Help Yourself! is 501(c)3 for-benefit corporation that plants and maintains community fruit trees and gardens in many locations around Valley, free for all to harvest from. Each spring, we offer low-cost native fruit and nut shrubs and trees, perfect for hedges, yards and gardens each spring, our proceeds directly funding the year's public planting projects. Over their long lives, they will yield bushels of fresh fruit, beginning in 3-5yrs. Sourced from NE nurseries, they will grow rapidly with good care.
Pick up bare root, 6-18” seedlings, with instructions in Northampton, Greenfield or Holyoke early June, details to come. Shipping available by arrangement.
All plants 10$ each
5 for $45 10 for 75$ 50 for 325$
Shrubs:
- Nannyberry – shrubby tree, delicious raisin fruits. 20 ft., medicinal bark. Space 10'
- Rugosa (beach) rose – thorny shrub, pink flowers, edible and medicinal hips and flowers. 6''
- High-bush cranberry – shrub, flowers, sour red fruit in fall, source of cramp bark. 10'
- Beach plum: small shrub', nice flowers and fruit, need 2+ for fruit, sand/salt/sun ok. 8'
- Hazelnut – American. Excellent hedge. Need 2+ for nuts. Space 5-10'.
- Juneberry – Serviceberry (A. alnifolia). Shrub to 10'. Space 5-8'. Delicious berries.
- Black aronia berry – Chokeberry. Nutritious, astringent fruit used for juice. Shrub to 8'.
- Black Elderberry – shrub to 10'. prefers moist soil. Edible/med. Berries.
Trees:
- American Plum – small tree, flowers, plums in summer Need 2+ for fruit. 12 ft. Space 6-8'
- Persimmon– tree to 50'. Unsexed, females bear delicious fruit, need males nearby for fruit
- Chinese chestnut– to 50', spreading shade tree with sweet nuts. Need 2+ for fruit.
- Redbud– Nitrogen fixing tree to 20'. Beautiful, edible, sour red flowers in spring. Bee forage.
- Paw paw – to 30'. Large, soft tropical tasting fruit. Tolerates wet soil. Need 2+ for fruit.
- Sunchoke – (Jerusalem artichoke) spreading, productive sunflower tuber. To 10'
- Hops - vigorous vine to 15'. Medicinal flowers used for bittering beer