6th Day of Seed Catalogs

On the 6th Day of Seed Catalogs
I bring you three Maritime Northwest nurseries specializing in unique fruits, berries and nuts. I absolutely love all three equally and I couldn’t throw any of them into a lonely honorable mention category. If you are a Maritime Northwest gardener who is looking for well-adapted, unusual fruit trees, shrubs, canes, ground covers and vines these are the three best places to look. If you live outside my region, these are still great sources for edible plants. You will find more than you could ever hope for, enjoy!
 
Pro Tip:
If you are planning to purchase fruit trees or vines and become overwhelmed by the sheer number of varieties, try this. Look at your category (fresh eating apples) in all three catalogs – One Green World, Burnt Ridge Nursery and Orchard and Raintree Nursery – and see if there are varieties that they all share. These must be good, popular choices and are worth considering.

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Seed Company Spotlight
Burnt Ridge Nursery and Orchards
 
Location: 432 Burnt Ridge Road, Onalaska, WA 98570
Inquiries: [email protected]
Phone: 360-985-2873
Website: www.burntridgenursery.com
Catalog Request: www.burntridgenursery.com/inforequest.asp
 
I met Michael Dolan about 30 years ago at the Tilth Edible Plant Sale. He was one of our outside vendors and sold all manner of fruit trees, shrubs, vines and other curious plants. He was so knowledgeable and extremely generous with his knowledge. His stuff was top rate and locally grown. I learned bushels just listening in on his conversations with customers.
 
Burnt Ridge Nursery and Orchards is a small operation but they have an extensive collection of rare and unusual edible nuts, berries and fruit. They are an organic operation so they concentrate on varieties that are naturally disease and pest resistant. They offer varieties that will thrive in colder regions with short seasons, most of their stock will also do well in warmer, longer season climates.
 
I found this description on the Olympia Farmers Market website, www.olympiafarmersmarket.com “Burnt Ridge is a family-owned farm, in business since 1980. Their 20-acre farm is located in the Cascade Mountains' foothills with a beautiful view of Mount St. Helens. Burnt Ridge's mail order nursery specializes in unusual and disease resistant trees, vines, and shrubs that produce edible nuts or fruits.”
 
You can find them at the Olympia Farmer’s Market during the season. They are often at the big Tilth Alliance Edible Plant Sale held in May in Seattle. They offer both print and online catalogs; their 2024 print edition will be mailed in January 2024.
 
Find the right tree and fruit for your patch. They frequently offer varieties grown on different root stock so you can find the fruit you want and the tree that is the right size for your landscape. My new favorite apple is Cosmic Crisp (sold in Washington state only) and Burnt Ridge offers a mini-dwarf on M9, large dwarf on M26 and large semi-dwarf on M106. Brilliant!
 
There were two plants that jumped out of their catalog. One was very familiar to me but I’ve never seen one at a nursery, the other was a complete unknown.
 
Monkey Puzzle Tree, Araucaria Araucana. Many of you know that I am quite taken with the Monkey Puzzle Tree which is the national tree of Chile. I have learned a great deal about them and I am raising two specimens from seed, they are 2 and 5 years old. If you want one of these very slow growing, prehistoric trees then you are in luck. Burnt Ridge offers 1 and 2 year old seedlings at reasonable prices.
 
Bush Chinkapin, Chyosolepis sempervirens is a new one for me. This variety is a small bush that grows is zones 6-9 and produces spiney chestnut-like fruit that contain delicious edible nuts. It is a broadleaf evergreen that grows 6’-12’ high and can grow in full sun or shade. Native from Northern California to Southern Oregon. Chinkapin are native to isolated pockets of western Washington.
 
Tour the Nursery and Orchard in 2024.
Whenever farmers and nursery people open their doors to the public, it is special. I am excited to see that Burnt Ridge is offering several tours this summer.
 
Tickets are on sale now for tours in July, August and September.
Tours happen from 10-12pm and 1:30-3:30pm
July 20, 2024
August 17, 2024
September 14, 2024
Reserve your spot, get tickets here
www.burntridgenursery.com/SpecialEvents.asp

Burnt Ridge Orchard photo credit: Olympia Farmers Market

Golden Chinkapin

All images unless otherwise noted are from www.burntridgenursery.comand are used for educational purposes only

Edible Garden Companion
​Digging Deeper

Right on time. Learn what and when to plant and keep your edible garden growing year-round. Sign up for my Edible Garden Companion Digging Deeper and get a year of my monthly garden guides. You can sample this course ala carte by purchasing single months.
https://www.gardenwithlisa.com/store/c11/ediblegardencompanion

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Seed Company Spotlight
One Green World
Location: 6469 SE 134th Ave, Portland, OR 97236
Inquiries: [email protected]
Phone: 1-877-353-4028
Website: https://onegreenworld.com
Online store: https://onegreenworld.com/shop/
Catalog Request: https://onegreenworld.com/product/catalog/
 
Established in 1994, One Green World is a family-owned nursery and garden store in Portland, Oregon. They specialized in rare and unique fruit and nut trees, and fruit bearing shrubs, vines and canes. They have a massive collection and their inventory expands all the time. I have been shopping One Green World since the beginning. Where once they offered a couple varieties of pomegranate, now they have 2 1/2 pages – 37 choices, many that will succeed in the Maritime Northwest.
 
They ship seeds & plants across the US. At their retail garden store they offer seasonal “fruit tasting, preservation and plant care classes as well as hold events in the community. We support local food sovereignty - grow your own One Green World!” These are not just PNW friendly varieties, they offer plants for all climates and conditions. Read through all the descriptions to find the varieties that thrive in your climate. The next time I am near Portland, I will make the trek to the store to see everything in person.
 
This catalog is a family favorite, it is a dream book, a real page turner. This is the wish book for gardeners and plant geeks. Color photos of many of the varieties and 153 pages to explore. Keep your garden planner handy so you can make your wish list.
 
There is so much in One Green World, so I browsed a couple plants that I’ve been thinking about for a while now.
 
Pineapple Guava – Coolidge and Anatoki. This plant is an old familiar of mine. There was one that grew along a path at the Good Shepherd Center, it never bore fruit but the flowers were delectable. Back when this specimen was planted there was probably only one variety available, now there are five varieties offered. This variety is early-ripening for Maritime Northwest gardeners. Although it is self-fertile, you will get better production if two are planted.
 
Wintergreen – Winter Splash Variegated. This looks like a stunning ground cover. It is an evergreen that grows just 6” tall and looks great year-round. Sold in quart size pot, it will slowly spread to a foot or more in diameter. It bears red berries that are sweet and taste like Wintergreen candy. This one will add startling beauty and flavor to the garden.

​All images unless otherwise noted are from https://onegreenworld.com and are used for educational purposes only.

Edible Garden Companion
Digging Deeper

Right on time. Learn what and when to plant and keep your edible garden growing year-round. Sign up for my Edible Garden Companion Digging Deeper and get a year of my monthly garden guides. You can sample this course ala carte by purchasing single months.
https://www.gardenwithlisa.com/store/c11/ediblegardencompanion

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Seed Company Spotlight
Raintree Nursery
 
Location: 408 Butts Road, Morton, WA 98356
Inquiries: [email protected]
Phone: 1-800-391-8892
Website: https://raintreenursery.com/
Online Catalog Only: https://raintreenursery.com/
 
Raintree Nursery is a family-owned company located in the cascade foothills between Mt. Rainier and Mt. Saint Helens. 2018, James and Rye Owen have been running the place since 2018. They continue a long history of providing gardeners fruiting plants that are not the typical grocery or big box store offering.
 
Raintree was one of the first nurseries to offer varieties of fruit that weren’t found in stores or markets. “In 1972, Sam Benowitz started Raintree with the mission of bringing the best edible plants from around the world to the Pacific Northwest. Over the years, Sam and a few friends traveled to dozens of countries to collect unique and delicious plants to propagate here in the US. Thanks to Sam, American gardeners are able to grow plants they never would have dreamed of tasting from all around the globe.”
 
Their mission is to bring to the American gardener fruiting plants that taste delicious and are easy to grow rather than varieties that are bred for looks and shelflike. Dive in and find familiar favorites and edible plants that you have never ever seen before.
 
There are so many different types of fruiting trees, shrubs, canes and vines it is difficult to narrow it down. I was immediately drawn to the Unique and Unusual Fruits collection. Here you’ll find olive, quince, Passiflora and hawthorn. I was excited to see several varieties of Cornus Mas or Cornelian Cherry – this is an excellent choice for small yards or gardens. All the gorgeous color photos of fruit are making me long for summer.
 
Check out the most unusual Medlar, a curious winter fruit that taste like cinnamon applesauce.
 
This is the place to find not-your-run-of-the-mill edible perennials. They offer odd tubers from the Andes such as Oca, Yacon and Mashua.
 
Look a little further and you’ll find Sechuan pepper, purple asparagus and Himalayan honeysuckle and many kinds of mushrooms
 
I was stunned to find 7 different kinds of paw paws – I had no idea!
 
You can’t go very far into the Raintree Nursery catalog with asking . . . "You can grow that?" Or "I didn’t know that was edible?" Or "What is that?" It is a fun adventure exploring all the different kinds of fruit bearing plants. If you want to visit the nursery, you can pick up your order in person – some years they offer tours and grafting classes. Check their website in early spring for any events.

photo credit: eatlocalfirst.org

Paw Paw fruit photo credit: Lisa Taylor

​All images unless otherwise noted are from https://raintreenursery.com/ and are used for educational purposes only.

Edible Garden Companion
Digging Deeper

Right on time. Learn what and when to plant and keep your edible garden growing year-round. Sign up for my Edible Garden Companion Digging Deeper and get a year of my monthly garden guides. You can sample this course ala carte by purchasing single months.
https://www.gardenwithlisa.com/store/c11/ediblegardencompanion

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