Edible Landscaping coming to Madison Wisconsin City Parks

A fruit tree group “Madison Fruits and Nuts” in Madison, Wisconsin has been working with their parks and recreation department and the City of Madison to make it possible to plant more fruit trees in their park lands.   Here are two video links below that show what they are doing.    Their website can be found here http://madisonfruitsandnuts.org/

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Now is the Time To Place Fruit Tree Orders

Now is the time to be thinking about fruit tree additions to your yard.   It is winter and this is the best time to place orders for your desired fruit trees. Waiting till spring to think about this will greatly limit your options.   Desirable trees, including those that disease resistant, ones adaptable to our area and trees on desirable rootstocks disappear quickly by late January.

Our website includes many helpful resources including:

Fruit Variety Comparison – a large list of possible fruit tree options, an overview

Fruit Tree Growing Basics – an outline of what is involved with growing fruit trees and their benefits – This is a very good introduction to growing fruit trees.

Recommended Fruit Plants - known disease resistant varieties, organized by type of fruit – apple, pear, etc.

Shade Tolerant Fruit Plants - ones that might do well in a slightly shady spot

Native Fruiting Plants – If you want to stick with native fruit trees

Fruit & Plant Info Sites - an organized and useful resource for particular fruit varieties

Web Articles – Information about specific fruits

Local Nurseries – local fruit tree options

Mail Order – a listing of mail order options

Adding a fruit tree(s) to your yard requires some placement considerations.    The tree will need plenty of sunlight, and space to reach it full size.  It should not be planted where it will potentially interfere with power lines or next to a driveway or sidewalk if fallen fruit will be objectionable.

Selecting disease resistant trees eliminates a large aspect of tree maintenance.   That leaves you with maintenance that is similar to what is required of any tree – pruning, watering and pest issues.    The intensity of maintenance for different fruit trees is listed on the Fruit Variety Comparison Chart.   Some fruit trees require very little maintenance.

I can think of only a few things that are as exciting as growing one’s own fruit (good friendships, family, music, dancing and more gardening).   Unlike annual food crops, fruit trees usually provide food almost every year without as many inputs that are required by annual food crops.    Fruit trees are beautiful living plants to watch.   They have unique shapes, including the fruits.   Some have fragrant flowers.   They are always changing with the seasons, something new, interesting and stimulating.

Take some time this winter season to think about your fruit tree desires and then place your order early to get your first choice material.

BW

Welcome to the Lawrence Fruit Tree Project (Kansas) information site

Our new group (Lawrence Fruit Tree Project or LFTP) has been actively organizing its internal structure and has already taken on community tasks in accordance with our Mission Statement.   Specific information about our group can be found by clicking on any of the categories under the information heading on the right.  

We will also add documents to our resource file section as they become available.   The intention is to provide fruit tree related educational information that is pertinent and useful in northeastern Kansas.

The LFTP has identified a local non-profit group that may be able to sponsor our organization.   Our goal is to become a 501C3 not-for-profit organization.

Please contact us if you are interested in helping with any of our volunteer activities such as planting, harvesting, pruning, etc.    If you are knowledgeable or experienced in any aspect of fruit tree culture or have special skill that would help grow our organization, please contact us.    We depend on the volunteer efforts of our local residents in order to achieve our mission.  

There are many trees on private property that, for one reason or another, do not get harvested.   Please contact us so that we can register your tree in our database.   At the appropriate time, we will harvest the fruit and will make sure that the fruit gets used.   Our primary goal is to redistribute the fruit to those in need around our community.    We will also make an effort to pick up fallen fruit around your tree.   This helps maintain the health of the other ripening fruit.    Any additional help in that matter will be greatly appreciated, making our harvesting activities more efficient. 

Currently we are involved in several projects, including setting up procedures for our group to run efficiently.   If you are interested in establishing a community orchard, an educational orchard (in a schoolyard) or any other project related to our mission, please contact us.    Our member/volunteer resources may be limited during our early stages.   Your project idea will be considered at a future date if we are unable to take on a task at the current time.

Lastly, upcoming events will be announced to folks on our e-mail list, on this main page and on our Upcoming Events page.     We are currently meeting once a week to handle core group business, but also visit informally about interesting fruit tree related topics.   Some of our meetings will feature presentations and workshops.  

Thanks for visiting our site!