I find that usually when people see me eating mint (grows wild everywhere) or mulberries (ditto) or grapes or cherries or whatever else I find growing wild, they tell me it's not safe. They really think that food can only be trusted from the store!

I even find homeowners telling me that, and being startled when I knock on their doors to ask if they mind me taking their cherries or figs or whatnot that otherwise (I see year after year) they let drop all over the ground. They don't realize that in their own yard they have edibles.

Sad, really.

My kitchen has already been overflowing with gifted apricots and plums this summer. Time to pull out the pectin again.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

For additional fruit posts, read here; here; and here.

local ecology | http://localecology.org

Find out what your state, county, or municipality might be spraying on roadside vegetation before you eat it.

Some of the progressive members of the Sebastopol City Council had a fight with the public works department over fruit trees in public spaces. The mayor thought that apple trees would be great for the Gravenstein apple capital of the world. Sebastopol hosts two apple festivals, therefore should have some actual apple trees. The public works guys thought that the fruit would be a mess and high school kids would have fights with the fruit. They're both right, of course. It would be a struggle to teach kids to appreciate and eat the fruit, but I think it's a struggle worth engaging.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Does anyone know if it has been done by any community organizations recently?

a sibilant intake of breath

In my small urban yard in Ohio, I have growing: an italian plum tree (self-fertile), 2 kinds of local varieties of seedless grapes on a trellis by the patio, a 4-way apple tree and a 4-way cherry tree, a nectarine tree, and 3 tiny pawpaw tree seedlings.  In addition we now have these native fruit bearing shrubs: 5 blueberry bushes, an Eastern Highbush Cranberry, a Winterberry and a Serviceberry bush.  An herb garden and veggie garden round out the mix.  

I grew up on a farm and am firm believer in cultivating an edible and mostly native landscape.

Moving toward sustainability with hopefulness, one revolution at a time.

Someone emailed me suggesting that craigslist or another community listings service should list links to fruit maps/foraging events. I think that's a pretty good idea...idealist.org, too, might be a good place to spread the word about such things that are zip code dependent.

Erik

The Orion Grassroots Network: supporting grassroots groups working for conservation, justice, & more

I'm worried about liability in another respect. The cider matter reminded me about this. I was tempted to contact a local home brewing organization to ask them what sort of apple trees their members might like to see planted. We could work out some sort of deal... split the cost of the trees, I get a bushel of apples and the habitat for wildlife, they get the rest of the apples for making cider. Then I worried someone might fall wall picking apples. Plan terminated.

It is awful that a person can't share produce without worrying about stuff like this.

There's probably a solution -- a realistic one -- out there. I'd love to plant trees for other people to come harvest food from. I want the trees as much as the fresh fruit. And I'm sure there would be plenty to share.

I was also thinking about medicinal plants. Or culinary herbs. Or just flowering plants for cutting. Medicinal plants are threatened. I'm working toward establishing fruit trees and native vegetation around my home. Someone could suggest useful native plants, perhaps provide the seed or even the plants. I'd take care of them and maintain wildlife habitat. The donors could harvest the plants for their own use. But what if they go poison themselves?!

Do I think too much? Worry too much?

I wish there was a way for someone with space and a desire to grow plants -- perennials... I'm not talking about vegetable gardens or setting up a community farm! -- to connect with people who don't have the space, but would like a source of fruit, herbs, or some other plant material.

Some way to integrate permaculture, native habitat restoration, conservation of rare medicinal plants or herbs, and being a good neighbor.... without some schmo suing a person?

It's true about the pesticides though. In my city there wouldn't be any pesticides.

Food. Culture. Food.

Who are they?

"Eat the View" is a project of Kitchen Gardeners International, a Maine-based 501c3 nonprofit network of 6000 gardeners from 100 countries who are inspiring and teaching more people to grow some of their own food.

Their mission?

"Eat the View" is a campaign to plant healthy, edible landscapes in high-impact, high visibility places, whether it's the "First Lawn" or the lawn in front of your child's school.

Use this site to connect with others, to share your ideas for edible landscapes you'd like to see planted and the people you'd like to see grazing on them.