North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[jhecksel@voyager.net]

Hi Tom:

My votes are for black walnut (J. nigra) or pear.

I planted a couple hundred black walnuts in one end of the garden.
Fill from the drain field had been raked/dozed over a corner of that
end.  Very sticky stuff.  The walnuts had no problem punching through
the clay .  Also, black walnuts like flood plains as long as the water
does not stand more than a week in the spring....that implies that the
roots have some mechanism to survive low oxygen conditions (like clay)
The trees  had fine looking roots when I dug them up and chipped the
lumps of clay off them.

There are many "improved" black walnut cultivars.  Either you like the
taste or you don't.  The improved cultivars are easier to crack.
Prompt de-husking will moderate the taste but will not change it.

Pears are also reputed to be tolerant of clay.  I cannot speak one way
or the other as I do not have that much clay....just where I happened
to plant the walnuts.
> I have a tough location that I would like to place a tree and I am
looking
> for opinions.
>
> We are in Canada hardiness zone 6a which would be like US zone 5/6,
we are
> in a river valley, just outside the flood plain, very windy in
winter, our
> property is on the edge of an old clay yard, and 8-12 inches below
the
> topsoil you hit a layer of rubbery, damp clay.  I have never dug a
hole
> deep enough to penetrate the clay layer (beyond 2' deep).  They made
> bricks from the clay 75 years ago.
> Anyway, is there any nut tree that would tolerate such a climate,
and in live in this particular soil?

> If there is no nut tree for this spot, is there another fruit that
would
> thrive in it?
>





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