I broke a fork last year trying to get a tree out of a hole... After that, I gave up on the idea of "Digging" with forks... Just too many rocks around here.... My usual practice is to slam the spade/shovel into the ground... Watch for any fires that were started by the sparks... Pry out the 1st rock.. See if the hole is big enough for the plant Pry out a couple more rocks.. Check if the hole is big enough yet.... Lather, rinse, repeat I was digging yesterday evening - and it was getting dark... Oooohhh.. Look at all those sparks, and the nice pile of baseball sized rocks.... (I got most of the big ones in the last 2 years...) I did admire the dirt that came out, though... The 3 years of trying to improve soil health are paying off - the dirt was much darker and richer.. Actually quite a bit easier to dig than when I first moved in... which was like trying to stick a shovel into the middle of a cement driveway.... The soil was so bad that not even WEEDS would grow when I moved in... Literally - it was just bare dirt that stayed bare.... Now .... weeds will grow... Thanks

It depends on what part of OK you live in. Blueberries are kinda picky and only the folks along the eastern edge do well with them. Blackberries do well just about anywhere but will need water the further west you go. I struggled with raspberries when I lived in the center of the state. I now live on the east coast and grow both fuzzy and hardy kiwis. The vines can get massive but you'll have more fruit in the kitchen if you keep them cut back and under control. You'll have more fruit on the vine if you let them ramble but the squirrels and raccoons will eat most of them. Pound for pound berries seem to have more nutrients than large fruit and berry bushes and vines are easier to grow but harvesting takes more time. Peaches grow like weeds but require spraying to keep ahead of pests and disease. A well maintained tree with protection from wildlife can produce a lot of fruit. I have to grow cane crops out in the open because they sucker really bad and come up everywhere. Out in the open I can just mow around them to stop the spread. If you plant them along the fence they will spread into your neighbors yard.

There are many great fertilizers out there...I've also used Vigoro 6-4-6 from HD. I've used Dynamite either the Citrus blend, the green or Red container. Dynamite Fertilizers I believe its made by florikan...its slow release... You can also do a search on 8-3-9 Fertilizers, I know they sell these mostly in South FL. Pine Island Nursery and Excalibur come to mind...Osmocote plus, Nutricote (florikan too I think?) are others. Very important is to make sure your fertilizer has the much needed macros and micro nutrients in it, very important for the tree's health. I've also used a product called Citrus Nutritional Spray by (Southern Ag) though there are many products out there that work well...I apply it once a month through "foliar" application during growth flushes. I apply early evening so it doesn't burn the leaves. I prefer to fertilize my Mango trees once a month but "light" applications...I've always had better luck with more applications but in "less" amounts. I start around the beginning of March and apply the last application in early Sept. so it will go into a rest/dormancy period in late fall to early winter in hopes of getting blooms around Dec/January. I've been doing this for the last almost 7 years and I've had pretty good results.

Thanks for all the feedback. Here are some of the trees/fruit crops varieties I am considering planting. I'll have to narrow this down, of course. Or will I? muhuhahahaha.... CHERRY (2) - Lapins, Sweetheart (I said I wasn't into cherries, but then I saw some pictures of them and they mad me hungry so I changed my mind) APRICOT (3) - Harglow, Puget Gold, Westley (too late?), Tlor-tsiran??? PEACH (3) - Avalon Pride, Blazingstar, HW 272 sound like the best three. Other choices might include Charlotte, Contender, Harbelle, Harrow Diamond, Juneprince, Mary Jane, Oregon Curl-Free, Q 1-8, Redstar, Reliance, Starfire, Veteran? NECTARINE (2) - Fantasia?, Hardired, Kreibich, Harko? PLUM (3) - sounds like a lot of them do fine here, but my top 3 are probably Beauty, Hollywood, Shiro APPLE (5) - Akane, September Wonder/Jubilee, Chehalis, Honeycrisp, Liberty, Pristine, William's Pride PEAR (4) - Bartlett (have to have a Bartlett), Blake's Price, Moonglow, Orcas, Rescue ASIAN PEAR (3) - (still deciding) Shinseiki for sure. Others.... Nijesseiki, Chojuro, Shinko, Mishirasu, Hamese? RASPBERRIES (and relatives) - Autumn Bliss, Caroline, Summit, Tulameen, Boysenberry, Marionberry, Tayberry, Thornless Loganberry, Willamette BLUEBERRIES (I will plants lots, they do great in Sequim) - Berkeley, Bluecrop, Little Giant, Olympia, Sunshine, Top Hat, Toro KIWIFRUIT - Exbury (sounds like the earliest ripening fuzzy type), Saanichton (will it ripen?), male fuzzy, 74/49, Ken's Red, Ananasnaya, Meader, Geneva, male arguta GRAPES - Agria, Campbell's Early??? (will it ripen?), Canadice, Einset?, Interlaken Seedless, Jupiter?, Lynden Blue (sounds like a winner), Madeline Angevine (wine), Price, Regent, Reliance, Valiant?, Vanessa FIG - Atreano, Desert King, Lattarula, Stella?, Vashon Violet/Brunswick OLIVE - Arbequina, Mission CHESTNUT - I want to plant two or three but they are big trees. Lots to choose from on the Burnt Ridge Nursery web site. PISTACHIO - Uzbek (I'm sure that won't work but I have to try...LOL anyways it's hardy and the flowers are cool) ALMOND - All in one, HallÂs Hardy, Reliable, Dessertiny (Bounty?) PINEAPPLE GUAVA - Nikita (sounds like the earliest ripening one), a pollinator Some other things like mulberries aren't out of the question.... we'll see. I don't want to get too carried away just yet. I also have to be careful of not planting things that need a lot of heat or ripen too late. Apparently I only get about 1400 growing degree days in an average season.