Community/public access food forests and garden projects! With free food!

A friend sent me this article: These cities turned parks into orchards where anyone can pick for free - Washington Post

This one is at a castle!


That led me to check out some of the cities with these projects around the world, like at these sites:

Edible City Solutions for a better world

The Rise of Community Food Forests

Here is one in Portland, Oregon:


The authors of the blog post above wrote this book:
The Community Food Forest Handbook


And have a map of these food forest in the US:

Community Food Forest Map

There are probably more that they don't know about.  Can anyone help them add to the map?

Cool news, right?

That is a great idea. I wish there was one closer to me. I will check out one in Portland sometime.

Well, my project is a bit less...social, at least for now.

There's a park by my house which exists within an area that was once orchards stretching back to pioneer times, and there are already a good number of cherry trees growing there (including some really old black cherry trees that are barely fruitful but that have the most gorgeous silvery purple bark and grow thick, straight trunks which would make incredible timber), and the plums have gone rogue, hybridizing and naturalizing until now we have hundreds of plums ranging from full trees to shrubby little dwarfs that grow only 4-6' tall and wide, in sizes ranging from cherry sized on up to just larger than a golfball, in colors ranging from orange to yellow, red to pink, fushia to purple. I'm actually growing seedlings from some of my favorites in my own garden. There are also a few apples, some native Utah Service Berry, and a couple other interesting fruiting one-offs and some cool herbaceous stuff like salsify going on naturally as well.

There are paths leading through the wooded areas surrounding the park (said wooded areas being where the majority of the fruit trees are growing), and there is sprinkler irrigation at the park which keep the edges of some of the wooded area irrigated.

There are also unsealed (bare, compacted soil) irrigation canals that flow through the wooded areas for around 4 months out of the year but provide adequate moisture for the full year, due to the percolation from the unsealed canals.

So, around 4 years ago, I started a guerilla food forest project. It started with simply planting seeds from my favorite local specimens to begin a gradual selection process. It was furthered by planting seeds of good fruit of all kinds. I've also been pruning the local fruit trees for better fruit set and healthier canopy.

The next step was planting bramble berries dug out of my yard from either places where they were no longer suitable, of from patches that had expanded beyond my design.

I've also tossed around 5lbs of wildflower, leafy green, and vegetable seeds in the area over the years. One of my long-term projects is to naturalize tomatoes and peppers to the area, so that reliably fruiting seedlings appear year after year, which will supply important genetics to my landrace selections.

I've also got some pawpaws and more brambles ready to go get planted in the fall which are extras left over from bulk purchases in the spring (where it was cheaper to buy multiples than singles, if I spent enough), and I'll be planting those along the banks of the canal, and at the edge of the park in the woody areas that get irritagated.

I'm also specifically developing my propagation skills this year and into the next, both in anticipation future nursery work and to begin adding more trees and shrubs to the system which have been propagated from my own yarden and from the best local specimens, whether in people's yards or the woods, and that's gonna be the real tipping point.

I'm doing all of this as a service to my community, but my family and I are the only ones who know anything about it, apart from some of my neighbors who know what I'm up to, but haven't seen or participated in the project.

As designed, since, technically, what I'm doing is illegal. But, the first fruits of my labor (literally fruits) have already been born, and the work I do over the next 5 years will mean thousands of pounds of fruit per year will be available to my community, and they'll only have to go walking through the park to take advantage.

There are secret areas where I've followed game trails to little clearings and begun work in those as well, and those will both feed the wildlife and the adventuring spirits of the local youth when they discover little fruit oases in the woods complete with little structures suitable for forts.

Little by little, the community will discover my project organically and learn to enjoy the bounty without my ever having had to blow a trumpet or toot a horn.

It'll just be beloved, because it will be wonderful, and it'll be discovered because people already love spending time in the area.

Food Forest of Dreams: If you grow it, they will come.

Having cities that furnish parks that plant trees for folks to pick fruit is a fantastic idea.

Where I live the parks have pecan trees that are actually harvested.

I bet folks can pick pecan before the harvesting machine show up.

Anne Miller wrote:Having cities that furnish parks that plant trees for folks to pick fruit is a fantastic idea.

Where I live the parks have pecan trees that are actually harvested.

I bet folks can pick pecan before the harvesting machine show up.

There's a cool park near where I used to live that was donated to the city by a family. Part of the deal was that they let the orchard stand, and so there are some excellent plums growing there, as well as some apples that don't fruit very much and a blackberry thatch that has naturalized and is both the thorniest and most productive blackberry I know of.

Recent development in the area, I found out, saw a diminishment of the blackberry thatch from 100'+ dominating a 10' chainlink to a 15:x15' patch sprawling on the ground.

I'm going to go dig up a half dozen clumps so I can save the piece of local heritage (and a magnificent blackberry which has been growing for decades, disease free). I'll grow it in my yard, and in the project area.

Tangentially, I've got some thunderhead blackberries coming next year, and I'm excited to see if they live up to the hype.

Chance Lunceford wrote:Well, my project is a bit less...social, at least for now.
So, around 4 years ago, I started a guerilla food forest project.
Food Forest of Dreams: If you grow it, they will come.

Welcome, Chance!

Fellow guerrilla gardener here, veteran of borrowing and improving ignored and underutilized public spaces for decades -  sometimes discovered by authorities, more often by adventurous kids. My philosophy was, if it's not a sin for a squirrel to plant food ins the ground, it shouldn't be illegal for me to do it, either. Besides, everything you do is evil to somebody.

The only time anyone objected was when it became obvious, e.g. after planting a dozen tomatoes in rows. The city spent ten grand bulldozing that one. They never found the others - or any of the 'volunteer' peach trees that likely sprouted from hundreds of pits tossed into the creek that ran from suburban Birmingham, Alabama to the Gulf of Mexico.

I did try working through channels to convince local leaders to consider building a food forest for all, including the growing homeless population they promised me did not exist. They were not amenable to the idea; the citizens they wanted to attract had real jobs and could buy food at the upscale restaurant down the street. So you win some/you grow some more. All in all, I found it easier to be a silent, stealthy Robin Hood who robbed from nobody, and gave to everyone.

These days I am living in a different community, one that will not prosecute you for growing vegetables in your front yard. Sometimes, though, I miss the fun of explaining where I got those tall, fancy yellow hibiscus (okra) that grew amongst my sunflowers, the pretty purple puffball borders (chives), the funny little round-leafed bushes (peanuts), and those lovely, viney ground covers (cantaloupe and sweet potatoes). Now when my neighbors ask what I'm growing I find out what they like, and make sure a basketful of tomatoes, beans peppers, etc. appears on their doorstep. A few of them even ask for seeds and seedlings, if I have any extras to share. (I always have extras to share.)

Yeardly Arthur wrote:

Chance Lunceford wrote:Well, my project is a bit less...social, at least for now.
So, around 4 years ago, I started a guerilla food forest project.
Food Forest of Dreams: If you grow it, they will come.

Welcome, Chance!

Fellow guerrilla gardener here, veteran of borrowing and improving ignored and underutilized public spaces for decades -  sometimes discovered by authorities, more often by adventurous kids. My philosophy was, if it's not a sin for a squirrel to plant food ins the ground, it shouldn't be illegal for me to do it, either. Besides, everything you do is evil to somebody.

The only time anyone objected was when it became obvious, e.g. after planting a dozen tomatoes in rows. The city spent ten grand bulldozing that one. They never found the others - or any of the 'volunteer' peach trees that likely sprouted from hundreds of pits tossed into the creek that ran from suburban Birmingham, Alabama to the Gulf of Mexico.

I did try working through channels to convince local leaders to consider building a food forest for all, including the growing homeless population they promised me did not exist. They were not amenable to the idea; the citizens they wanted to attract had real jobs and could buy food at the upscale restaurant down the street. So you win some/you grow some more. All in all, I found it easier to be a silent, stealthy Robin Hood who robbed from nobody, and gave to everyone.

These days I am living in a different community, one that will not prosecute you for growing vegetables in your front yard. Sometimes, though, I miss the fun of explaining where I got those tall, fancy yellow hibiscus (okra) that grew amongst my sunflowers, the pretty purple puffball borders (chives), the funny little round-leafed bushes (peanuts), and those lovely, viney ground covers (cantaloupe and sweet potatoes). Now when my neighbors ask what I'm growing I find out what they like, and make sure a basketful of tomatoes, beans peppers, etc. appears on their doorstep. A few of them even ask for seeds and seedlings, if I have any extras to share. (I always have extras to share.)

Oh, aye, as my Dad has often been wont to say, "Laws are for people who need 'em."

I have big plans, and they're not to be railroaded by pesky things like ordinances and such. One day, my work will change the map. Meantime, I'll simply work to serve in my mirthful, joyful, quiet, clandestine manner.

Funny though, I did move from a place where my neighbors used to look at my intensive "untidy" planting, my edible and/or nitrogen"weeds" in the lawn, my "big pile of shit" hugelkultur mound, and "eyesore" of a recycled materials greenhouse where my neighbors asked things like, "what the hell are you up to NOW?!" to a place where all my neighbors are either farmers, kids of farmers, or moved here to get away from people who hate gardens and love "Urban conveniences," and say things like, "Kids? Ew... I'm good, too expensive and needy," and these same neighbors almost all garden, have fruit trees and bushes, and don't grumble about "property values," because my lawn is 6" tall and has clover and dandelion in it (🙄😂).

Um...

Heh, wrong meeting.

Anne Miller wrote:Having cities that furnish parks that plant trees for folks to pick fruit is a fantastic idea.

Where I live the parks have pecan trees that are actually harvested.

I bet folks can pick pecan before the harvesting machine show up.

That’s so cool
What area of the world is this amazing city in, if you care to reveal?
It would never happen in my area, sadly.
I wish all city governments were doing these beneficial things and thinking about these kinds of issues.

Chance Lunceford wrote:
….or moved here to get away from people who …. say things like, "Kids? Ew... I'm good, too expensive and needy," and these same neighbors almost all garden, have fruit trees and bushes, and don't grumble about "property values," because my lawn is 6" tall and has clover and dandelion in it (🙄😂).

It’s possible to not want or have kids and still love a wild vicarious or intentional productive garden or park! 😄😉
Just sayin’…

tuffy monteverdi wrote:

Anne Miller wrote:Having cities that furnish parks that plant trees for folks to pick fruit is a fantastic idea.

Where I live the parks have pecan trees that are actually harvested.

I bet folks can pick pecan before the harvesting machine show up.

That’s so cool
What area of the world is this amazing city in, if you care to reveal?
It would never happen in my area, sadly.
I wish all city governments were doing these beneficial things and thinking about these kinds of issues.

I live in the Hill Country of Texas almost next to West Texas.

Very cool Anne
It’s great to know folks are thinking like this at governing levels 🙏

It is very easy in conversations like this one, to not see the forest for the trees!

There has been so much in the news lately about heat waves. There is excellent research out there about how trees, particularly mini-forests, within walking distance of every home or apartment building, can literally save lives during bad heat waves.

Why not make that important and necessary shade do double duty and plant fruit trees along with trees known to clean urban air of pollution? One good shade tree in the center, and a ring of shorter fruit bearing trees around it, creating an island of cooler air.

If you use raingarden principles as the first step, these islands may be able to support themselves just on rainwater.

If you then present your plans to authorities, focusing on "reducing run-off"  and "saving lives during the heat", you may find them more interested in approving your plan. That apple tree you plan on including, is just a beautiful blossom tree in the spring, with pretty red balls on it later in the year!

That’s a great idea Jay
I love it

I must say fruit trees are absolutely plagued by gophers or Fireblight here in this part of the Mediterranean world. They require more than regular care..
Perhaps some walnut or butternut trees or some Oaks best of all…even if acorns aren’t readily edible they do provide great wildlife support, fantastic cooling shade, are fast growing and huge, and acorns can be processed for starches and flours if really needed…

Best of all, Oaks and Black walnut survive on rainfall only here and require no care.

tuffy monteverdi wrote:I must say fruit trees are absolutely plagued by gophers or Fireblight here in this part of the Mediterranean world. They require more than regular care..
Perhaps some walnut or butternut trees or some Oaks best of all…even if acorns aren’t readily edible they do provide great wildlife support, fantastic cooling shade, are fast growing and huge, and acorns can be processed for starches and flours if really needed…

Best of all, Oaks and Black walnut survive on rainfall only here and require no care.

Choosing plants, or varieties of plants, that require minimal care for your ecosystem, is critical. We have roadside apple trees here, planted decades ago, and they survive and produce except for years that the Tent Caterpillars go crazy. The local deer clean up the windfalls, which helps a lot to keep many pests down.

However, where my sister lives in Ontario, Canada, she has no hope of growing apples due to the pest pressure.

So yes, choose plants that will cope well and not cause too much extra work! Are there fruit vines that are low maintenance in your ecosystem?

Jay Angler wrote: Are there fruit vines that are low maintenance in your ecosystem?

Well there is a beautiful little shrub that’s not quite vining but IS sort of fountain-y - the Golden Currant. Tiny, but truly delicious sweet yellow-orange berries - it’s native and better than Scandi varieties in my opinion. It likes to grow on the edges or just under shade canopy of Oaks and other native trees (in fact it grows and *produces* in almost full shade!) so a perfect planting companion…

There are also wild grapes, the fruit is ok, not great.
And it’s prolific near riparian areas ONLY.
We’ve grown the temperate Concord Grape too, with great success and very little care, no disease or pests  (except our sheep😂)… But, it does require a lowland area with a somewhat high water table.

Ground cherries are drought tolerant and do well and self seed year after year if seed allowed to stay.. but it does t climb really. More of a ground scrabbler…

There’s always Himalayan Blackberry, another fountain-y shrub, but I can’t in good conscience plant that here. It’s super thorny, fire-prone, takes over entire landscapes within a few years, and it’s nearly impossible to eradicate😬
There are native varieties of raspberry/blackberry but they require forest-like situations. Not great for more urban settings…

Another shrub is Manzanita. So easy to grow and an outstandingly beautiful plant with great wildlife supporting qualities. The fruit are…meh. Ok, edible, even medicinal, but most folks would not eat more than one or two of the tiny fruit.

Cactus - Opuntia produce marvelous fruit but the cactus thorns are a barrier no one wants to hazard (except me). And they require no trees, full sun.

Olive trees (not a shrub or vine) do well here, no care, but fruit is not readily edible (tho easy to brine) and it’s plagued by the olive fly and related pests…still it’s a simple, no care tree.
Feijoas and oranges do well too. These are not large trees, or vines, though.

I can’t think of any other edible easy-care fruit or berries

I think the biggest, easiest, shade & food producing plants here are Oaks and Walnuts, honestly…