Permaculture Planning for our 2 acres

I talked with a lady from our local county extension office, and came away with some unsettling news. Not much grows out here. For nuts: only black walnuts (whose roots poison other plants so must be "isolated") and hazelnuts. For fruit: blackberries, raspberries, apple trees and currants. Really?

We received a copy of a free local paper, and in it found an ad for Holly Acres Nursery, a local nursery. I called the owner, Kelly, and she answered my questions. Basically, the only nuts that she carries is walnuts and they take 7-10 years to bear. No other nuts, but if I find something that will grow, let her know. Fruits she carries and recommends: pie cherries, peach, plum, apple (if the correct kind), raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, boysenberries, serviceberries, vibernium (sp?), elderberries, gooseberries, and the native chokecherries and currants. She also said that asparagus and rhubarb do well here. She is trying to find a blueberry that will work.

So... it looks like I'll get some walnuts, filberts/hazelnuts (hope hope) and almonds (hope hope). We'll have those for protein (eventually!), as well as beans, peas, lentils, chicken and quail eggs, and goat milk products. Should work ok.

Looks like we'll have lots of fruits to choose from. I've never had some of these like chokecherries (supposedly bitter skin but sweet inside, and can use as a windbreak and hedge) and never had serviceberries (supposedly tastes like a grape). But we love many of the other fruits she mentioned.

The Kid will be disappointed that his favorite fruit, pear, isn't on this list. It could have been an oversight because her website mentioned different varieties that work. I think I'll get some pear trees anyway, and just mulch mulch mulch. Perhaps keep pruned to be a very small tree that we can cover in the event of a late or early frost. Perhaps we can nestle them in with other more hearty fruits to offer protection.

Really need that greenhouse. Two actually. One for growing and eating (and perhaps selling) fresh veggies and herbs and edible flowers year round. The other for growing non-cold-hardy trees like citrus, avocado and perhaps dwarf nuts like an almond and a hazelnut I found.

I found the elevation for our property. Our house is on a ridge, and slopes down both in the back and front. There's a difference of 23 feet in elevation from the bottom front to the top of the ridge, and a difference of 39 feet in elevation from the bottom back to the top of the ridge. Plus we get some major winds up here, almost year round from what I understand.

The really tall trees will need to be combined with shorter hedges to help protect them. We also need to protect the property in general so we'll be putting lots of thorny fruits (blackberries, raspberries and even roses) along the perimeter to keep out the deer, foxes, coyotes and a mountain lion that has taken up residence in this neighborhood.

So much to consider.

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Updated 12:45 p.m.: The neighbor in the back sent the Kid home with a dozen eggs, fresh from their chickens. Very thoughtful. Sent over their number too, so I immediately called and thanked them. This morning I made little muffin-ettes and just walked them over with the Kid. Talked over the fence for a few moments about chickens and goats and homeschooling. Very nice. Good to have like-minded neighbors.

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Updated March 31 2014:
. Found out that more than what I had originally thought, will grow here. However, we had a lot of health issues arise since I originally wrote this post, so, although we did plant some trees and berry bushes, we have a LOT more to do! We are planning a "food forest" on as much of our property as possible.

In the girl goat pen, the back acre, we will be planting English walnuts, sugar maples and oak trees. Of course, each will need to be fenced off so the goats won't eat them!

In the front half acre, pine trees (cuttings can feed the goats), hazelnuts/filberts, almonds and maybe butternut.

In the other front half acre (less, actually), where the boy goat pen is, we will plant another sugar maple and maybe an oak. Give them shade! We already have some pear trees and berry bushes there.

In the food forest thinking (see pic to right), each large tree (like an oak, walnut or maple) gets a smaller fruit or nut tree near it. Then under it, berry bushes. Under them, crops like strawberries and annual vegetables.  And finally, vines like grapes and even cucumbers, small pumpkins and beans, climb and encircle the tree, using it for support.

Using this method, one can have a large amount of food growing in a smaller space than people expect.

Meanwhile, we have a large garden in our back yard for annual vegetables, but also rhubarb and asparagus. We have a few raspberries, blackberries and blueberries alive, and a few fruit trees that should be bearing fruit this year. Hoping! But we are planting a whole lot more berries this year. Oh, yum!