Fruit trees in peoples' backyards

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In summary, Americans seem to be ashamed of using fruit from their fruit trees. Eventually, all of the fruit falls to the ground. They let it rot, and instead buy fruit from the grocery store. As an Indian, this behavior is unfathomable and puzzling to me. Not one of the people who live down my street uses fruit from their fruit trees. This is not just in my town, but in other towns as well.
  • #1
seeeker
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I have observed that increasing numbers of Americans seem ashamed of picking fruits from their fruit trees. Eventually all the peaches, apples, apricots, and other fruits fall to the ground. These fruits are delicious! But they go waste. This happens every year, year after year. People almost seem ashamed of using fruits from their fruit trees, whether the fruit has fallen to the ground or on the tree. They let the fruits rot and buy fruit from the grocery stores instead. As an Indian (Native American), this behavior is unfathomable and extremely puzzling to me. Not one of the people who live down my street uses fruit from their fruit trees. This is not just in my town but in other towns as well.

(There were other behaviors that I didn't understand initially but I think I have come to understand them now. For instance, rural pickup driving people deliberately hit deer crossing the roads with their trucks and leave good meat behind but they go hunting and skin deer carcasses elaborately to use the meat or to make jerky, or instead of planting vegetables people spend enormous sums of money on maintaining useless lawns).

But I have yet to understand why people seem ashamed to use fruit from their fruit trees. Is this a status symbol?
 
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  • #2
I don't understand it myself. I don't have fruit tress currently, but if I did grow them, it would be for the fruit. My spouse and I put a garden in each summer and either use or give away what it produces.

Mayhaps some people are too attached to getting food from the grocery stores. I know some people that the thought of eating something that doesn't come a store is appallingly to them.
 
  • #3
seeeker said:
I have observed that increasing numbers of Americans seem ashamed of picking fruits from their fruit trees. Eventually all the peaches, apples, apricots, and other fruits fall to the ground. These fruits are delicious! But they go waste. This happens every year, year after year. People almost seem ashamed of using fruits from their fruit trees, whether the fruit has fallen to the ground or on the tree. They let the fruits rot and buy fruit from the grocery stores instead. As an Indian (Native American), this behavior is unfathomable and extremely puzzling to me. Not one of the people who live down my street uses fruit from their fruit trees. This is not just in my town but in other towns as well.

(There were other behaviors that I didn't understand initially but I think I have come to understand them now. For instance, rural pickup driving people deliberately hit deer crossing the roads with their trucks and leave good meat behind but they go hunting and skin deer carcasses elaborately to use the meat or to make jerky, or instead of planting vegetables people spend enormous sums of money on maintaining useless lawns).

But I have yet to understand why people seem ashamed to use fruit from their fruit trees. Is this a status symbol?
I don't observe this to be true at all here in Southern California. The many people who have citrus fruit trees not only eat the fruit themselves, they give it to neighbors, or take it to the swap meet and sell it.

When I lived in NH it was a somewhat different story. So many people had apple trees that there was a surfeit of apples when they all came ripe in the fall. It could be hard to find someone who didn't already have enough apples for their needs.

My grandmother had a cherry tree and a plum tree, which were a bit unusual for NH. She had to go to great length to keep people from stealing the fruit.

So, I think the answer may possibly be that there's a surfeit of fruit where you live.
 
  • #4
I totally agree with you. My gf's sister used to have a cherry tree, I think we took home 3 lbs of cherries when we went to visit once. I wish we had a yard where we could grow fruit.

I think Americans have a bit of obsession with "packaging". This may be related to the "roboticism" that is being discussed in another thread. The point is that people seem to be afraid to consume something that isn't "done properly". I see that this extends through all kinds of goods, not just foods.

For foods, it means that people seem to think that all foods must come in a package. Fresh produce had better be put in plastic bags. Meat had better be on a styrofoam tray and wrapped in shrinkwrap. Everything must be shiny and homogenous, with idealized shapes and colors. Any piece of fruit that doesn't have the expected size and shape, anything not safely packaged inside non-porous material, anything with bruises or mottled color, is regarded as somehow untrustworthy. In fact, it's even better if you avoid dealing with these fresh ingredients and just get something pre-made. If you try to cook for yourself you might do it wrong.

I guarantee you those people with fruit trees in their yards are thinking that their own fruit is somehow unsafe to eat (even though the fruit at the grocery is probably less flavorful and doused in toxic chemicals).

An extension of this attitude that I seem to observe everywhere is the idea that everything should be "left to professionals". Don't try to fix your own sink or change your own oil...better leave it to professionals. A big one that irks me is that people hardly ever entertain themselves anymore. For example, hardly anyone sits down and makes their own music. You have to leave that to professionals. Buy CDs, go to shows, go and consume! But don't sing unless you're drunk and you want to laugh at how bad you are; you're not a pro.

As for me, I pick fruits off trees and eat them. And if a buy an onion at the grocery, I don't put it in a plastic bag, that's ridiculous.
 
  • #5
Ben Niehoff said:
As for me, I pick fruits off trees and eat them. And if a buy an onion at the grocery, I don't put it in a plastic bag, that's ridiculous.
That reminds me of a time I didn't put some produce in a plastic bag and the cashier looked at me as if I was insane and she didn't seem to want to touch it either. I guess not being in plastic meant it wasn't *clean*. It was going to be peeled and cooked before being eaten anyway.
 
  • #6
Eat something that grows in my yard? But there is dirt and bugs and all sorts of things out there!

At least that is the mentality that I believe contributes towards this phenomenon. It's as if people believe that the grocer ships in fruits from a sterile growing environment.
 
  • #7
I have asked people and they don't have reservations about the "safety" aspects of eating what is produced by their own trees. In fact they believe what is grown in their gardens is organic, free of chemicals and therefore better and safer than what is available in stores.

My initial hypothesis for non-consumption was "fatigue." I have also asked people about the "fatigue" aspect. That's not the reason either. So it's not that they have consumed so many fruits that they are fatigued by the consumption.

For some reason, people are not able to express their real reason for non-consumption.
 
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  • #8
What a strange coincidence. Tonight my wife and I went for a stroll along the Delaware River in Burlington. There's an apple tree there that gives fruit some years but not others. Tonight we saw easily 2,000 or more apples on it. They are still small, about 2" in diameter, but quite sweet. I took a half dozen.
 
  • #9
I have a key lime tree planted (this last winter claimed most of it) and a small orange tree that is still potted. I used every last lime off my tree and will do the same with the oranges, whenever it will produce. If I had more property, I'd have more fruit trees.

My neighbor has a nectarine tree that is currently producing (and I have fresh preserves in the pantry), a lemon tree, granny smith apple tree, and another that I think is a pear. They either eat, make preserves, or give away all the fruit that their trees produce.

I work with and have relatives with orange and lemon trees. All of them pick and eat the fruit that is produced.

I've never run across anyone like those that you mention, but if I do I'll be more than happy to take the fruit off their hands.
 
  • #10
Could it be that fruit from a supermarket is so cheap that people can't be bothered to exert their energy to collect fruit from trees?
 
  • #11
Jobrag said:
Could it be that fruit from a supermarket is so cheap that people can't be bothered to exert their energy to collect fruit from trees?
I planted a peach tree several years ago. This year, it flowered well, and has set on dozens of peaches. The cost of that little sapling will be well-paid-off if the peaches all ripen so I can pick them vs buying peaches in a store. The cherry and plum trees are still a bit immature and have not set on fruit, but the blueberry bushes are doing quite well, though they are still small. I set out a 5-gallon bucket of raspberry root-stock about 5 years ago, and this year, I had to cut through that thicket and give away a lot of rooted canes so that we can get in there to pick all the berries. There is no way that fruits and berries at the supermarket can ever compete in quality of price with ones that you grow yourself. We end up processing and freezing most of our apples because as mentioned above, there are a LOT of apple trees around here. We may have a few spots and defects on our apples, but NO pesticides, herbicides, etc. That's worth something.
 
  • #12
BTW, if you want to control pests on your apple trees, there is a simple, safe method for doing so. When the tree has lost its leaves in the fall and is dormant, spray it with canola oil/water from a hose-end sprayer. The oil gets into crevices in the bark and smothers eggs/larvae of destructive pests. I don't spray again until after the petals are off the blossoms next spring, to avoid gumming up my pollinators, and that's the only treatment that the trees need, apart from pruning.
 
  • #13
I remember learning that if mushrooms are picked within x feet from a street/road they shouldn't be eaten because of heavy metals. I don't know if the same applies to fruit trees.
 
  • #14
We have a grapefruit tree that we never eat off of.

Because grapefruits suck.
 
  • #15
Pengwuino said:
We have a grapefruit tree that we never eat off of.

Because grapefruits suck.

I love grapefruit.
 
  • #16
zoobyshoe said:
I love grapefruit.
Me too, and I never dump sugar on it.
 
  • #17
turbo-1 said:
Me too, and I never dump sugar on it.

Me neither. Straight up. Damn, now I really want some.
 
  • #18
I come from Texas, so Texas Ruby Red for me.
 
  • #19
Whenever I have a hankering for grapefruit (which is never), I satisfy myself with the knowledge that there are plenty of copper pipes in my house I could lick to get the same taste.
 
  • #20
I actually kind of like it. Whenever I'm out, I never go hungry. Just walk into a residential area. There's SOME fruit tree that's hanging over a fence or in the front yard. Usually oranges.

No one notices me stealing their fruit, and I don't feel bad because it's going to waste anyway...
 
  • #21
We have a cherry tree but it is quite a battle to bat the birds to the ripe ones.

And omg, birds are machines that convert cherries to cherry poop.
 
  • #22
i really don't understand the OP. i grew up eating fruit off of residential trees. apples, plums, peaches, and pears. pecans. and the best fruit is always that slightly overripe piece that you pick from the ground and fight off the ants for.

people don't hit deer on purpose. deer do a lot of damage to an automobile. if it gets left, it's probably got a lot more to do with worry over being seen as a poacher, lack of knowledge or resources, etc.
 
  • #23
DaveC426913 said:
Whenever I have a hankering for grapefruit (which is never), I satisfy myself with the knowledge that there are plenty of copper pipes in my house I could lick to get the same taste.
Ewwwww! I couldn't lick the free copper around the house. I only lick copper I've bought sealed in a package at the hardware store.
 
  • #24
zoobyshoe said:
Ewwwww! I couldn't lick the free copper around the house. I only lick copper I've bought sealed in a package at the hardware store.
And that has been hermetically sealed in plastic wrap with a "non toxic" surface coating under that wrap to keep the copper nice and pretty. Can't be too careful!
 
  • #25
I know where some paw-paw trees are. Now do you know what they are? I've not been tempted to try eating one. No fruit for me. I prefer Moonpies and Royal Crown Cola.
 
  • #26
When I was a child, getting decent fruit in the winter in Maine (apart from apples) could be an expensive proposition. My great-uncle was chauffeure/butler for a wealthy old gent from CT. They spent winters in Florida, and each winter he would ship our family a crate of mixed citrus - grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, limes, lemons, tangerines. I used to love those tree-ripened grapefruit. If I thought I could grow them up here, I'd plant a tree.
 
  • #27
My great-uncle also sent us a set of stainless-steel grapefruit spoons one year in addition to the fruit. They were curved, pointed at the tip, and serrated along the edges, so you could scoop out the pulp from each segment without eating the tougher membrane in between them. I remember thinking how cool it was to have special spoons for grapefruit.
 
  • #28
turbo-1 said:
My great-uncle also sent us a set of stainless-steel grapefruit spoons one year in addition to the fruit. They were curved, pointed at the tip, and serrated along the edges, so you could scoop out the pulp from each segment without eating the tougher membrane in between them. I remember thinking how cool it was to have special spoons for grapefruit.
I just peel them and eat the segments as if they were oranges.
 
  • #29
Helios said:
I know where some paw-paw trees are. Now do you know what they are? I've not been tempted to try eating one. No fruit for me. I prefer Moonpies and Royal Crown Cola.
Sounds like a guy I know from Paducah. Back then, the local RC bottler stuck with pure cane sugar instead of HFCS because his elderly mother hated the taste of the HFCS in RC. I have to admit that the RC in Paducah tasted a whole lot better than Coke or Pepsi, back then.

Still, I'd like to try paw-paws. Apparently, they go over-sweet and mushy almost as soon as you pick them, and can't be shipped. They grow in Ohio - could they grow in Maine?
 
  • #30
turbo-1 said:
My great-uncle also sent us a set of stainless-steel grapefruit spoons one year in addition to the fruit. They were curved, pointed at the tip, and serrated along the edges, so you could scoop out the pulp from each segment without eating the tougher membrane in between them. I remember thinking how cool it was to have special spoons for grapefruit.

Yes, I grew up with grapefruit spoons. I did not know they were specialized or rare.
 
  • #31
DaveC426913 said:
Yes, I grew up with grapefruit spoons. I did not know they were specialized or rare.
Me either, but a 7 or 8 years old living in a rented 4-room dump in the '50's in a family of 6, perhaps I was impressionable. We didn't have much silverware that matched, and we drank our morning orange juice or milk out of jelly-jars, so the crates of citrus and the grapefruit spoons were kind of special. Most of the kids that I was friends with didn't have running water in their houses, just hand-pumps. We had running water, but bath-time was a chore. I was generally a lot dirtier than my sisters, and so got the last bath. Heating a tub-ful of water on a stove is not a fast process. My mother was a saint.
 
  • #32
zoobyshoe said:
I love grapefruit.

turbo-1 said:
Me too, and I never dump sugar on it.

Weird people.
 
  • #33
Back to the topic. Does anybody plant fruit trees on their property? I have planted apple trees, a peach tree, cherry trees, and plum trees here. Not on the back yard, but right in the front where we can enjoy watching them blossom and fruit.

I have very old apple trees on my property, and some of the apples are practically inedible until they get hit with some hard frosts. Black Oxford apples (brown-purple skins) are well-known for this, but there are plenty of other old variants that are similar in this respect. As a kid, I used to comb the grown-over farms in my town for the very hard apples that would keep well in cold storage. In the next year or two I plan to get some Black Oxford seedlings and start them in addition to the other fruit trees. My cold cellar will keep those apples crisp all winter long.

This property is a work in progress.
 
  • #34
I recently planeted some vines for blackberry and wineberry. Planted some strawberries last year (they flowered and came in lightly, were great). I have a cherry tree, two mulberry trees (mulberries are kinda bland though, frankly), two apple trees that won't produce any apples, along with a small vegetable garden.

I didn't appreciate any of this until last year. People are just not educated about it. If you think about it, these are things that may have been common[er] knowledge 50 years ago, but today kids grow up with no clue they can grow higher quality food than they can buy. It really needs to become a class offered in high schools--gardening. Otherwise, all their experience points to plastic wrap being the only way to get food, even without a conscious reason why.

I live in Ohio. Pawpaws grow everywhere. You can't go into the woods for 10 minutes without seeing them, if you know what to look for (which I do as of last year, again). They're similar to bananas in taste, supposedly. To me, they are more similar to banana flavored popsicles in taste, which I never liked much. They sure are good for making beer and tobasco sauce, though!

But some people like banana flavored popsicles. If you do, you'd LOVE pawpaws.
 
  • #35
Also, I know a handful of people who actually appreciate free, great tasting fruit. They go around and ask people who aren't picking on their property if they can. Nice way to meet neighbors I'd imagine, plus they have a winter plus's supply of frozen apple cider.
 
<h2>1. What are the benefits of having fruit trees in my backyard?</h2><p>Fruit trees in your backyard can provide a variety of benefits. They can provide fresh, organic fruits for you and your family to enjoy, saving you money on groceries. They also add beauty to your backyard and can attract wildlife such as birds and butterflies. Additionally, fruit trees can improve air quality and reduce your carbon footprint.</p><h2>2. What types of fruit trees are suitable for backyard growing?</h2><p>The types of fruit trees that are suitable for backyard growing depend on your climate and location. Some popular options include apple, cherry, peach, and plum trees. Citrus trees like lemon, lime, and orange can also thrive in backyards in warmer climates. It's important to research which types of trees are best suited for your specific area before planting.</p><h2>3. How much space do fruit trees need in a backyard?</h2><p>The amount of space needed for fruit trees in a backyard can vary depending on the type of tree and its root system. As a general rule, fruit trees should be planted at least 10-15 feet apart to allow for proper growth and air circulation. Dwarf fruit trees may require less space, but it's important to research the specific tree's needs before planting.</p><h2>4. How do I care for fruit trees in my backyard?</h2><p>Proper care is essential for the health and productivity of fruit trees in your backyard. This includes regular watering, fertilizing, and pruning. Fruit trees also need protection from pests and diseases, so it's important to monitor them regularly and take necessary precautions. It's also important to research the specific care needs of the type of fruit tree you have in your backyard.</p><h2>5. When is the best time to plant fruit trees in a backyard?</h2><p>The best time to plant fruit trees in a backyard is typically in the early spring or fall when the weather is mild and there is less chance of extreme temperatures. This allows the tree to establish its roots before the heat of summer or the cold of winter. It's important to avoid planting during periods of extreme weather, as this can cause stress and damage to the tree.</p>

1. What are the benefits of having fruit trees in my backyard?

Fruit trees in your backyard can provide a variety of benefits. They can provide fresh, organic fruits for you and your family to enjoy, saving you money on groceries. They also add beauty to your backyard and can attract wildlife such as birds and butterflies. Additionally, fruit trees can improve air quality and reduce your carbon footprint.

2. What types of fruit trees are suitable for backyard growing?

The types of fruit trees that are suitable for backyard growing depend on your climate and location. Some popular options include apple, cherry, peach, and plum trees. Citrus trees like lemon, lime, and orange can also thrive in backyards in warmer climates. It's important to research which types of trees are best suited for your specific area before planting.

3. How much space do fruit trees need in a backyard?

The amount of space needed for fruit trees in a backyard can vary depending on the type of tree and its root system. As a general rule, fruit trees should be planted at least 10-15 feet apart to allow for proper growth and air circulation. Dwarf fruit trees may require less space, but it's important to research the specific tree's needs before planting.

4. How do I care for fruit trees in my backyard?

Proper care is essential for the health and productivity of fruit trees in your backyard. This includes regular watering, fertilizing, and pruning. Fruit trees also need protection from pests and diseases, so it's important to monitor them regularly and take necessary precautions. It's also important to research the specific care needs of the type of fruit tree you have in your backyard.

5. When is the best time to plant fruit trees in a backyard?

The best time to plant fruit trees in a backyard is typically in the early spring or fall when the weather is mild and there is less chance of extreme temperatures. This allows the tree to establish its roots before the heat of summer or the cold of winter. It's important to avoid planting during periods of extreme weather, as this can cause stress and damage to the tree.

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