As a homesteader you might have involved yourself in many things like preserving food, production of textiles and clothing, craftworks and growing vegetables, fruits and trees. When it comes to growing trees, some are great for shade and some for firewood, but selecting certain plants to have in your space offer you many benefits.
These include fruit trees as well as the trees that offer you nutritional and medicinal benefits. Have a loon on these 10 trees that every homesteader should plant that satisfy all your needs like nutrition, shade, medicine and firewood.
10 Trees Every Homesteader Should Plant:
- Red Delicious Apple Tree:
Red delicious apples are large and have delicious flesh and mild flavor. It is one of the best apple trees to be in your garden. However, this fruit doesn’t produce enough juice for their size and its delicate structure can’t hold up well when you bake. But, regardless you can use it for baking as well as for juicing.
- Mcintosh Apple Tree:
These apples are juicy and considered as wonderful choice for making apple cider vinegar and for baking because of their structure.
- Winesap Apple Tree:
Winesap apples tastes like a tart and like all other apples, it is great in hand when off the tree. You can get good amount of juice for their size and also perfect for baking because of its firm texture.
- Golden Delicious Apple Tree:
Golden delicious apple are delicate and flavorful, great for eating too. You can juice them or bake them, but the firmer and juicer varieties like Winesap holds up better in baked goods.
- Pear Tree:
Pear trees are sweet fruits which is great to eat and delicious to add in salads and desserts. You can also preserve in variety of ways and the best part is they add some diversity in terms of fruit flavors.
- Cherry Tree:
There are two varieties of cherry plants to consider, one is sour type and the other is sweet. Sour cherries are mostly used for baking and juicing where sweet cherries can be eaten directly and you can also used them for juicing. However, you can plant both the varieties, because they will not cross-pollinate.
- Burr Oak Tree:
You might already have some oak trees growing in your yard, consider this one too. This tree is naturally sweet and not bitter as acorns from white or red oak. Most acorns are high in tannic acid and that’s the reason they are bitter and you can leach out by soaking it in water and by repeated water changes.
Burn oak acorns can eat directly from the tree when they first appear and after they have been shelled. The acorns have frilly growth around them and so called burr oak. They taste great when roasted and can be ground in to light and delicate flour.
- Ginko Tree:
Have you ever heard about this wonderful tree? This tree is one of the oldest living deciduous trees on earth. A botanist from New York in the year 1930 was stunned to see a ginko tree growing in the garden of china. Then, he took the cuttings and every ginko in North America is derived from those cuttings. The leaves of this plant have proven medical properties for treating many health issues from muscle soreness to inflammation.
- White Willow Tree:
White willow tree is often called as pain-relieving value of willow bark and also a great shade tree. This willow is used to make bows and arrows in ancient days as they are extremely flexible. They can thrive in any type of conditions, but prefer moist soil.
- Mulberry Tree:
There are different types of berry plants like raspberries, wild strawberries, gooseberries, but none of them can produce more berries like mulberries. They start bearing fruit in the month of July and keeps on giving you until summer. Mulberries are great as a topping with any cereal, you can even make jelly or preserves, or for dyeing.
To harvest berries, spread a tarp on the ground under the tree and shake the branches with forked stick. Along with berries, you’ll also get leaves, stems and some bugs but you can easily pick ripe mulberries from pile in centre of trap.
Let’s See Why these trees are considered as must have in your garden.
- Apple cider vinegar and cherry juice has anti-inflammatory properties and helps in treating conditions like arthritis and gout.
- Apple cider vinegar is powerful and natural antiseptic, has numerous medicinal properties for treating skin and health issues including indigestion, inflammation, scars, rashes and so on.
- Apples are ranked high on nutrition and offer many medicinal benefits. Additionally, fruit in hand for snacks and meals make it easy for you too.
- Even though bakes foods are good source of healthy calories, but they still deliver their nutritional value.
- Jams and juices made from grown fruits like berries and apples are loaded with lots of nutrients and minerals.
- Cherry and mulberry syrup also brought diversity and preservation techniques to fruit from trees.
- The wood of many trees is used to make some delicious food due to its light, sweet smoke they bring to smoking process.
- Fruits are loaded with nutrients, minerals, and fiber to aid digestion and regularity. Plus, they can be enjoyed by all the people, there is no age barrier and can accompany meals at all times of the day.
- Acorns from oak trees have nutritional values including calories from high fat to high calorie count. And firewood will eventually provided by any tree.
Note: Plant two trees of each variety closer to one another to ensure pollination. If you plant one apple tree and the next 30 miles days won’t help them to produce enough fruit.
Hope, you find this article helpful.