I'm in NC, Wake County (Raleigh) so not the same zone or climate as you are planning but I have some experience with everything on your list. I only have a one acre garden and it is focused mainly on berry bushes which require the least amount of care in my opinion. It all depends on what you mean by "organic". If you mean absolutely NO chemicals, then some things are going to be very difficult to grow in that environment. If you include chemical sprays deemed "organic" by the fruit growing industry you can grow most but even then a few things will be pretty hard to get a decent crop. I have a greenhouse full of tropical trees and after a few years I had to give up on the organic idea and start spraying just to keep the insect pest levels down (they're still not gone completely). Citrus and Guavas are bug magnets in the winter when everything is closed up. Outside in the garden the things that require no spraying whatsoever are Blueberries (but I do have to acidify the soil around them constantly), Aronia, Goumi, Pineapple Guavas, Elderberry, native plum (Prunus angustifolia), Figs, Crabberries, Jujube, Mulberry, Wineberries, Pawpaws, Raspberries (reds are difficult here), Persimmons (Asian and American), Muscadines and Kiwis (both hardy and fuzzy). All the pears, peaches, nectarines, quince, blackberries, apples and plums require a lot of spraying (organic sprays failed me after a few years). Blackberries, Table Grapes and Bush Cherries only need a few sprays and the organic ones usually work. Peaches grow so well but the fruit is always ruined by Brown Rot without some form of protection - either a lot of work or a rigorous spray program. Of the apples, William's Pride produces the best with only a few sprays and Arkansas Black could go without any sprays but it isn't my biggest producer and the fruit doesn't taste all that good until the tree is in production mode for 4-5 years (last year was the first year my 5 year old tree gave decent flavored fruit). The experts will tell you that over towards the coast with the warmer temps and sandier soil they can't grow much but when you talk to old timers they all remember apples in their grandma's garden. Good luck. Welcome to NC.

Back to your original question to what might be earlier than Methley. Here in mid Georgia Goldcrest, Flavorich, Regal, Camden, Queencrest, Maycrest, Springold, Springcrest, Springprince, Empress, Sunbrite, Carored, Suzi-Q, PF-1, Starlite all would ripen before the 25th of May every year for me at my location while Scarlet Pearl, Junegold, Glodprince, Derby, and Correll will be within a few of both sides of the 25th of May. All these varieties have 650-850 chill hour requirements. All are clingstones with generally smaller size than later varieties, and some would say not as good of a taste. They tend to be more tart than sweet to me than later on the season. Your ripening dates will vary from mine I'm sure, but if you are picking Methley on the 27th of May we are not too far apart. In my personal opinion Flavorich, Springcrest, Sunbrite, and Scarlet Pearl are the best out of these because of taste and size compared to the other ones in this group. You might look at the Dave Wilson website for some of the newer California early varieties which I didn't list which may be of interest to you. Hope this helps. Russell

I too, grow in pots. I'm going to try some So Sweet in the ground this spring, though. Some varieties will do better for you than others. What has been suggested for warmer climates are the progeny of plantaginea. That translates to something fragrant. The hosta library has lists of fragrant hostas www.hostalibrary.org. Tony Avent (a hosta breeder and nurseryman) has also made of hostas that do well in warmer climates http://www.plantdelights.com/Tony/warmhosta.php. The Smith County Extention service did a hosta trial several years ago. (Tyler, TX is in Smith County which is alternately 8a or 7b.) They have sandy soil, like I'm sure you have. They probably get cooler, but they are just as hot as we are. I'll attach their results at the end. The hosta library has pictures of most hostas, so you can see what the recommended plants look like. Most pages have a link to another site that will tell you how big they get (my hostas database info). I would suggest you put some in the ground and some in pots. I didn't have good results in the ground, but I live in black land clay. This was also many years ago, when I first started gardening. I've read in the gardening section of the local paper that others have had success with hostas in the ground. Apparently, really good soil preparation is the key. I would suggest no direct sunshine. Two of mine burned this past summer just getting the really late afternoon sun. They're under a pecan tree, but at about 5:30 in June, the sun got them when it went to it's northern most angle. It was between 5:30 and 7:30 in the late afternoon. They won't die from that small exposure, they'll just get ugly. Most hostas don't put on many more leaves after they first leaf out in the spring, so if they get burned, you're stuck with it for the rest of the season. Good Luck. We'll be here if you have any questions. Most of us are not gardening right now, but are checking in weekly instead of daily like we do in the spring and summer. Just be patient, we'll be here. Bkay (everything shifts when I copy it here, but the first rating is how the plant looked in june, then august, then october, then an average) NAME DATE AVERAGE June August October Blue Angel 9.8 8.8 10 9.5 Sugar & Cream 9.2 9.4 9 9.2 Blue Cadet 8.7 8.8 10 9.2 Francee 6.0 8.8 10 8.3 Gold Standard 6.3 7.6 10 8.0 Honeybells 7.1 8.8 8 8.0 So Sweet 9.4 5.6 8.5 7.8 Royal Standard 7.4 9 7 7.8 Lancifolia 7.3 7.8 8 7.7 Grand Tiara 7.8 7.2 7 7.3 Albo-Marginata 7.6 5.8 7 6.8 September Sun 6.2 7 7 6.7 Sun Power 6.8 6.8 6 6.5 Elegans 6.0 7.4 6 6.5 Emerald Tiara 7.8 7.2 4 6.3 Patriot 4.6 6.2 7 5.9 Bold Ribbon 6.5 6.8 3 5.4 Guacamole 6.7 5.4 4 5.4 Gold Edger 7.1 6 3 5.4 Fragrant Bouquet 5.1 4.8 6 5.3 Sagae 5.2 4.6 6 5.3 Shade Fanfare 5.5 4.6 3 4.4 Summer Music 3.8 2.8 6 4.2 Undulata 6.3 3 3 4.1 Temple Bells 6.1 3.2 3 4.1 Krossa Regal 4.2 3.8 4 4.0 Resonance 4.3 5.2 2 3.8 H. fortunei 'Aureo Marginata' 4.3 3 2 3.1 Aphrodite 3.5 2.4 3 3.0 Colossal 4.3 2.6 2 3.0 Fried Green Tomatoes 3.8 3.4 1 2.7 Invincible 4.5 2.6 1 2.7 Halcyon 2.8 2.8 2 2.5 Big Daddy 2.3 2.8 1 2.0 Daybreak 1.7 2.4 2 2.0 Sum & Substance 2.1 1.8 2 2.0 Hadspen Heron 1.5 1 1 1.2 *Master Gardeners were asked to rank each variety from 1 to 10, with 1 = worst/almost dead, and 10 = outstanding in every way.

I've read about the apricots and definitely don't want to get a harvest so few and far between. Thank you for the agrilife website. I've been through parts of it for recommendations but I'm not sure where I'd be able to buy all the trees I want. It's probably a good idea to start small and with trees that are easiest to manage. I would love to plant a pecan in place of some large junipers in the front yard or plant it closer to the house and have it shade my place a bit. I think I'll wait on the hybrids until I've established the easier trees but its hard because I want them all! Lol I think I could plant some blackberry between the trees as long as I keep the trees short enough to not shade the berries too much. I also wanted to do some passion fruit but the best tasting variety won't grow here. Any other perennial vines, bushes, trees that I haven't thought of that grow well here would be awesome too. Ive heard jujubes grow well here but haven't seen any nurseries carrying them. I think I've got lots more work to do on getting ready for my orchard!