Nut trees and etc.

Permaculture-based consulting, education

and stock for today’s homesteader

Heartnut (Juglans ailantifolia): After trying my first heartnuts straight from the tree at a local Amish farm, I was floored! I lightly brushed off the husk, tapped the shell with my pocketknife on a fencepost and “ding!” the shell came apart in halves and the whole heart-shaped nut fell out intact. Add to this the flavor that was like a sweeter cross between English/black walnuts and you get one incredible nut! Anyone who has dealt with black walnut processing will love this change of pace. Heartnuts are smaller trees, spreading more to make an attractive yard tree with white bark like English walnuts. I’ve seen a few plants at various spots and they are all growing incredibly fast, putting on 4’ a year. Self-fertile. Full to part sun; Zone 5-8. Height 30’ gal pots $12

English Walnut (Juglans regia): Sometimes known as Carpathian walnuts, these are seedlings that have good cold hardiness. While not quite as large as grafted varieties, they come pretty close and are easy to grow. More upright growth than heartnut with beautiful smooth white bark! Can sometimes have pest issues on the nuts but often have plenty of unharmed nuts to supply your winter pantry. Full to part sun; Zone 4-8. Height 40-60’ gal pots $12

Chinese Chestnut (Castanea mollisima): These beautiful spreading trees produce loads of large nuts at a young age. Leaves glossy green. Beware the husks which are incredibly spiny (like a sea urchin) and will get in your shoes if you don’t gather them all up to eat first! But slice a cross in the hull, roast over a fire, peel and dip in melted butter—you’ll have a treat that will warm you up quick on cool fall/winter evenings! Unique for their starchiness amongst nuts—a tree-based carbohydrate source. Immune to chestnut blight. Plant two for pollination. Full to part sun; Zone 4-8. Height 30-50’ gal pots $12 Limited Availability in 2011

New! Eastern Hazelnut (Corylus americana): A lovely landscape accent plant or hedge that also bears prolific crops of nuts. Since these are wild seedlings, the nuts are small compared to the improved filberts and the shells thicker. Nuts about the size of a pea when shelled out but very tasty and sweet! Plants are a little slow to get going but really take off after their second year in the ground. Shrubby growth gets 6-8’ tall with equal spread. Fall foliage is stunning with colors all over the spectrum. Showy male catkins in the winter and spring. Plant two for pollination. Can take shade to full sun. 4” pots $6; gal pots $12

Trifoliate Orange (Poncirus trifoliata): A delightful little hardy citrus that is still highly underutilized. Technically only hardy to Zone 6, but should be fine in Zone 5 as well. This is the ‘Flying Dragon’ strain, grown from seed. It reaches 6’ high, with fancy twisted stems and meaty curved thorns. Leaves drop in winter but stems stay dark green and look great in a little snow! Produces great-smelling golfball-sized fruit that is very seedy but can be used to make very fragrant lemonade or marmalade. This could make a really neat living fence for poultry or small stock. Full to part sun. 4” pots $6; gal pots $12

New! Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum): A great productive, and adaptable variety we got starts from on a local Amish farm. The variety name is unknown, though it might be ’MacDonald’ or ‘Victoria’. The stems are not as crimson red as some other varieties, but still have a nice amount of red blush to keep the plant very pretty. Flavor is no different than the bright red types. We have not noticed as much ‘random die-off’ with this variety as with the more standard red varieties we have tried from other nurseries over the years. 4” pots $6; gal pots $12

Companion Plants to Create Fruit Tree Guilds

These plants are planted around the base of fruit trees to provide a number of different services:

-Keep grass and other weeds from competing with the roots of the fruit tree. (These plants all have root systems that either do not compete with fruit tree roots or the plants are dormant during the time of year when trees need more water and nutrients.)

-Provide minerals or nitrogen to support tree growth

-Provide food or habitat for beneficial insects

-Many are plants that provide additional harvests to make the square footage that the tree takes up in your garden more productive

Comfrey: Considered a “dynamic accumulator,” comfrey has deep tap roots that mine the subsoil for minerals which it makes available to the tree when its leaves die or are slashed periodically throughout the growing season. Comfrey is a “must-have” for every permaculture garden or orchard. It is useful for herbal salves, a wonderful high-protein animal fodder, and attracts beneficial insects. Its leaves are high in nitrogen, and it is used by many organic gardeners as a compost activator. Planted in a ring around a young fruit tree, comfrey grows vigorously, spreads by clumping out and keeps out weeds when full sun is available under the tree (a living mulch). It will gradually die back as the tree gets bigger and casts more shade. Extremely easy to propagate by divisions and root-cuttings. Note: once established, comfrey is almost impossible to get rid of – plant it where you’re sure you want it to stay! Gal pots (contain at least 6 plants per pot to be divided) $12

Chives: Beautiful purple globe flowers attract beneficial insects. Chives love the light shade cast by a well-pruned fruit tree and will provide plenty of seasoning for your cooking. Plant in a circle around the very base of the trunk to keep weeds away. 4” pots (contain multiple plants to be divided) $6

Garlic: Goes dormant in July, so it doesn’t interfere with the tree’s needs for water and nutrients in the summer. We recommend letting the garlic go wild and form dense clumps to keep out weeds. Do not dig bulbs when you would normally harvest garlic in July, since this can damage the tree roots at a sensitive time, although you can pull it if the ground is soft enough to do so. A good time to harvest the garlic is early spring when it can be eaten like green onions. Always leave plenty in the ground to do its job around the tree. 4” pots (contain multiple plants to be divided) $6 also available from August through May as bulbs for our current market price (usually $0.45/oz)

White Clover: Fixes nitrogen from the air via a symbiotic relationship with a bacterium it hosts in root nodules. White clover has a low, spreading growth habit, and helps keep out weeds. Pretty white flowers also attract beneficial insects and make a medicinal tea. Inoculated with Rhizobium bacteria. 4” pots (can be divided into multiple plants) $6 Not Available in 2011

Apples, Pears & Peaches, Cherries, Plums, & Pawpaws, Blackberries & Raspberries, Gooseberries, Jostaberries & Currants, Grapes & Kiwis, Hardy Figs, Nut Trees & etc.