Low Maintenance Perennials

I really wish I had more time to work around the homestead. There are so many things I need to get done and not enough hours in the day. Here are a few things I have planted that don't take a lot of maintenance.

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is so easy to grow. I mean it is almost effortless. The only catch is you have to let it establish a good root system before you can harvest from it. Most recommendations are to let it grow for 2-3 seasons before you harvest. I let ours go for three springs before I harvested. This plot has 10 crowns that I planted 4 years ago. I have 20 more crowns I just got in the mail. I need to find two more good spots, away from this one, so pests have a harder time moving around. Asparagus will produce for 30 years or so. Make sure you get yours in this year.

This is a Chicago Fig (Ficus carica). It is supposedly hardy to zone 5. I had another "cold hardy" fig that I lost over the harsh winter we just went through. I am pretty sure we just had a zone 5 winter. I hope this fig will do better than the one I lost.

Another plant and forget perennial is the Filbert (Corylus americana) or American Hazelnut. Pictured behind our puppy who was behaving in a rare moment of calm. I have 12 planted in the back yard and another hedge of 10 planted in the front yard. The trick is to get to the nuts before the critters do.

People tell me it is hard to grow blueberries (Vaccinium Cyanococcus) in a backyard setting. I say, look at this. Now, I do have a couple blueberries that are not producing as prolifically as this one, I just think it is a matter of finding the right variety that works well in your climate. Again the trick is to get to the fruit before the critters do.

Fall Colors And Fairy Rings

Fall is my second favorite season, spring is by far the best season, in my opinion. There is something about fall that makes me happy. It reminds me of pumpkins, jumping into giant leaf piles and Harry Potter marathons. Not only is the forest around us turning beautiful shades of red and orange, our perennial plants are giving us a show.

Hazelnuts turn a wonderful yellow-orange in fall. I thought we were going to get at least three hazelnuts this year, but the squirrel farm in our oak trees has seen to that. It's okay though, I know we will always have dinner for at least a week with our self sufficient squirrel colony. 

Blueberry leaves turn a dark red in the fall. I think we are up to 13 blueberry plants now. The key is to get them ripe before the birds have at them. I saw a cardinal come day after day and eat our ripe blueberries this year. Once these plants get big and bush out I won't mind sharing a little with the local wildlife. 

Here is the Russian mulberry I planted last summer. It has quadrupled in size in just over one year. The leaves are just starting to turn. They look like they are variegated. I can't wait for this tree to get taller than me and produce a ton of berries for my future chickens and or my wine operation.

I have not identified these mushrooms yet. They are completely ringing one of my white pine trees. It reminds me of a fairy ring. And no, I am not going all hippy on you, a fairy ring / circle is a real phenomenon, check it out here. I should go out and do a spore print. I am sure they are not edible, but I would like to know what they are.

They are seriously everywhere around the white pine. I wonder if it has anything to do with the large amount of straw I have had next to the pine for a couple years. The mushrooms are no where else on the property. Any guesses as to what they are?

New Plants!

Bare root plants from Burgess.

We had to soak these for a day before putting them in the ground.

We planted the lemon and orange trees in pots on the back deck.

In the back right corner of the yard is the asparagus bed.
You can see our sunflowers coming up in this photo.

Here's Patrick planting the asparagus crowns.
It will be about 3 years until we get a good harvest.

Dara planting a Catawba grape vine behind the hop bed.

One of the kiwi vines.

Patrick planting hazelnuts a.k.a filberts.