Grow More Food with Perennial Fruit and Nut Bushes, Vines and Trees
Tips, Tricks
This time of year I love going out into the garden to check on my perennials to see which ones are beginning to show signs of life. It is a bit of a passion of mine to add to my urban orchard. This brings me to today’s subject. Earlier in the Urban Gardening Series I touched on how to plan and start your annual crops but purposely left out perennials. With the inspiration of spring that has me thinking about perennials I thought I would touch on planning for perennials in your small space or urban garden. Perennials are defined as plants that live for more than two years separating them from annuals or biannual plans that you grow and harvest within a year or two. In the context of your garden they are crops that you plant once and they keep producing year after year. 0:05 Introduction 0:07 Defined perennials 0:51 Food Forest Perennials 1:16 Perennial crops that pay for themselves 2:03 Planning for perennials 2:27 Hardiness Zone 3:18 General growth patterns of perennials: Bush Tree and Vines 3:41 Perennial fruiting bushes 4:10 Perennial fruiting vines 5:21 Perennial fruiting trees 6:40 Finding areas for fruit trees, bushes and vines. 7:30 How do they Pollinate 7:57 Methods to grow more perennials in smaller areas 8:08 Growing fruit bearing perennials in pots or containers 9:12 Growing Espalier trees to produce more food in smaller spaces list of perennials in my garden and status of production: (31 currently) Apple Trees: light production expected full production when tree is 5-7 years old Harcourt Honey Crisp Combination Apple Tree 7 Varieties Espalier Apple Tree: expected full production year 3 Honey Crisp Spartan Asparagus: expected full production year 2 from 3 year old roots Millennium (green) Purple Asparagus Ravel (white) Blue Berries: Light production year 2 North Land North Country North Blue Cherry Tree: expected production 5-7 years Romeo Fig: Expected production year 2 Magnolia Breba (container) (lower growth) Violet De Bordeaux Breba Fig (container) (upright growth) Goji Berry: expected production year 3 from seed Grapes: expected full production year 4-5 Heirloom Grandpa Legaree Heirloom Grandpa Lampi Frontenac Frontenac Gris Valiant Pixie Dwarf Vine (Container) Honey Berries: expected full production year 3 Borealis Berry Blue Indigo gem (container) Tundra (container) Raspberries (unknown varieties) Full production year 2 Two Red and one Yellow variety Rhubarb: Full production year 2 Arctic Rhubarb from Kay Garvin via Dad Unknown Strawberries: Full production year 2 Seascape Future additions to my orchard: Apple Tree: Grafting Goodland Mike’s Apple Pear Tree: Paul’s Pear Lingon Berries Mint Moroccan Mint Fruit and Nut Trees of Alberta Facebook Page [1] https://www.facebook.com/groups/1484297785164334/ Related Episodes Urban Gardening Series Playlist https://youtu.be/zVMjq02541Y?list=PL5mfR-r4BXH0wwN-9IQ--WX-C-4JqTR-7 How to Grow an Espalier Fruit or Nut Tree https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5mfR-r4BXH2zbHVmcbp8if3JJf25D7jt Growing Perennials in Zone 3 Alberta Canada https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5mfR-r4BXH1gSII9kPYOu41Vn3P6R3Nv
Comments
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Personally, I grow a lot of red raspberries, although this year I managed to increase my numbers of black raspberries and blackberries, not to mention add in some new varieties, including yellow raspberries. I've also added grapes, blueberries, red currants and gooseberries, to say nothing about roses chrysanthemums and I have plans to add in arctic/hardy kiwi and strawberries, to say nothing about the possibility of apple and pear threes.
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This is just dumb; as soon as there is a disaster the entire neighborhood will eat your garden
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how long do I wake to see if a bare root plant survived? How many weeks or months
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(❛‿❛✿̶̥̥)
Thank you for sharing 😊 -
Very thorough my friend and you're right, I'm in zone 4 and my last frost date is the 30th of May!
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Hello again Stephen, I have some new questions :P
First: Is it ok if I cut young fruit trees now (they have leaves and so on) ? I mean for example I have a apricot tree that I planted in march or so and it is a bit tall (about 1.3m), after seeing some info (on your channel and others) about pruning from height to get a low branching tree (bush like) I thought I should trim mine also...
Another question: Is it late to plant fruit trees now and what would happen if I did ?! (temps are around 20+ daytime, 5-10 at night)
Cheers! -
Very nice perennial list! How's the lingon berries going? do they produce a lot? Did you know that white asparagus are actually green ones that you cover so they do not produce chlorophyll? Since your a fan of hardy fruit crops like me, do you know about the Green Barn Nursery? They are located near my house and they have all fruit crops you can grow in Canada. http://www.greenbarnnursery.ca/
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Nice! The espalier apple is an elegant touch to your yard.
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Looks great! :)
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I thought I would add another reason it is wise to have perennial fruit and/or nut trees in your garden. Although I am young enough now to actively work in my garden I can see I might not be as capable some years into the future. Having my fruit trees will still be a way I can enjoy what I have planted years from now. I also have planted several espalier trees so I won't need to get up on ladders and the clean up will be easy. My espalier trees have different varieties of apples and pears so I can enjoy longer seasons without be overwhelmed with more of a particular fruit than I need.
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Great video. Greetings from ND.
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Have you ever thought of making your growing area bigger? you have a looot of space left that you could use.
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I thought you had Espalier
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Informative video. It's a shame u have all that yard space doing nothing and your forced to grow veg in a small square area.
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goji berries have some crazy thorns on them, I planted them from tiny pots I ordered and got fruit the first year in zone 10a. Once in got cool it got powdery mildew bad. The fruit need to be left on the Bush a week after they turn red to sweeten.
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Excellent video Stephen!
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My five-year plan for the garden includes the addition of gooseberries, currants, strawberries, blueberries, two rows of grapevines, two apple trees, and one pear tree. It's going to be an ambitious transformation of my side yard!
I love this video series, by the way. So glad you decided to do it! -
Nice selection of edible perennials, Stephen!
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Great info my friend. Now if I could grow room I would be okay :-)
Cheers
Harold -
Ohh it's a honeyberry, i forgot what i planted in my berry cage as an understory. It's a nice looking plant too! My new garden area is beginning to look like something. I will be planting more perennials there too. I would like to have a chestnut and a walnut. Hard to beat those hops, 10 yo vines, saplings and brambles but getting there. Bleeh, i feel so tiny against that thick mass. It's like snow white's overgrown castle garden's evil twin out there. Ohh no, she choked on an apple, i mean the other princess. Looking fit, Stephen! (if you don't mind me saying) Have a great day!
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