FAQ

East Oakland Nursery

We are a small but mighty, mission-driven non-profit nursery. We prioritize getting plants to you as fast as possible. Generally, processing time for orders is 1 - 2 weeks, and plants take 5-7 business days to arrive once shipped.

During peak season (April - August), processing time for orders is 4 - 5 weeks. Once your order has shipped, it should arrive at your shipping address within 5-7 business days.

Where you live and what day of the week you place your order also has an impact on shipping. Our weekly schedule is:

Monday and Tuesday - We ship to states East of the Rockies:

Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin

Wednesday and Thursday - We Ship to states West of the Rockies:

Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

Mother Farm Collection

Our current processing time is within one week. Mother Farm Cuttings and Scionwood are seasonal.  You will see these products on pre-order in October or November.  And available to buy from November to April.

Cutting Wood - Once the trees are dormant and the wood is collected we will start sending December to April.

Scionwood - Once the trees are dormant and the wood is collected we will start sending February to April.

Greenwood Cuttings - These will become available in the fall and ship from Oct - Sept, but will require additional Shipping cost

Nursery

We ship our plants Monday - Thursday via UPS Ground all over the contiguous lower 48 states. We cannot ship to Hawaii, Alaska, or Internationally, sorry!

Shipping Rates:

West of the Rockies:  $17.00 flat rate + 25% of total cost of order.
East of the Rockies:   $20.00 flat rate + 30% of total cost of order.

Mother Farm Collection

We ship our plants via USPS all over the contiguous lower 48 states. We cannot ship to Hawaii, Alaska, or internationally, sorry!

For Cuttings and Scion wood from the El Sobrante Mother farm

West of the Rockies:  $12.00 flat rate + 15% of total cost of order.
East of the Rockies:   $12.00 flat rate + 20% of total cost of order.

Nursery

We ship our container grown nursery stock all year round!

We ship our plants Monday – Friday via UPS Ground all over the contiguous lower 48 states. We cannot ship to Hawaii, Alaska, or internationally, sorry!

Mother Farm Collection

Cutting and Scionwood will be shipped from El Sobrante via USPS. These are seasonal and will be put into stock for presales and will be sent during the spring season as available.

If you have a specific date you would like to receive the wood by please put that in a note.  

Dormant Cutting wood will be shipped Jan - March.

Dormant Scion wood will be shipped Jan - April.

Greenwood Cutting will be shipped Sept - Nov.  These are more fragile, but will root well during the fall. These may require a different shipping rate as we will want to get them to you as fast as possible.

No combining orders or replacements, unless we have contacted you because something is out of stock. We are a small team taking care of a 4 acre farm and this creates too much administrative work for us at this time.

Nursery

We rely on our customers to monitor the temperature and weather conditions in their area and have their plants shipped when appropriate. We are not responsible for damage to plants that occurs during shipping due to extreme weather conditions.

If you want to reserve plants but don’t want them shipped until later, just place your order and specify the month you would like them shipped in the ‘Order Notes’ section in the final step of the checkout process.

Mother Farm Collection

In the event that you have an issue with your order. Please email us a photo of your cutting wood or scion wood within a week of its arrival so we can either send you a replacement or issue you a refund.

Nursery

In the event that you have an issue with your order. Please email us a photo of your plant within a week of its arrival so we can help evaluate the issue with the plant and possibly send you a replacement or issue you a refund. Our email address is orders@plantingjustice.org.

Mother Farm Collection

In the event that you have an issue with your order. Please email us a photo of your cutting wood or scion wood within a week of its arrival so we can either send you a replacement or issue you a refund. Our email address is farmorders@plantingjustice.org

How do we know if it's a Farm Order or a Nursery Order

Most orders are Nursery orders. If you received a living plant in a container, it is considered a Nursery order. Cuttings from the Nursery are primarily tree collards. Currently, the Mother Farm Collection consists only of wood pieces (cuttings or scion wood). You can identify these by checking the SKU—if the first two letters are ‘MF,’ it belongs to the Mother Farm Collection. If you ordered both plants and MF cuttings or scion wood, the orders will be separated because we are in different locations. This is displayed before checkout.

One of the best ways to determine if a tree or any plant is dead is the tree scratch test. Just beneath the dry, outer layer of bark in a tree’s trunk lies the cambium layer of bark. In a living tree, this is green; in a dead tree, it is brown and dry.

Scratching bark to see if the tree is alive involves removing a little bit of the outside layer of bark to get a look at the cambium layer. Use your fingernail or small pocketknife to remove a small strip of exterior bark. Don’t make a great wound in the tree, but just enough to see the layer below.

If you perform the tree scratch test on a tree trunk and see green tissue, the tree is alive. This does not always work so well if you scratch one single branch, since the branch may be dead but the rest of the tree alive.

During times of severe drought and high temperatures, a tree may “sacrifice” branches, allowing them to die in order for the rest of the tree to stay alive. So if you're choosing to do a scratch test on a branch, choose several in different areas of the tree, or simply stick with scraping the tree trunk itself.

Nursery

Your in-store pickup will be available within one week of having placed your order.

Mother Farm Collection

You can put a preferred pickup date when placing your order and we will contact you to arrange a pickup date.

Yes, as long as you reach out to us within 48 hours of having placed. 

For Nursery Support (All potted trees and bareroots)

Contact orders@plantingjustice.org

For Mother Farm Collection Support (Seasonal scionwood and cutting wood only)

We can hold your order as long as you notify us within 24 hours of having placed your order. You can also notify us by putting this information in the notes on your order.

For Nursery Support (All potted trees and bareroots)

Contact orders@plantingjustice.org

For Mother Farm Collection Support (Seasonal scionwood and cutting wood only)

These are the pot sizes are utilized the most here at the Nursery. We are working to get all products updated with accurate container sizes, but until then, we hope this info is helpful:

4" x 4" - Veggies and Herbs

3" x 9.5"- Tree Seedlings and natives (ex.Pines)

5"x12" pots hold many of our fruit trees (ex. Apples, Pears, Peaches, Plums)

You will find blueberries, blackberries and honeyberries in 4"x6" and Olives , Figs, and Pomegranates in 4"x10" size pots.

Many of our conventional plants are in 1 gallon pots.

Some of our larger native trees are found in 3 and 5 gallon pots (i.e., cottonwoods and buckeyes).

Please note! Trees in 3, 5, and 15 gallon pots are in-store purchase only.

• After unpacking water plants thoroughly. Keep moist until transplanted.
• Plants have spent several days in darkness and need to be hardened off to prevent sunburn. Keep out of direct hot afternoon sun for at least a week or until planting.
• Protect from freezing if cold weather threatens.
• If in a location that gets cold winters, even cold hardy plants should have a full season after they are planted to really be established.

• Develop an irrigation system or plan. Plants need a deep watering once or twice a week during the growing season. This means at least one inch of rain or the equivalent irrigation supplied via drip systems or sprinklers. We prefer micro-sprinklers which are water conserving and give a slow deep soaking without compacting the soil. A hose left dribbling into the watering basin of your plant for ten or so minutes can work for a few plants as long as you remember to keep moving it around. After a few years when plants are well established watering can be less frequent.
• Fertilizing your plants is the next most important practice to insure a vigorous and successful planting. Fertilizer is best used as a top-dressing worked into the top inch of soil rather than mixed into the planting hole where they can burn tender roots. We prefer a high nitrogen slow release organic fertilizer such as blood meal, fishmeal, or a rich partly composted manure like chicken, rabbit or goat. A thick mulch of alfalfa hay can also supply the needed nutrients.
• Protect your plants from the critters when necessary. If deer are a problem build a strong wire fence around the entire planting if possible. Otherwise build a sturdy enclosure around the individual tree until it grows above deer height. If rabbits or other bark stripping rodents abound wrap the trunk of the tree with metal hardware cloth. Also keep mulch or other debris away from tree trunk to discourage rodents. If there is a gopher problem encase the plants root-ball in a wire mesh basket when planting to protect the roots.
• Paint the exposed trunks of trees with white latex paint mixed 50/50 with water to prevent sunburn and flathead borer infestation.
• Cultivate- Keep soil surface in a 3-foot diameter around plant free of competing weeds and grasses.
• Mulch- A thick mulch of straw, wood chips, compost or aged manure helps to conserve moisture, smother weeds, keep soil cool and promote a healthy microbial soil community.
• Cover crops such as vetch, clover, alfalfa etc. can be planted in the aisles between rows of trees and are a great way to build and maintain soil fertility and attract many beneficial predatory and pollinating insects. Annual crops such as vetch, fava beans and crimson clover can be planted in the fall and grown without irrigation. Perennial types such as alfalfa and white clover are planted in the spring or fall are slower to start but live a long time developing deep roots that are wonderful for protecting and improving the soil. Buckwheat and cowpeas are annual summer plants that are excellent for smothering competing weeds and building biomass. In western climates they need summer irrigation.
• When trees are young prune mainly in the winter dormant season to develop a good well spaced branch structure. We prefer a central leader form for all our trees and develop a set of scaffold branches coming off the trunk every 3 feet or so.
• We prefer to grow our trees in a fan shape to ensure good light penetration to all parts of the tree. This also makes the trees easy to access for pruning, thinning, spraying and harvesting.
• Fruit needs sunlight, shaded branches produce little and of poorer quality.
• Fruiting spurs or laterals are developed growing horizontally off the scaffolds and spaced about 1 foot apart for good sun exposure.
• Once trees have grown to the desired height and size you want start pruning also in the summer removing any vigorous shoots that are growing out of bounds. This mellows a lot of the expansionist momentum of the tree and re-channels it toward fruiting. Continue winter pruning for shaping and fruiting spur management.

• There is a huge diversity of shrub types often calling for different management strategies, ranging from heavy pruning to no pruning at all.
• Plants that bear on last year”s wood, such as blueberries, currants, gooseberries, etc. want only moderate pruning to avoid removing to many bloom buds. This group of bushes regularly sends up new branches from their base. Starting the second year they begin to fruit with good production continuing for their third year. Generally production on these branches then starts to decline. As such, the best pruning strategy involves gradually removing the older played out branches to make room for the newer up and coming ones. Also prune back any lanky overly long shoots to keep the bush balanced.
• The second type of fruiting bushes such as elderberries and mulberries bear their fruit on the current seasons growth. These can be pruned back severely to just 2 or 3 feet tall and will quickly grow back with vigorous growth and bloom.
• The third group of fruiting bushes is the cane fruits, raspberries and blackberries. They are unique in that they sprout new canes from the ground every spring that live for two years and then die. Blackberries and summer fruiting raspberries canes only grow their first year fruiting heavily their second. Everbearing raspberries bear in late summer-fall at the tips of their first year canes and then side branch and fruit on the same canes again the second year. Pruning entails cutting out all old dead canes after the have fruited and tipping back the ends of the first year canes in the winter.

• For grapes and kiwis train the strongest cane up your trellis or support. When it has reached the height needed develop 2 cordons (sidearms) going in both directions along the top of the trellis. From these are developed the fruiting spurs. Sunsets Western Garden Book has a good step by step illustration.
• Hops are a perennial vine whose tops die back every fall sending up strong fast growing new shoots every spring. They need no pruning though last years dead vines can be removed in the winter to make room for the next years growth.

• Test your soil to make sure you know what your baseline pH. There are some simple tests you can do at home on your own, that aren't as accurate as lab tests. If you have the ability, send a soil sample to a lab to get tested. Local extension offices often do this service for free or at reduced cost. Find your nearest extension office here!
• High pH (above 7) = Less acidic; Low pH (less than 7) = More acidic
• Blueberries, lingonberries and cranberries need an acid soil (approx. ph 5.5). If your garden soil is alkaline or neutral you can amend it by adding a generous amount of peat moss to the planting soil.
• Dig or mix in at least 2 or 3 shovels full of peat moss in and around each planting hole. You can also spread a 2 foot wide swath 1 or 2 inches deep and till it into the bed to be planted.
• Natural sulfur-soil pellets can be worked into the top inch of soil in the fall to further lower the ph if necessary. Never add lime or wood ashes to the soil around these plants.
• This group of plants like a cool moist soil and can benefit by a thick organic mulch as discussed above.

• The more tender subtropical plants such as avocados, most citrus, strawberry guavas, etc. are generally sensitive to hard frosts of 28 degrees or lower, especially the ripening fruits and new growth.
• It’s best to locate your more tender plants in the balmiest micro-climate available, preferably close to your home where it’s easy to attend to their special needs if a cold snap approaches. The south side of a house or building, fence or a row of evergreen trees are good protected locations.
• Ripening fruit and young tender growth can be protected by early or severe freezes by covering the plants with a heavy gauge of floating rowcover such as “Agribon 50” or by stringing Christmas tree lights in the branches and turning them on at night. Both can give several degrees of frost protection and make the difference in saving a crop of fruit or a young tender tree.
• In climates with winters too cold for these desirable plants they can be grown in containers and brought into a non-freezing sunny indoor environment before severe cold arrives, and moved back outdoors after the last frost.
• Many subtropical plants can do well planted directly in the ground in a greenhouse. Trees are best planted and trained along the north wall of the structure, allowing sunshine to reach shorter plants growing in beds to the south.

• A wide variety of plants can be grown in containers when desired for reasons of limited space, poor soil, need to be mobile or when growing tender plants that need to be brought under cover during winter. Plants in containers can also make a beautiful specimen for a deck or patio and tend to be smaller or more compact than when grown in the open ground.
• It is best to start plants in mid-sized containers and pot them on to larger ones as their roots begin to crowd. Eventually after being in their final container for a while they may get root-bound and begin to decline. They will then need to be taken out of their pots, have their roots trimmed and be re-potted with fresh potting soil. Non-porous containers such as wooden tubs or plastic pots are the best and always use a high quality organic potting soil. You can make your own by mixing 1/3 peatmoss, 1/3 perlite and 1/3 well decomposed compost. Potted plants need to be fertilized more frequently than plants in the ground. We suggest a good slow release organic powdered blend worked into the soil surface and regular liquid fish-seaweed feedings.

• The USDA has a map of different regions of the US that they update every few years, which helps growers know what plants will survive and thrive in their specific regions. It divides North America into eleven zones by minimum average annual temperatures. The lower the number is, the lower the temperatures in that zone.
• Using greenhouses, grow boxes, or other mechanical interventions can allow some folks to grow slightly outside of their hardiness zone, but it is really important to know in general what plants are going to do well in your region.
• Some plants may survive in a region, but they will not produce fruit or grow to their best capacity.
• This does not have anything to do with whether a plant is native or invasive to a region. Please consult with local extension offices or other experts for accurate and specific information
• Learn more and find out your region

We care about making our nursery as sustainable as we can: from propagation to shipping. The bags and tape that we use in our packaging are both plant-based and industrially compostable. Additionally, we encourage our customers to use the cardboard box that your order arrives in in your garden as mulch!