Add Perennials to Your Garden: Order Bare Root Plants

Part 1 of 2:

Political and social instability have many of us considering the implications of our consumer choices, and our larger patterns of living.

The home gardening movement is burgeoning across the country, as more people are awakening to the harsh production realities, outright health risks, environmental costs and social degradations of our highly centralized modern food supply system.

People are looking for ways to adapt to these new realizations, for ways to feed their families truly fresh, nutritious and above all, SAFE foods. And rightly so, as food is life’s essence.

As new farmers, we are grateful for this uprising of folks seeking safe foods, because we are seeking to make a livelihood by producing them. As gardeners, we recognize and cheer on those who, no matter the size of their backyard, endeavor to grow at least something of what they will eat.

Urban and suburban backyards are becoming natural micro-food-supply-laboratories, as more and more of the once-disempowered gain new tools for turning the food tide toward sustainability and justice, by learning the skills required to grow food; arts that our culture has nearly lost.

As newish farmers who started with small garden plots in the backyards of once-rented housing, we can personally attest to the myriad of small yet tasty excitements of learning to grow food on a backyard scale, and also attest to the near-obsession with the endless fascinations of food and gardening that was born out of early 10 by 15-foot gardens.

In the last few seasons on our farm, we have been thinking a lot about growing perennials. We like the idea of not having to replant year after year, and still reaping harvests. We like the idea of renewing commercial apple harvests in our region, among other fruit musings. Growing perennial food-producing species also ties in with our quest to implement various “Permaculture” design strategies on our farm that will assist us in creating a more productive and sustainable farm system over time.

We feel that growing backyard fruits and “garden roots” is a highly rewarding venture for committed home gardeners as well, and one that provides multiple benefits alongside delicious edible fruits.

To name a few: shade, soil moderation/stabilization, leaves for mulching/composting, beneficial insect habitat, native pollinator nectar, honeybee nectar, medicinal leaves, berries, and roots, habitat for songbirds, amphibians, and garden snakes, forage sources for backyard poultry, and landscape value: hedges, screening, ornamental value, and so on…

In order to get more fruits in the ground on our farm, and to spread the word about the possibilities of these trees and plants in the home landscape, we have put together our second annual “Cloud Nine Farm Bare Root Plants” catalog.

In it we are offering 33 different varieties of fruit trees, berry plants, asparagus and rhubarb roots, and edible native species that are hardy to Zone 3 or 4.

We are taking orders for the next several weeks, and the dormant plants will arrive with us in mid-April, for immediate distribution. We will also be selling potted fruit trees and plants at local farmers’ markets throughout the summer, and can customize an order by potting the plants for you if April planting is inconvenient.

Our catalog is easily emailed in PDF file format, so please email us to request one. It contains details about bare root planting, each species and variety, photos, and an order form. You can also find us at the Bozeman Winter Farmer’s Markets through the next months with printed copies as well.
In our next Coop Blog post, we’ll provide more details on Permaculture, and its potential applications on a home scale, along with some ideas and thoughts on incorporating some of the fruits in our catalog into an overall home garden plan.

For more information, e-mail rooneymontana@imt.net or call 406-578-2144.