Description
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7 – Hansen’s Bush Cherry
3 – Elderberry
5 – Hybrid Poplar
4 – Silver Maple
4 – Thornless Honey Locust
4 – Black Locust
4 – Hybrid Willow
Wholesale prices on this would be around $300+ with shipping, retail around $850+
Due to seasonal variations and supply limitations we reserve the right to make appropriate substitutions but you will receive 20 excellent fodder trees
You probably don’t want to buy this package. No seriously… If you don’t know what to do with the locusts, you may want to reconsider this one.
This is intended for professional use. With all that said, the black locust and honey locust are both an excellent fodder especially for goats and sheep. The black locust has thorns, the honey locust does not, however it will re-seed and produce trees with thorns. Caution should be taken with both of these trees because of the danger they inherently exhibit. However if you know what you’re doing with these, then this package is an AMAZING start towards a very diverse and well rounded fodder system for all kinds of animals.
Hansen’s Bush Cherry – Prunus besseyi
USDA 3-8 A great addition to any homestead or small farm. It’s a hardy plant so it can take a little abuse or neglect which is perfect for new or aspiring homesteaders or those of us who tend to kill plants (myself included). It’s a great addition to the elderberry syrup or as a standalone jelly. They’re both great for home brewing if that’s your thing. Slightly astringent flavor which pairs very well with apple and grape. Other uses are as a productive and cold hardy plum rootstock to graft onto. (except damson and victoria plums)
Elderberry – Sambucus canadensis
USDA 4-9 The fantastic and venerable Elderberry that my family and many others swear by to keep colds and flu away. We make elderberry syrup and jelly and use daily during cold and flu season. Makes excellent wine either standalone or as a blend. Our kids love this as a jelly and especially as a pancake syrup if the jelly didn’t set right. Some of my favorite childhood memories were when we got the rare treat of Elderberry syrup on waffles.
Hybrid Poplar – Populus x sp.
USDA 3-9 Grows like a weed and handles being coppiced and pollarded exceedingly well. Great results feeding rabbits, goats, and sheep a diet of Hybrid Poplar, almost equivalent to alfalfa in most respects. Probably my #2 for all around best fodder leaf for the broadest range of the USA. Also because of it’s rapid growth and high protein content, that means it has great nitrogen available to build healthy soil. Just chop it up and lay it on the soil to rot as mulch!
White Mulberry – Morus alba
USDA 4-9 Arguably the best fodder tree you can grow for just about any animal that eats leaves. High digestibility, high protein, holds protein for a long time through summer, fast grower, hardy and resilient. As with all these fodder species, mulberry makes fantastic compost or mulch. You can almost exclusively feed most livestock on nothing but white mulberry.
Silver Maple – Acer saccharinum
USDA 3-10 Adaptable to a wide variety of site conditions and climates. Leaves are green on top with silvery white sheen underneath. Often flips it’s leaves when barometric pressure drops prior to a storm rolling in. Shallow and fibrous roots make it easy to transplant, regrows vigorously and is an excellent candidate for coppicing for firewood and fodder as well as chop and drop mulch material. Large seeds provide a good wildlife food source.
Thornless Honey Locust – Gleditsia triacanthos
USDA 4-10 One of those trees that you love or you hate! But luckily this one is thornless! Produces highly palatable and sweet edible pods. Sheep can digest the seeds however cattle cannot. If the seed spreads, it will produce thorned honey locust and lemme tell you they are the most wicked looking thorns you’ve ever seen! With that said, it’s another good cut fodder for most livestock.
Black Locust – Robinia pseudoacacia
USDA 3-9 Has delicious flowers in the springtime that honeybees absolutely devour. Makes one of the most famously hard and strong fence posts known. If trained properly it can make excellent clear beams for construction. Very hard wood with high BTU for wood heat. However it does have notoriously sharp and hard thorns that will destroy tractor tires if you’re not careful. This is one of those trees that you need to be careful about bringing onto your property. They reseed and also send out runners underground. It can be maintained and kept in check with regular mowing but this is not recommended for the novice. Trials of this fodder with meat goats have shown excellent potential even over white mulberry for the sheer amount of leaf mass available for browse. Has excellent potential for the woodlot as well as fodder.
Hybrid Willow – Salix x sp.
USDA 3-10 Extremely fast growing willow hybrid. Widely adaptable to most soil types and conditions. Does best in moist to wet environments, tolerates seasonal flooding. Excellent root net enables very effective erosion control.
