farm hunter; northern blue looks like a good variety from the description, being self fertile. I'd ask the nursery to supply the hardiness zones for each variety that you want to plant. Up state NY shouldn't be that much cooler than our Niagara fruit belt. The one thing to remember about plums is that you can't stop black knot even if you spray. You'll need to trim off diseased shoots each spring, sanitizing the clippers and burning the spores.

One apple that you should give a try that they have listed is Fameuse (Snow Apple). I have many fond memories of chomping into a snow apple on a frosty morning. The pure white flesh is delicious. About the only standard varieties that you left out were Spartan and MacIntosh.

I've used raised beds for vegetables. They're great for preventing compaction of soil as you never step on the ground. As for trees, I use a modified raised bed. I plow 2 furrows in opposite directions to form a raised path. Do this alternating down the field and then disc the raised furrows. There will be a drainage ditch between each planting bed. This technique has helped me grow trees in my clay soil that were only supposed to grow in sand.

Dan O.