SHIFTING ROOTS

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28 Hardy Fruits You Can Grow in Zone 2 and 3

Are you dreaming of a backyard orchard or food forest but think that because you’re in zone 2 or zone 3 you’re restricted to crab apples? Absolutely not!  There are 28 hardy perennial fruits you can grow that are perfect for a cold climate and short growing season. I’ve done my best to suggest some better varieties when possible.

When you’re done reading about perennial fruits, you can also grow these 6 annual fruits from seed for even more fruit production.

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Delicious Maple Spice Crab Apple Butter

Do you have a favourite smell?  One that brings back all your favourite memories?  Of crisp Autumn days or happy times in the kitchen?

If I could pick one smell, it would be crab apples.

Their pretty red-pink might also win for best colour too.  I digress.

Lessons in Crab Apples

I vividly remember picking crab apples growing up on the family farm.  I would pick all the apples as high as I could reach while my mom or grandma got the taller ones with the ladder.  My grandma’s voice still rings in my head, gently lecturing me to not waste a single apple.

Any apples that fell while picking could still be collected for juice.

At the time I thought it was silly.  There were so. many. apples.  Surely one or two going to waste wouldn’t be a big deal?

While I haven’t heard of anyone dying from lack of crab apples, the lesson still sticks in my mind.  Now that I’m older, I confess that I take a certain amount of pride in being able to make my own crab apple pies, juice, and sauces.

Related: How to Organize an Apple Pie Making Day

Have a crab apple tree full of apples and no idea what to do with it? You'll want to make this maple spiced crab apple butter! All the smells and tastes of autumn. Spread it on toast or fresh bread, use it as a pancake topping, or use it to flavour plain yogurt.

Use Early Autumn Apples to make Delicious Crab Apple Butter

Every year I like to try something new.  This year crab apple butter was calling my name.

Despite having the word butter in it’s title, there is actually no butter in apple butter.  Think of it as a thick jam, or a jazzed up version of apple sauce.

Did you know there's no butter in apple butter? It's still delicious.Click To Tweet

The ingredients are simple: crap apples, lemon juice, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, and allspice.  Cook, blend, cook again, and serve.  Don’t worry, I’ll go into slightly more detail below and provide the recipe in an easy to read format at the end.

Related: How to Make Crab Apple Juice 

Have a crab apple tree full of apples and no idea what to do with it? You'll want to make this maple spiced crab apple butter! All the smells and tastes of autumn. Spread it on toast or fresh bread, use it as a pancake topping, or use it to flavour plain yogurt.

Use it up!

I can hear you already, “That sounds great, Kristen, but what will I actually DO with this marvellous crab apple butter?”

Eat it like you would apple sauce, serve it over pancakes, serve it IN pancakes, or add it to your plain yogurt.  You can even serve it on top of crackers and cheddar cheese.  Whatever you do, I know that you’ll be coming back for more.

Related: How to make a Simple and Impressive Charcuterie Board

Yield: 6 250ml jars

Slow Cooker Spiced Crab Apple Butter

Slow Cooker Spiced Crab Apple Butter

A delicious apple sauce to use up crab apples.

Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 4 hours
Additional Time 1 hour
Total Time 6 hours

Ingredients

  • 5 cups apple sauce,
  • 1 cup apple juice,
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup,
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice,
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon,
  • 1 tsp allspice.

Instructions

1.Clean and cut your crab apples, removing all stems, cores, and blossom ends.

2.Fill a large pot approximately 1/2 full of crab apples. Add four cups of water and boil. You may need to add more water as your apples cook so they don't burn.

3.When the apples are cooked through and mushy, remove from heat and put them in a blender. Blend on medium low for 30 seconds, or until smooth.

4.Measure out five cups of crab apple sauce and return to the pot. Add apple juice. I use the crab apple juice I make, but apple juice from the store is fine too. Add maple syrup, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and allspice. Feel free to adjust the spices to suit your tastes.

5.Heat and cook until boiling. Set heat to medium low and simmer for approximately 15 minutes. Transfer to sterilized jars and process in boiling water for 10 minutes, or let cool and store in freezer-safe containers. If canning, it is recommended to follow the procedure and guidelines as outlined here.

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6 Hardy Fruits You Can Grow From Seed

When you live in a colder climate, it’s easy to think that your fruit growing options are limited. Not so! These six hardy fruits can be grown from seed in Canada or any colder zone. You can start these fruits indoors, then set them outside in your garden or in pots and containers once all risk of frost has passed.

Looking for hardy fruit trees instead? I’ve compiled a list of 28 hardy fruit trees that you can grow in zone 2 and zone 3.

Just because you live in a cold climate doesn't mean your options for growing fruit are limited! Here's a list of six easy fruits you can grow from seed in your garden or in pots and containers in your backyard. #growingfruit #melons #gardening #hardyfruit #Canada #zone3

Cantaloupe (Muskmelon)

Nothing compares to the taste of a garden fresh cantaloupe. They’re so good you’ll have trouble sharing!! I personally look for varieties with the shortest date to maturity possible, as my growing season is short.

If you want muskmelon all summer, try planting Minnesota Midget (65 days), Halona (75 days) and Sugar Cube (80 days).

Cucamelon

Cucamelons are making a comeback in popularity and are a fun must-try fruit for the home gardener. You can eat them raw, or use them in stir fries, pickling, and salsas. Grow them on a trellis for easy picking.

Ground Cherries

Ground cherries look like tomatillos, but taste like tropical fruit. Use them in baking, jams, or even salsa.

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Honeydew

Honeydew seeds can be a little trickier to find in the seed catalogues, but they are well worth the effort. Try the Honey Mass Hybrid if you’re in a short season area.

Strawberries

Strawberries are usually sold as a root stock or started plant, but you can buy them from seed and start them yourself. Just don’t expect a lot of berries (if any) the year you start them.

If possible, choose a couple of different varieties so you’ll have an abundance of strawberries all summer. I like to have 3 varieties–an ever bearing variety that produces fruit all summer, and early one that produces sometime in June, and a later variety that produces in August.

Need some help starting your seeds from your window? Here’s how.

Watermelon

Watermelons are fun for kids (or those who like to overwater plants) to grow and are super delicious! Quetzali is a good almost seedless variety for small spaces, Sweet Beauty Hybrid will produce all summer, and Cream of Saskatchewan is a unique yellow heirloom variety that looks unique and tastes delicious.

That’s it! Know of any fruits from seed that grow in colder climates that I’ve missed? Let me know in the comments.

How to Prepare Your Strawberries for the Winter

It’s another one of those rites of passage of learning to garden–killing the strawberries you so desperately wanted to save. Everybody loves strawberries, but nobody likes it when the strawberry plants they invested in last Spring die a slow and horrible death over the cold Canadian Winter.  Not that I’m bitter about the time it happened to me, or anything.

Here’s how you (and your strawberries) can avoid this terrible fate.

Disclaimer time: I garden in in zone 3b in the Canadian Prairies and thus my advice is best suited to that region, and also highly applicable to zones 2 and 4.  I realize that readers from many warmer zones read my stuff, so I’ve tried to account for your situation where possible.   I love comments from those who live in other places!  Your knowledge of different zones helps lots of people become better gardeners. . .which is probably why you’re here in the first place.

Second disclaimer, as of writing this post I’m 19 weeks pregnant and. . . hormonal, shall we say?  As I’m re-reading this I realize it might come off as really angry, but it’s meant to be funny.  I hope it’s funny.

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White Chocolate Raspberry Scones

Do you have tonnes of raspberries from your canes, and no idea how to use them all?  If you’re bored with jam and looking for something delicious, you need these white chocolate raspberry scones in your life–stat.

Seriously, you need these raspberry white chocolate scones in your life. They're an easy and simple summer dessert recipe that is perfect for breakfast, dessert, or as a snack. #raspberry #whitechocolate #scone #sconerecipe #dessert #baking
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Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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