Diavolicchio - An Orchard at the End of the Country

[Diavolicchio]

I lived in Maine for 17 years, in The County. I am amazed that you can grow all those different fruits....in Maine!

Do you sell any trees? I'd love to add a couple of good heirlooms to my property. Maybe you can teach me to get apples and pears from what I have now. I planted my Home Depot dwarf pear and apple almost 8 years ago and get next to nothing. My two cherries succumbed to the first cold, cold winter. Something ate the roots on one of the dwarf apples, and I replaced it with a standard tree......from Home Depot.

I get a gazillion very strait verticle shoots all summer, as fast as I can strip them off, 6 more take their place. If I get blossoms and fruit, it all falls off before ripening. Around year 5 or so, I got 11 small, gnarly, and wonderful apples off one of the dwarfs.

Thanks for the note and the welcome. It's possible to grow most kinds of fruit in Maine as long as 1) you live in the more temperate part of the State (i.e., not clear up in Aroostook like you did), and 2) that you choose varieties that have been proven to be hardy in this part of the country. Most people are surprised to learn we can grow peaches in Maine. The problem is most varieties of peaches simply won't grow up here without eventually freezing to death. But there are exceptions and you simply need to seek them out.

I don't sell any trees as of yet, mostly because I'm preoccupied getting my own trees established. At some point I will though. I'd advise you to stay away from place like Home Depot for buying your trees though. It's not that they don't have healthy trees; it's that they're likely to only have the really common varieties. If you're just going to plant a couple trees, plant varieties that are truly worthwhile and interesting. If you have a general idea what you want, I can steer you in the direction of good nurseries that will ship to you AND offer a great range of varieties from which to choose.

Do you know what varieties you've got currently?

 

[FarmerChick]

being in NC our peaches do wonderful....our peach trees are near the lake...and would you believe we are in competition with the beavers!
My Dad wrapped wire around as a deterent, and those beavers went to the neighbors house and chewed down one of the their trees along the waters edge..LOL

you surprised me saying peaches in Maine.

You said the key thing I so believe in...find the right varieties that thrive in your area and grow, grow, grow.

 

[freemotion]

When we bought our first house almost 8 years ago, I was not proficient with the internet and not as far on my journey as I am now....My path took a sharp turn a few years ago. Back then, I just wanted to get some trees in fast, and bought some with the appliances for the house and some fencing, all on the same truck! I didn't want to be like others who said, "If we'd put in some trees when we moved here 20 years ago, we'd have fruit now." Then still not plant trees. So I grabbed four trees and a shovel and didn't have much time to think or plan, I had a barn and a fence to build so I could bring my horse home, my first priority.

I think I got winesaps and cortlands, but I'm not sure which tree died. I am allergic to most raw fruits, so I was thinking mostly of my horse and a few pies when I bought them. I was not so commited to ss then, but always did more in that direction than most people.

Now I am fully aware of the value of heirloom varieties of everything....superior nutrient profiles, mostly, and the need to save them and keep some diversity on this planet! And flavor! Fruits and veggies in the supermarket are boring, bland, nutrient-poor, and higher in starches (fattening without providing necessary nutrition levels! Yikes!) than older varieties. My eyes were opened when a client brought me a bag with four varieties of vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes. For the first time in my life, I ate tomatoes by themselves and couldn't get enough. Fresh-picked garden tomatoes of hybrid varieties didn't do it for me.

Looking forward to your wisdom!

 

[Beekissed]

Welcome to the forum! Can't wait to read about your progress and see all the pics of your projects, home and orchard.

 

[enjoy the ride]

So I grabbed four trees and a shovel and didn't have much time to think or plan, I had a barn and a fence to build so I could bring my horse home, my first priority.

Really- if you don't like your apple tree, CHANGE IT! It is pretty easy to gather some scion wood from a friend's good variety and whack off the old tree and do an interstem graft. Voila- the right tree with a running start as it already has a good root system.
No cost- just a little patience.

 

[Diavolicchio]

When we bought our first house almost 8 years ago, I was not proficient with the internet and not as far on my journey as I am now....My path took a sharp turn a few years ago. Back then, I just wanted to get some trees in fast, and bought some with the appliances for the house and some fencing, all on the same truck!

I see the word 'fencing' and I just shudder. My lack of knowledge initially surrounding proper deer fencing really bit me in the butt. I lost many fruit trees to deer, partly because of living so far away from the orchard that I couldn't see the damage occurring until too late, but even more so because I thought I'd put up a sufficient deer fence originally when I clearly hadn't. The deer population is quite heavy near the orchard, so you really need to have a substantial high-tensile wire fence that's a good 8' tall, with substantial wooden posts spaced every 16' to 20'. I've got one of these fences now, but my lack of a good enough fence during the first couple of years I had the land was probably the biggest factor behind the loss of many of my original trees.

Here's what I eventually had to put up to keep the deer out (that's the fence builder in the photo, not me.)

 

[Diavolicchio]

Welcome to the forum! Can't wait to read about your progress and see all the pics of your projects, home and orchard.

Thanks, Bee. I appreciate the kind welcome.

 

[chipmunk]

Mighty glad to have you aboard, John! I look forward to hearing about your progress. It sounds like you are living the dream!

 

[Diavolicchio]

Mighty glad to have you aboard, John! I look forward to hearing about your progress. It sounds like you are living the dream!

Thanks, Chipmunk. I'm looking forward to this next chapter of my life out at the orchard. I appreciate the welcome.

 

[TanksHill]

I have fence envy, with a capitol E. I have been trying to work a fence into my budget for years, unfortunately it has not happened. That one you have there is beautiful!!!!


gina