by Christine
I planted fruit plants 3 years ago. When I bought the little quart sized red and white Nanking Cherry bushes, 2 blueberry bushes, red and white strawberries, blackberries, black and red raspberries and figs, I had only hope. Now, our front yard is ripe and I can't keep the kids out of the yard! Lance, who is 3, is the worst! He runs out the front yard and goes straight to the blueberries and picks any that aren't totally green. He is an expert at picking the not completely ripe berries. I yell at him and he doesn't listen. He is a berry man.
The Nanking Cherries are a wonderful surprise. I love them. The bushes have really grown huge and they bloom beautifully in the early spring, which makes them worth keeping around. In early June, they are covered in little slightly sour cherries. I have one white and one red. They grow right on the branches and do not hang down like regular cherries. It tickles me so much to walk out the door and just pick a handful or two for a snack.
I sent my children, or farm hands, out to pick some berries last weekend. My 9 year old, Georgia Mae, came back with a bowl full of red and white cherries and blueberries. Very patriotic. She also harvested enough blueberries for pancakes last weekend. I may not have a farm, but we do have space and time to enjoy the most local food available in the summertime.
I highly recommend planting fruits and especially fruit bushes to keep yourself eating locally. Our blueberries have required no care since we planted them. I put a generous amount of peat moss into the hole when I planted them to make the soil more acid, and I have applied used coffee grounds to mulch them over time, but little else. They suffered a bit from the 17 year cicadas, but have rebounded to be larger and more fruitful than I expected this soon.
All of the fruit plants I purchased from the wonderful Edible Landscaping in Afton, VA. www.eat-it.com
When not writing here, Christine can be found at her site Farm Groupie.
