VALENTINE RED RHUBARB: Top scoring rhubarb is loved for its hardiness, delicious flavor, thick flesh and fine grained stalks. It is quick to produce stalks. Potted #1 heavy divisions.

HORSERADISH: If you want easy success plant horseradish! Even with a blow torch it is hard to kill. Harvest anytime although spring is the tastiest. Grind it for a tasty condiment that is great for digestion.

STRAWBERRIES: Maxim. Tribute and Surecrop give the best of both worlds. Surecrop is a junebearer that consistently yields. Tribute has hardy Rocky Mountain ancestry which make it “day neutral”, not requiring long summer days to flower, so it fruits early. Additional crops can be expected every 6 weeks.

RASPBERRIES (rubus idaeus): Not native to North America. The first plants were imported from Europe to New York in 1771. Legend has it that the Greek gods went to Mt. IDA in Turkey and returned with delicate and unique flavored raspberry. Raspberries take little space, live for years and yield full crops at little or no cost. Choose from the following cold hardy potted transplants, ever bearing varieties, summer bearing, golden or black raspberries.

BLACKBERRIES: produce 10 lbs of fruit at maturity but will fruit in their second year after planting.

GRAPES (Vitis Labruscana): Easy to grow, minimal effort to yield large crops. They are long lived, using virtually anything for support. Seedless grapes are very popular. HIMROD: is the hardiest of the white seedless types. It is of the finest quality for eating resembling the “California white seedless” common in the stores. It was developed at the New York Station. It is not prone to winter injury and ripens late August but will keep until Christmas if refrigerated. Two year potted transplant. RELIANCE: is another great reddish pink seedless grape . It blooms late thereby resists spring cold damage. It is disease resistant and does well in summer droughts. It will store for 3 months. Grapes are self pollinators but you will want more than one just for the fruit, juice, jelly or wine! CONCORD: America’s standard, producing crops of blue/black grapes. Seedless Concord produces slightly smaller berries but have the same vigor and flavor. Ripens late September. Both seeded and seedless are two year potted transplants. CATAWBA: Seeded This red seeded grape is worthy of consideration. A late ripening table, juice or wine grape is the source of commercial white grape juice. It is a great keeper too. Hardy vines will produce large clusters of slip-skin fruit. Two year potted transplant. NIAGARA: Seeded, Called the “White Concord”. Grapes are huge! The best known white grape will produce heavily for the table, juice or wine. RIPENS MID SEASON. (Sept.) FOCH WINE: Seeded red wine grape, can truly be put in the competitive realm of French wine grapes. Few French varieties can produce in our short northern season and cold winters. Foch is an early red that can mature in our shorter season. For full bodied style wine plant FOCH. ARTIC KIWI VINES: Hardy vigorous vines will bear up to 5 gallons of sweet no fuzz kiwis starting in their 5th year. Kiwis are 20% higher in vitamin C than oranges and have as much potassium as a banana. Its worth the wait for the September fruit but you do need both male and female vines for pollination. One male vine can pollinate up to 8 female vines.

ELDERBERRIES: A branchy native shrub with beautiful large white summer flower heads that become abundant small black berries loved by birds. We make juice wine and jelly with them. Good for landscape and wetland plantings.

BLUEBERRIES: (Vaccinium Corymbosum) Just the name brings to mind delicacies like blueberry muffins, pies and pancakes. At a dollar or more per pint, just a few blueberry bushes are really an eating bargain. Both BLUE CROP and BLUERAY are high bush type cultivars reaching 4 to 6 feet at maturity. They are known for their extreme hardiness, vigor and consistent yields. What yields you’ll get! Extra large berries (60 to 65 per cup) with 10 to 20 pounds per bush at maturity with proper care. Firm quality, small scar and bright blue berries start one year after planting. Bluejay ripens early July. Followed by Blueray as a medium sized berry. Patriot will come in with huge berries at the start of harvest but the size drops down. Blueray: Ripens mid-July and you can expect Bluecrop to follow suit immediately. Dark green foliage in the summer which bursts into fiery red color each fall. Bluecrop is the leading mid-season cultivar in the US Blueray is the leading variety planted for U-PICK operations in our country. With these choices you are sure pick a winning combination. Expect 30 years of consistent production. Two year potted transplants 18” to 24”.

RED LAKE CURRANTS: Produce a large crop of dark red fruit on trusses longer than most other currents. This old favorite is used to produce excellent jellies and jams. Self-pollinating, Redlake is the most widely grown currant and bears its first year. Heavy 3 yr potted transplant.

CONSORT BLACK CURRANT: European flavor of black currant is back! Savory Jams and jellies from fruit with four times as much vitamin C as oranges. Carefree fruiting shrubs can even be planted in partial shade. Self pollinating two year transplants.

PIXWELL GOOSEBERRY: is an excellent source for flavorful preserves and pies. Easy to pick big green berries ripen to pale pink. Easy to grow canes are nearly thorn less Self-pollinating PIXWELL produces 4 to 6 quarts at maturity late July. Three yr heavy potted transplants.

JOSTABERRY: large dark, grape size fruits grow abundantly on this shrub from the 2nd year on. Very cold hardy & easy to grow. Self fruiting two year transplants.

HIGHBUSH AMERICAN CRANBERRY: Very versatile native shrub! Outstanding landscape value as a hedge or specimen with lovely white flower heads that become sparkling red cranberries. You can harvest them after the frost or leave them for winter wildlife food. Deep green leaves become burnished red in the fall for added interest.

NANKING BUSH CHERRIES: produce sour cherry like fruit at the end of the summer on 4’ bushes. They are tart and tasty with short stems. The blossoms are beautiful the fruit is pleasing. Plant this for edible landscaping. NORTHERN BAYBERRY: Semi evergreen shrub with grayish green fragrant foliage that becomes burgundy purple in the fall. The blue gray fruits remain on the shrub well into winter. Use the pleasant smelling leaves for cooking & potpourri.

NUTS:

Hardy Vigorous beautiful investment trees

BLACK WALNUT: Medium sized tree with large, dark green compound leaves; drop after the first fall frost. Yellow fall color. Difficult to transplant; taproot. Use local hardy seed source for nuts. Fast growing when young. Don't plant in or near a vegetable garden. Nuts are useable in cooking; wood is prized for lumber and woodworking.

BUTTERNUT: small to medium sized tree usually with low spreading branches and light grey bark. Leaves are very similar to Black Walnut. Nuts are oval or elliptical in shape.

AMERICAN BEECH: is native to eastern North America zone 4 a wide-spreading, deciduous tree trunk is short and branches generally touch ground 50' to 70' tall and up to 120' wide if tree is in crowded conditions, tree will assume a more upright habit slow growth rate medium texture.

CHINESE CHESTNUT: Castanea mollissima, can be used as a nut tree and a shade tree, or planted in rows as a windbreak. The nuts are sweet-flavored and produce edible nuts in winter. This deciduous tree has moderate water requirements and it has a moderate tolerance to salt and alkali soils. Landscapers plant the Chinese Chestnut as an ornamental. Chinese Chestnut trees do well in hot dry climates and are blight resistant. The foliage is dark green in summer. This hardy tree will bear fruit in 7-8 years when placed on a good site. The dark green leaves are 5"-8" in length with a simple shape that turn yellow and gold in the fall. It produces edible chestnuts after establishment. The outer shell of the nut is prickly and must be removed. This variety of chestnut is resistant to chestnut blight (but not immune). This tree tolerates heat, drought, transplanting, and dry and acidic soils.

HAZELNUT TREE: Corylus americana, also commonly called the American filbert, is a Missouri native, deciduous, rounded, multi-stemmed tree/shrub which typically grows 8-16' tall and occurs in dry or moist thickets, woodlands and wood margins, valleys, uplands and prairies. In spring, male flowers appear in showy, 2-3" long, yellowish brown catkins and female flowers appear in small, reddish, inconspicuous catkins. Hazelnut trees produce small, egg-shaped, 1/2" long, edible nuts (maturing July-August) which are encased in leafy, husk-like form. Nuts are similar in flavor to the European filbert, and may be roasted and eaten or ground into flour, but are also commonly left for the squirrels and birds. This deciduous trees has dark green leaves (3-6" long). The fall color is quite variable, ranging from attractive combinations of orange, rose, purplish red, yellow and green to yellowish green. Wildlife relish the nuts.

SHAGBARK HICKORY TREE: Carya ovata, has a distinctive, shaggy bark, conspicuous on tall straight trees, which gives this species its name. It grows well in both wet and dry areas, but prefers well-drained soils. Shellbark hickory trees are also called shagbark hickory, bigleaf shagbark hickory, kingnut, big shellbark, bottom shellbark, thick shellbark, and western shellbark, which attest to some of its characteristics. It is a slow-growing long-lived tree. The nuts, largest of all hickory nuts, are sweet and edible. Wildlife and people harvest most of them; those remaining produce seedling trees readily.The wood is hard, heavy, strong, and very flexible, making it a favored wood for tool handles. The wood also makes excellent firewood, and often is used in smoking meat. As with other edible nuts, squirrels compete with humans for this fruit. Its bold-textured, jagged branch structure and thick twigs give it a striking appearance in winter. This deciduous shade tree has a yellow fall color.

HEARTNUT: (Japanese Walnut) An easy-to-grow, spreading, attractive tree with large sweet nuts that halve easily. Abundant foliage, bears early and is hardy. A sweeter, easier-cracking nut than black walnut. A good shade tree with a spreading habit that's prettier in the landscape than black walnut. Self-fruitful 35' recommended spacing. Zones 5-8.