James Landreth

Matt Dale wrote:If it is why would they be so small and most shriveled up?

In many areas cherry season is past its prime. That might be the case where you are, though some areas might still be a in full swing

I believe it is

How are things back there now?

From what I understand currants and persimmon (American probably best for this) are good choices. A lot of university lists of juglone tolerant plants conflict

Burnt ridge has it cheap. It's probably not red though

https://www.burntridgenursery.com/mobile/SALMONBERRY-Rubus-spectabilis/productinfo/NSNSSALM/

Hi Dave! They're going in all over. Near Portland they should be going in in Camas and Fern Prairie (WA) and also Longview (about an hour north)

Yes, those peaches are curl resistant and mine are producing abundantly this year just a few years in. I'll try to give you a call sometime

I just wanted to update you:

I'm going to be working with Methodist churches to do community food forests in Morton, Shelton, Longview/Kelso, and probably Cams/Fern Prairie (all of these are in Washington State). I'm doing this also with Preservation Beekeeping Council, which is a really excellent organization that support pollinator insects. We're going to reach out to other community organizations too in the future, including the synagogues. We're going to hold free classes on growing food. It's already generating a lot of interest

One acre of prime forage is supposedly enough for a colony. But, that's for a large industrial hive and under intensive agricultural conditions. If it were me I would start with 25 and observe from there. I'd also recommend, if possible, to have at least some of those be log hives. Even if your goal is production, these hives have a terrific survival rate (especially in cold climates) and you can use swarms from them to re-seed other hives during bad years. It's best to fill them with a swarm of local feral bees, if that's available.

Also, log hives can be smallish and have healthy, smaller hives. This means your land can support more of them down the line, and that means you'll have a healthy supply of swarms for repopulating your langstroths down the line.

Past about 2 miles it becomes relatively inefficient for bees to forage. This is because of calories burned, and wear and tear (and therefore shorter productive lifespans) of the workers. They can go further, as already said, but only if there is impetus to.

I'm very interested in raising crayfish.

Some questions:


Is the pond aerated?
What will you feed them?
Where did you order them from? (For next year)

For food, you could potentially mound soil and or/build hugels to give root room. This can work for some things. I even know of a woman who apparently grows peaches in a swamp this way!

What's your hardiness zone?

Pacific crabapple is an option, including as a rootstock. Hawthorn and quince can take wet feet I hear, and Highbush cranberry (some varieties, I believe including American, are apparently vastly more palatable). Butternut, black walnut, and even heartnut can work in wet conditions too, especially with some root room in a mound. I've heard American persimmon can work too. Some sources list Meader as hardy to zone 3, though I have my doubts.