patch below the bushes. With your climate I'd expect a good yield. And no birds or rodents stealing your food.

Great for breakfast smoothies.
 
If you want something unusual, take a look at Loquat trees, aka Chinese plums. This is an evergreen tree that is rather hardy over a wide range of climates. I've eaten some fruit, and it's good but takes a little getting used to. The seeds are large, but not avacado large. They actually bear fruit in the early spring.
Biggest issue is the deer love them too!
 
If you want instant gratification, now’s the time to grow hardy winter greens like kale, Brussels sprouts, peas and onions/garlic. Fruit trees take a bit of time and they also need to be maintained somewhat via dormant pruning and removal of deadwood.

In any case, whatever you do, don’t buy plants/soil/fertilizer from Home Depot or Lowe’s or whoever’s the local box store. Go to a local nursery. Locally-blended, “organic” soil and compost is worlds better than the Home Depot stuff that’s just sewage sludge and fly ash mixed with peat moss and perlite.
 
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