Experience

Have you ever read a gardening book and it tells you what zone you are in? Have you tried planting items that are supposed to be suited to your zone only to find out that they die horrible deaths or that it never reaches the temperatures you need to produce fruit? Yeah.... Even with the micro climate charts it is really, really difficult to actually know what will and will not work until you try. We're in our sixth year on the farm and we've improved the land a lot but it's taken six hard years to figure out what will actually survive here as there seems to be no consistency in anything other than climate of death. As a gardener/farmer we tend to be like scientists and be eternal optimists that something will turn out and we'll get interesting results.

Here are a couple of things we've learned so that hopefully things can go smoother for others.
1) If at all possible acquire plants/trees from a local nursery (aka: one that propagates/grows locally) the plants will be adjusted to similar growing conditions to your location though not exact.

2) Bareroots are awesome as they are affordable but if you have really short or non-existing falls/springs then they might not work out so well for you. If you live within a city microclimate then they work out well, but if you're out in the open you're lucky if they leaf out and then you're lucky if they stay alive through one of the extremes. Here are two possible options:
             
a) Buy potted trees when they go on sale, usually autumn so that you can plant them out. They've had a year to adjust to your local climate and that is what they need. They need to be eased into your location. Keep in mind that if you buy the small potted trees (olives, pomegranates, pawpaws, etc) they will still need a year in your environment before you want to plant them out as if you put them in during autumn when they are suggested and your autumn is really short it's best to overwinter in a bigger pot and plant out in the spring once the temperatures have increased.

b) Once you get the bare roots home then pot them in a 1 or 5 or 10 gallon container depending on what is most appropriate for the root ball and baby them for a year. Plant out in the fall if it goes on for more than a month or early spring once everything is dormant to give it time for the roots to acclimate to your soil environment. You can also pick up bare root plants/trees on sale late spring at the big stores once everyone had picked up all they want. This way you can get cheaper trees to add to your landscape.

3) If you have animals in your landscape, be prepared for them to eat everything and leave you with nothing. All ruminants spend their time plotting ways to destroy your trees. Even turkeys and chickens will try to figure out ways to break off branches to piss you off the most, so just be weary and understand that you will most likely lose a good portion of your produce to them, if they don't kill the plant/tree outright. Also, if you have poultry or fowl.... buy in bulk so that they get some and you get some. If you want chives, buy one for you and 5 for them. If you want grapes, buy one plant for you and three for them. Eventually when you get enough produce coming in they will consume less because they know you are not babying that plant. They will only focus on those plants that you care for the most.

4) Propagate, propagate, propagate. Your plants that thrive in your environment are kind of used to your living conditions. They know the changes in temperatures and rainfall and have set it into their DNA that it sucks here, but maybe I can survive; those are the plants you want. If possible, in the winter take the scions from your pruning and propagate so that you can have more of those to put around the property. If you already have 15 versions of that growing around your property.. who know? propagate them still and hand them out (I do at the kid's day at the park or for families who would like to add fruit to their place.) or you can sell them to local gardeners for some extra cash. (I don't because I'm a horrible business person, but that's me.)

5) Diversify: Try different things, even things that all the books say will not work in your area, you will never know until you try. For example, I have citrus out side as well as mangos, guavas, figs, and olives even though it gets so cold outside that things die from exposure. Placement is key, I have them closest to the house so that the house shelters them a bit. Also keep this in mind for items that flower out early when you are aware that you normally get a late frost. They usually say that our last frost is in April, but the climate does not know about our guidelines and tells them to jog on. I had tomato plants planted out last year and then a late June frost came by and killed all that were away from the house. You never know until you try.

6) Failure is mandatory, get used to it. Things will fail, things will suck, and things will go horribly, horribly wrong. Farming/gardening is like trying to herd a pack of ADHD cats on cocaine. Keep in mind that every plant is a living things and it will do what it wants to do, the best you can do is provide an environment that it likes that will let it thrive and then it gives you some loving back by giving you it's awesome delicious babies. Even if you don't have farm animals to help the failure process along things will work or they won't. Those that work out well: keep the seeds/propagate and keep going. Write it down, keep it in mind, and go on to the next year/hurdle because it's non-stop action when you're trying to provide for yourself and your family year round. One of our awesome discoveries for the year: Miniature highland cattle can hop over hog panels. I would have never believed it until I saw Ira do it. Sooo, even though he did not destroy anything through the process I am now acutely aware of the fact that I need cattle panels for all cattle, not sure the normal sized ones.

7) Enjoy your triumphs; eat those delicious plant babies. Toast to the year of that plant by holding on to some of the babies/cuttings to plant out next year. There will be good times as well as all the suckage. Enjoy those home meals. Enjoy a delicious tomato sandwich from one of your beauties from the garden. Enjoy tons of home grown pesto from your basils, garlic, and eggs from your chickens. They will be amazing and you will never be able to choke down anything else. =) You have worked hard and deserve the amazing rewards so feel free to enjoy it when you can.