The Would-Be Farm: Fruit!

In 2014, Mr. Linton and I started planting fruiting trees on the Would-Be Farm.

Yes, we found two hilltops full of mature old apple trees on the land, but was that enough for my agricultural ambitions?

Nope.  

​And like so many would-be farmers, I chose the wrong spot for plants first. 

The Empire apple tree didn't survive the first winter. Both of those first pear trees frosted back to their wild roots. Of course, they were ordinary trees imported in for the local nurseries, and I put them in the ground RIGHT where the wind howls through the valley.

Some of my orchard notes.

I've since became an enthusiastic customer of St. Lawrence Nurseries, where the trees are bred to survive the harshest of North Country weather.  We made sheltered havens where we've planted heirloom apples, pears, hazelnuts, elderberries, basket willows, and, the point of the blog: aronia berries.

Aronia is the formal name for what is sometimes known as a "chokeberry." (NOT a "chokecherry," btw) It's a small, hardy, brushy tree that bears dark little fruits. They are quite astringent until ripe. 

Scientific studies show that it's bursting with super-fruit power, and I'm hoping for an aronia cordial or a mixed berry pie next fall.

​It's not an easy lot, trying to be a good sapling on the Would-Be Farm. You'll have to survive lots of rain, or not enough rain, plus biblical-level plagues of insects and marauding deer. You'll get ignored and crowded by weeds for months at a time. 

​But when fruit arrives, as this aronia did this past autumn, a young sapling can expect a bit of a party.

Hurrah the Aronia!  Nice work, little fella!

​Hope you are having a decent winter up there! You'll be getting a birthday cake of fertilizer in April! Yay you!
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