Fruit in the City

[Mark Krawczyk]

Ever stop to admire the blazing crabapple blooms throughout our fine city each spring?  Now imagine that each of those flowers (potentially) turned into an apple.  We'd be surrounded by an abundance of fruit each fall!  Neighborhood cider pressing and applesauce making parties on every block, community root (technically 'fruit') cellars filled with a season's worth of fresh fruit and the lingering scent of fresh baked apple pie wafting from one neighbors house to the next.

So what's the deal?  We could be growing peaches, plums, nectarines, pears, paw paws (a tropical-like fruit native to the southeastern United States with a flavor and texture best described as 'vanilla-mango-custard'!), apricots, kiwis, cherries and more - all along the shores of Lake Champlain.

Why do you think we don't see more fruit here in Burlington?  What are your thoughts on this issue?  and how do you think we can start to make a positive change towards developing a more productive public land use policy?

[Morganna]

I was under the impression that the reason we don't grow these sorts of fruits is because of the relatively short growing season and how late and early our frosts are.  Though, I have a black thumb, so what do I know.

[JasonFrishman]

I would LOVE to see more fruit trees here in Burlington.

Definitely, we'd have to promote the ones that can grow in our climate (But that is quite a few - plums, cherries, apples, peaches [yes, peaches, I just learned that there is a variety that will grow and produce here...]  In addition to trees as Mark is suggesting, I can imagine raspberry patches, blueberry bushes, etc.

Out in Eugene, OR, all along the running paths in the city, are wild blackberries - talk about incentive for going running!

Now, as to what might get in the way of having the city of Burlington sponsor or co-sponsor an initiative like this....

I am not a fruit farmer, so I have no idea what sort of maintenance and care would be needed to keep the fruit trees healthy, producing and vital.  It may be that in order for there to be a worthwhile return (read: lots of fruit!) that there would be too much necessary time and financial investment for upkeep. (would people volunteer?) I do know that apple trees can be finicky. Another consideration is pests; to spray or not to spray?  If we don't spray chemicals on the city's trees, then organic pest control methods will need to be utilized; this is, again, more expensive and time consuming. (In addition, does the city take care its non-fruiting landscaping without chemicals? probably not, so this means that even if fruit trees are not sprayed, they will be subject to the chemicals that are sprayed on it's neighboring bush or hedge or tree.) One other thought that I just had is that I imagine that fruit trees that are not fully picked over will tend to have a ton of rotting fruit below it (those crabapple trees we already have do that).  This may or may not be seen as an issue - I can imagine that it would be.

BUT, I don't mean to be all negative.  In typing this, I remember an E-town show (it's a live music radio show with a social action mission) that gave a community action award (An E-chievement Award) to a gentleman who created a non-profit group whose mission it was to distribute incredibly inexpensive or free fruit trees to neighborhoods and families.  I'll try to find out more information on that, but I do think that bringing local even more local, as in neighborhoods and families, may be a way to encourage what you are talking about Mark.  Imagine if neighborhoods or family backyards had fruit trees that groups of families could cooperatively manage, take responsibility for and then preserve, can, ferment, bake and cook for everyone! 

It's not that I don't think that we wouldn't be able to effect changes for public land, the issues that I mentioned above are just my thoughts on things that might get in the way.

(And, by the way, the crabapple trees do fruit later in the summer/fall, and I've certainly harvested a few here and there - there are some great crabapple jams, pie filling recipes and country wines out there!)

[Mark Krawczyk]

Hi Morgana and Jason
It's great to hear your thoughts on this thread.  So yes Morgana, we actually do have access to a pretty remarkable palette of fruiting trees and shrubs here in the Champlain Valley (and our options look like they will only continue to expand as climate change patterns continue).  Early/late frosts can be a problem as well but there are a number of strategies growers can take to prevent against this - planting on the north side of a hill or in the shade of a house to delay fruiting or developing some type of frost protection system.

I'm very happy to hear you're so eager to promote fruit trees in Burlington Jason.  You're right that peaches can and will thrive here in the Champlain Valley and there are actually several varieties that will fruit here.  You can find out more by visiting Miller Nurseries on-line as well as Elmore Roots in Elmore Vermont.  We can consider ourselves living on the edge of hardiness zone 5 here in Burlington.  And you're absolutely right!  One thing that will definitely thrive here are berries.

You bring up some excellent concerns - probably many of the same ones that have kept fruit trees from becoming common in our urban landscapes.  I think that in general maintenance is the biggest hurdle for us to overcome.  I personally feel that spraying is an absolute no-no.  In fact, I think it negates the positive benefits that we might see as a result of more urban food production.  The pollution of our surface waters is in no means an equal substitute for an improved local food supply.  Managing dropped fruit and composting (or using it!) accordingly will be one of the most important aspects of tree maintenance, but it seems that this could be dealt with quite directly if individuals begin to take collective responsibility to maintain the landscapes in their neighborhood.

Just as you suggest Jason, I think that the real solution would be for groups of people to organize on the neighborhood scale to take collective maintenance responsibilities into their own hands.  I just learned of a small block of like minded residents in the hill section who are looking to organize an urban CSA that will reside within the confines of their backyards.  Now this is real change!  As individuals we have a very limited access to land and resources here in the city but when we spend some time looking at our neighborhoods on GoogleEarth it becomes very clear that there is an abundance of space in our backyards, it's just fragmented by property boundaries and fences!  So while much of this discussion is about building productive local landscapes, it becomes inextricably tied to the building of healthy urban communities.

There's so much work out there to be done - but in the words of one of my mentors, 'You can solve all the problems in the world in a garden'.  So I encourage us all to start there and in the mean time get to know our neighbors and explore the possibilites that may be otherwise obscured by white pickets.

Thanks for the conversation!
Mark

[Undead Molly]

I know this topic hasn't been alive in a long time, but I was reminded of it recently.

In the course of my volunteer work with the Burlington Restorative Justice program I had the opportunity to speak with Burlington's city arborist, Warren Spinner (because of a tree vandalism case, unfortunately). He is a lovely man and questions about stuff like this can be addressed to him. I think the greatest hurdle is finding volunteers with the time and willingness to care for the trees, but this website is a good starting point for anyone who is interested in next steps:

http://www.branchoutburlington.org/index.htm

It is a group of residents who organize to create and maintain green spaces in Burlington.