Contributor Opinion by Carl Henn: Plant Fruit And Nut Trees
Mar 4, 2010 10:27 - 6 Comments
>This winter’s heavy snow and high winds have damaged and destroyed a fair number of trees. That is a pity since trees give us shade, reducing the energy we use to stay cool in summer. They block the wind, reducing the energy we use to stay warm in winter. They protect our watershed by reducing the storm surge when it rains. They give us the oxygen we need in the air we breathe and provide beauty that we often take for granted.
We tend to forget that trees can also give us food. I got a mailing from the Arbor Day Foundation earlier this week that offered me ten trees, not one of which provides food for humans. To be fair, I could eat the crab apples if I were hungry enough.
I hope never to be hungry enough to eat crab apples on a routine basis. But our agricultural system is heavily dependent on oil. We use oil to plow, plant and harvest our food. We use fossil fuels to generate nitrogen fertilizer, to dry crops for storage, to grind the grain, bring the food to market and cook it. Each calorie of food we eat has around 10 calories of fossil fuel embedded in its production.
Many energy experts believe we are near the peak of global oil production. America’s production peaked 40 years ago and has since fallen by half. World oil discoveries peaked over 40 years ago and we’ve been burning more than we discover since 1980. And we have more mouths to feed each year. We added over 70 million people worldwide last year, about the population of the entire United States in 1900.
Put rising population together with declining oil production and we will soon find ourselves in a different circumstance than we currently enjoy. I believe that we could manage the transition to a sustainable world without collapse or starvation if people of all nations acted promptly with intelligence and compassion. I haven’t seen that happening yet.
But I don’t envision huddling in the dark eating crab apples for my future. I’d rather eat apples and pecans. Accordingly, I have planted a few apple and hardy pecan trees. The storm-killed trees offer us an opportunity. Plant fruit and nut trees in their stead.
You may not see times coming that are hard enough to require you to grow your own food. I would note that Manna Food Center has faced unprecedented demand this year. Further, it has been normal through most of human history to grow your own food. And remember it takes years for a tree to get to the point where it provides fruits or nuts. We must anticipate the need.
The City of Rockville plants around 700 trees each year. These should also be fruit or nut trees.
Now is the time to find your tree catalogs or look online and order them, so you can plant them in the spring. I know next to nothing about fruit and nut trees, so I won’t offer any advice other than to be sure to plant them far enough away from your house that they fit when full grown, be careful that some varieties need another tree of a different cultivar nearby to pollinate, and note that you can train hazelnuts to serve as hedges.
Carl Henn
This is a Contributor Opinion. Rockville Central encourages readers to submit such opinions for consideration — the more voices the better. We ask that all such contributions be civil and we reserve the right to edit (in consultation with the author) or reject. Contributor opinions should not be seen as reflecting opinions held by Rockville Central editors, as they are just as frequently at odds with our own views. That’s the whole point!
Follow on Twitter
I fully agree with Carl. I’d like to add there are so many more options than just apples and pecans! Many people also don’t know that acorns from oak trees are also edible and not just for critters (you can roast and grind them into flour, did you know?) Serviceberry is a beautiful, fruit-bearing small tree similar in size and form to crape myrtle which gives beautiful May flowers and summer fruit (if the birds don’t beat you to it). Persimmon is a stately shade tree bearing fruit in late fall. And don’t forget Walnuts – imported or native – don’t be so afraid of the roots “poisoning” plants underneath the tree. While it is true, many many plants are not susceptible to juglone (the “poison”) and who plants a tomato under a tree, anyway? The nutmeats are delicious, and good for you!Native trees can be preferable to non-native because they are already adapted to our soils, our wet winters and hot and humid summers. Yes, other critters might like them as well, but consider that your contribution to the food web – the Circle of Life – and plant extra for the critters. Food for us, for critters, for the atmosphere. Carl is right – plant a tree!
I just re-read my post and must apologize. I didn’t mean to make it sound as though Carl had just recommended apples and pecans (and hazelnuts)! But that seems to be all that is in a few of the catalogs I receive. Search out all sorts of trees, check out their preferred planting locations (sun/shade, wet/dry, sandy soils versus clay) and ultimate size. Have a blast looking through the catalogs! If you’re impatient like me, watch for tree planting sales that will be starting soon at our local nurseries. There’s one in Laytonsville which offers free delivery and planting for any tree over $200 purchased in late March/early April. High quality stock, too. http://www.stadlergardencenters.com . I know other nurseries have these sales around the same time but don’t have details right now.
No need to apologize for your first comment. My bias is toward trees that people already choose to provide food. But it is worth noting that acorns and serviceberries are edible. I’ve never eaten them, but I did find serviceberry pie recipes on the internet.If you want to plant a serviceberry, oak or paw paw (all of which give fruit or nuts), note that you can get $25 off from the State of Maryland. See http://www.trees.maryland.gov/
I could just Google this, but it is more fun to ask… what the heck is a serviceberry?
Its Latin name is Amelanchier, and its also known as shadbush, serviceberry, sarvisberry, juneberry, Saskatoon, shadblow, shadwood, sugarplum, and wild-plum. Its a genus of about 20 species of shrubs and small deciduous trees in the Rosaceae (Rose family).The fruit of several species are excellent to eat raw, tasting like a slightly nutty blueberry, though their popularity with birds makes harvesting difficult. Fruit is harvested locally for pies and jams[23]. The saskatoon berry is harvested commercially. The Native American food pemmican was flavored by shadbush fruits in combination with fat and dried meats, and the stems were made into arrow shafts.Several species are very popular ornamental shrubs, grown for their flowers, bark, and fall color. All need similar conditions to grow well, requiring good drainage, air circulation (to discourage leaf diseases), watering during drought and acceptable soil. Note that species names are often used interchangeably in the nursery trade. Many A. arborea plants that are offered for sale are actually hybrids, or entirely different species.The wood is brown, hard, close-grained, and heavy. The heartwood is reddish-brown, and the sapwood is lighter in color. It can be used for tool handles and fishing rods.Propagation is by seed, divisions and grafting. Serviceberries graft so readily that grafts with other genera, such as Crataegus and Sorbus, are often successful.George Washington planted specimens on the grounds of Mount Vernon.All this knowledge if borrowed from Wikipedia, so may be entirely made up by mischievous ne’erdowells.
gooseberries can be up to 6ft and make slightly exotic jamscrepe myrtle and star magnolia can be trained to be tree like and not bush like. choose 7 trunks and force them to grow up not outlawns can be flower and food gardens, not grass monoculture deserts, but with giant pumpkins, sunflowers for birds and people, butterfly bushes, etc. take a look at 527 Carr Ave I seem to recall that Montgomery county allows up to 2 bee hives per homerockville circle/henderson circle/beall ave circle could have a redwood