These six groups of 7 fruit and nut bushes and trees can serve as a handy overview of options for planting and creating diversity. In the first group, elderberry is probably the plant that most needs abundant access to moisture. Mulberry and juneberry typically grow as trees, though pruning and use of the their smaller… Continue reading Fruits and Nuts by Seven

First 7 figs for productivity – strictly, regardless of flavor – in short seasons, in my experience: Mt Etna (Marseilles Black, etc) Ronde de Bordeaux Improved Celeste Florea Lemon (Blanche) LSU Tiger Conadria First 7 figs for productivity with a heavy emphasis on great flavor, in my experience: Mt Etna (Marseilles Black, etc) Ronde de… Continue reading Figs by Bounty – sheer production

Which figs to prioritize most for growing in short seasons? Views can change as new experiences are gained or criteria shift. My views on this have held relatively steady for years, with some shifts.  Recently I’ve found it useful to think of top figs (and other fruits) for short seasons in groups of seven. FIRST… Continue reading Figs by Seven

It can be useful to think of perennial fruits for short seasons in groups of seven – first seven, second seven, third seven – when deciding what to prioritize.  The first three groups of fruit bushes (not trees, groundcovers, vines, or nuts) are listed below. This is my current personal view, with a focus on… Continue reading Fruits by Seven

A wild elderberry bush about 7 feet tall, perfect height for picking and for protection from deer browse. This bush has a great flavor, both less tart and less sweet than a typical blueberry. Elderberry, one of the most medicinal of plants, every part poisonous except the ripe fruit.

Ten feet high in the crook of a tree, on a hilltop, a gooseberry bush thrives at about 1800 feet elevation, zone 5 northeastern Pennsylvania, summer 2020. About 30 years ago I began climbing that tree to that crook, and there was no gooseberry bush, but I came face to face with a tree frog,… Continue reading Gooseberry: hardy as can be

In the summer of 2012, I began growing figs and became quickly bewildered by the possibilities – types, qualities, flavors, ripening times, names – no matter how much research I did. So I grew and ripened about 6 dozen fig varieties (along with many more synonyms), and did additional research, and eventually put together a… Continue reading Hardy Orchard Species

Palermo Red fig looks like a naked eyeball. Do you enjoy eating naked eyeballs? If your answer to this question is, Yes, then you need psychiatric help or you may already be beyond the scope of professional care. Yes, with Palermo Red, that’s what you are eating. That’s what they look like. Eyeballs. Delicious! Yummy!… Continue reading The Dubious Dozen (#11-#12: Palermo Red & Desert King)

Alma fig equals Florea for most boring fig in the world. Step aside dull and drab Florea, it’s super easy to forget about Alma too. This fig was created about 50 years ago at Texas A&M University, which is hard to believe. Who in their right mind would purposefully create a lumpy misshapen fig that… Continue reading The Dubious Dozen (#10 Alma)

7. Violet Sepor looks like a smashed squash. Violet Sepor should get less respect than the little that it already does. The wall around the pulp is thick, the purple and gold colors of skin are a splotchy mess. The eye is big and makes you wonder how many bugs might crawl in and out… Continue reading The Dubious Dozen (#7-#9: Violet Sepor, Hunt, Florea)