KHF,
Our native ‘Sweet Crab’, Malus coronaria, got the ‘sweet’ moniker due to the aroma of its blossoms. Most humans will regard the small, hard, green, musky, sour/astringent fruits as totally inedible. Wildlife like deer will eat them… they’ll lie on the ground all winter until they do. I suppose it might work as part of a cider blend… would certainly add some bitter, tannic notes.
Callaway crab, on the other hand, is quite tasty. For years, it was my kids’ favorite… y ou could fill your pockets with those tasty morsels and munch away. Fruits are ‘large’, for an ornamental crab, but rarely more than 1" diameter. It’s a heavy bearer… limbs will assume a semi-weeping character due to weight of the fruit crop. Mine is still bearing a heavy crop of fruit today (21 Dec)… eventually the critters will get around to eating them before Spring arrives.
No, sadly - and while I could have the arborist make a clearing when they come to remove some damaged / diseased trees… that feels pretty wrong to me.
Oh thanks! Then I’ll look at Callaway Crab and not Sweet Crab.
Thank you so much for the Goumi info. I’m ok with feeding critters and the soil, not just humans.
Yes, that’s one of the good ones to become familiar with different varieties!
This thread has a great discussion that will help you decide as well.
So far, the only Ribes in my planting that have exhibited WPBR symptoms are my Jahn’s Prairie gooseberries. Any Ribes can host it, but black currants are just the most susceptible (in general).
Back to the original topic, I love the idea, and it’s something I want to work on a bit as well. Some things to consider:
- Would you hope or expect folks to pitch in at all? If so, how to gently encourage?
- If you want happy neighbors, make sure it looks OK. It doesn’t take much; neat edges and a narrow strip of “perfect” lawn to frame your plantings will let you get away with a LOT and still look pretty nice to the average Joe/Jane.
- If you want people to eat what you’re growing, they need to know about it. Unless your neighborhood is already versed in the ways of pawpaws or persimmons, everything but the blueberries and cherries might be a tough sell. Plan to gently educate your neighbors. I generally say that if you want to reduce random people picking your stuff, plant the unusual stuff near the road and property edges.
- You’ll also need to educate folks on proper harvest times. Many fruits look ripe before they are ripe.
- Your pine and oak woods are almost certainly plenty productive for critters. The acorns and pine seeds produce tons of food for wildlife, with lots of other things available throughout the year. All the insects that use the oaks as a food source are the real backbone of the food for critters. The one way you could increase its productivity is by periodically felling an area and leaving the wood there, maybe 10% every 10 years. This would create patches of habitat within the forest, but it’s only really worthwhile if you have a decent amount of woods, at the very least an acre or two.
- All the books suggested are great, but I recommend taking all permaculture readings with a grain of salt. There’s a big tendency to oversell the idea and throw the baby out with the bathwater regarding more traditional plantings. Don’t get me wrong, there are elements of it that work really well, but the version of it that really works looks more like slightly mixed traditional plantings than a “wild” forest or savannah.
- As mentioned, raspberries and blackberries tend to spread. The way to keep them in bounds is with a mower.
- if you haven’t already, get a soil test and look up your soil type on the web soil survey (Web Soil Survey). Think about what will be a natural fit for your soil vs what you’ll have to amend the soil for, and whether that’s worth it to you. I’m willing to bet you have sandy acidic soil since you mentioned oak and pine woods, and that blueberries do well.
Easiest thing to do with sour cherries is make waffle/pancake topping. It’s really just pie filling. Just cook the cherries with some sugar and thickener (tapioca, flour or cornstarch) in a sauce pan. That’s it. You could even skip the thickener if you don’t mind it being runny.
While I like Callaway crab, and it has its place, it’s mostly outstripped by some of the larger ‘edible crabs/lunchbox apples’, like Centennial, Kerr, Chestnut, Whitney, Bastian Orange, Trailman, Dolgo, etc. If limited for space, I’d go for one of these, rather than Callaway.
I don’t know about any of these! Thanks I’ll research.
Chestnut is such a great apple, and it does well in New England.
Thanks, saving this chestnut crabapple recommendation!
Thank you @jcguarneri your advice is really helpful.
Re educating neighbors… how does one do that without coming across as snotty or pushy?
Also, I was thinking to put informational placards, and was just wondering if I should put a little laminated photo of what ripe looks like for that plant. Is that a thing people do?
I like your idea of having just enough border and lawn for it all to read as tended rather than wild. Do you think one of those arching trellises might be a good visual indicator too?
I read a book that said that when living with traditional suburban neighbors, it’s best to get a Natl Wildlife Fed certified garden sign up as soon as possible. It lets people know that you’re not a lazy jerk, but that there’s a method (and a higher authority - no not God but a bureaucracy that certifies stuff) and even a virtue at play. It took me awhile to work my way through the checklist, but I just completed it recently.
Here is one of the fancy wildlife habitat brushpiles that my kiddo helped me build.
I am starting a small orchard that is part of a subdivision. (Zone 7a/b) I will be growing fruit that most of my neighbors have never tasted or even heard of. Jujube, Pawpaw, Persimmon (Asian and Hybrid), Pineapple Guava and Goumi. Some they have heard of but not these cultivars (Asian Pear, Kiwi).
When I start getting a few fruits then I will offer them as part of a tasting event. Bring a spoon and a small bowl and try something new. Eventually I will have it as a pick your own and also offer to local caterers for novelty deserts and ice creams.
As for placards I was thinking of using QR Codes which are free. Let them use their smart phones. I need to gather data on the various trees and bushes.
Another garden gal here (Lakes Region NH, 5b) - I have two rows of raspberries and they don’t seem to sow away from the rows. I contain them by just mowing around them every week as they are in my yard and not in a plotted garden. One of my hay fields is right nearby so maybe that acts as a buffer? It is between the raspberries and my neighbor. My raspberries are so easy; I don’t know the variety unfortunately. I cut out dead canes and pull out weeds, that’s about it. My property is on a water table so that helps immensely with irrigation; I never have to do it with established plantings. You have made a great start and I like your idea - best wishes for a fruitful garden!
I made a hobby of of adding edibles to the public parks. I started by dealing with the invasive Bradford pears. I cut very small trees down and put Tordon on the stumps to prevent suckers. Larger trees I graft to Asain pears. They don’t even cut up the dead trees that are on the park. I plug them with edible mushrooms. I plant fruit trees with multiple varieties so they all are self pollinating. Reintroducing Pawpaws to their native woods. Having a good time. It will interesting when they start producing edibles. I suspect people on their desperation and ignorance they will pick them all before they even ripen. Going to talk to city officials and see if I can get a program started to get greater awareness and possibly get the fruit to the food bank . Perhaps get the community involved in doing something beneficial to the city.
That’s a really neat idea using QR codes to link to plant data
That’s so cool!!! No HOA prohibitions?
I own the subdivision of two lots which is next to a much larger subdivision. No HOA here. It used to be in the county and was owned by a couple who I bought it from. Now it is in the city. Built on one lot 20 years ago and am now making this one my retirement plan.