Well last year as the summer turned into fall we were so pleased to find out that our overgrown orchard was still producing a variety of fruits and berries. We have 5 different apple trees, several pear trees an asian pear, plum, mullberries (even a white variety) and rasberries.
We have spent the winter doing some pruning and are planning on letting our sheep and goats into the orchard to help manage some of the understory as well as letting our chickens do a little pest management. In April we will be getting a few more varieties and will be planting young semidwarfs to expand our varieties in the future and start thinking about creating some wonderful jams, jellies and vinegars with a friend who has some amazing recipes ( see her website)
We also hope to diversify our plantings by creating some fruit tree islands with other berries like elderberry and currants as well as some hazelnuts or other nut trees down the road.