Thanks all for your replies. I've always had trouble growing 'taters, I
think it's been a case of overly alkaline soils. Wonder if pine needles
will work well for a potato mulch?

Jon

"simy1" wrote in message
om...
"Dwayne" wrote in message
...
Strawberries and a permanently build asparagus bed would do very well.
Also
garlic seems to do well. Have fun with the blueberries. Dwayne


asparagus will not do well in acid soil. I had to pull out my own
asparagus bed, which I had prepared well and covered with wood chips (
now grow radicchio in there). From the encyclopedia of organic
gardening, here are the veggies which have a pH range down to at least
5.5.

tomatoes
zucchini and winter squash
various pale winter root vegetables (parsnip, rutabaga)
chicory (radicchio)
garlic and some other allium but not onions
all salad greens (specially mustards, tatsoi, arugula, mizuna)
potatoes

Asparagues has a lower limit of 6.
It is not a bad selection, and fits my experience to a T (I have not
grown the root veggies). Add lots of berries, grapes and most fruits
(apple, cherry, pear, and plum should do well according to the book),
sorrel and rhubarb, chestnuts, twenty stumps injected with five or six
varieties of mushrooms, and a herb patch, and you will do wonderful.
If you are willing to spend the money in one place, Edible Landscaping
will probably be able to help you with a selection for your site.


"Jon Endres, PE" wrote in message
t...
I have come into posession of a piece of property, 10+ acres, Zone 5B
in
Western New England. I'd like to begin clearing it and planting fruit
and
nut trees, preceding construction of a new home. The property is
solid
eastern white pine, with infrequent occurences of wild cherry, poplar
and
white ash. I'm assuming the soil is highly acidic, as the pines can
contribute to this, and I have been told that the land was once open
and
covered with wild blueberries. The soils are very sandy, almost
gravelly,
and dry, although there is a permanent swamp/wetland in one corner
occupying
about two acres of the property.

I am looking for ideas, either as a resource in print for a planting
guide,
or web site, or simply some suggestions about what types of species of
plants for edibles will do well in that type of soil. I plan on
clearing
about half or less of the property. Right now it's a bit
"sun-challenged",
and really doesn't have a good exposure in any direction.

I'm planning on putting some blueberries in, and I am familiar with
the
acid-loving nature of azalea and rhododendron, but what else will
survive?
--
Jon Endres