Why Don’t More People Grow Fruit Trees?
Posted by admin on February 4, 2010
I have no experience growing fruit trees, but it seems like it would not be very difficult — especially plums, apples, and peaches. Why do so few people grow their own fruit?
We’ve strayed pretty far from the easy, low maintenance foods. Most fruit nowadays is farmed with lots of pesticides and other stuff. Most people start thinking about that and bon’t want to bother. However, there tend to be many fruit trees that can naturally occur in one’s local. The challenge is caring enough to find them. There are plenty of crab apple trees in my area that do well but most people don’t grow them, despite them being healthy and tasty (a bit of an acquired taste).
There are other factors too. Many people don’t live at the same place for any great length of time so if they plant fruit trees, by the time they start to bear decent amounts of fruit, they’d likely already moved away. Also, the soil quality around housing developments tends to be very low due to all the damage from humans, increasing the potential maintenance of the tree. Another thing is that people seem to think that having fruit rotting in their yard is nasty. Personally, I think having a lawn covered in poison ya worked at a job to pay for is much nastier.
In short, people here in the US and Canada just don’t seem to have the same values as those in other countries where it’s much more common to have fruit trees in one’s yard.
A number of factors are involved. Fruit trees require a lot of attention to prevent pests from damaging the fruit. Fruit trees can occupy large amounts of space for normal sized trees. Dwarf varieties can be substituted. The growing zone has to be within the limits needed to grow the trees. Here in south Texas, it is difficult to grow most fruit trees since it doesn’t get cold enough to meet the chilling requirements to produce blossoms. Maturation of the trees delays the production of fruit so there is a delay between planting the trees and getting fruit.
a lot of people stray from growing fruit because unless it is tended correctly can develope diseases and become more trouble than they are worth. Citruses can get canker and infect any citruses in the area. Some fruit trees attract loud birds and hence their poop is an unwanted gift leftover day after day. Some people dont like the loud birds as they eat the fruit. Also most people dont eat fruit anymore unless its been processed and deep fried a few times making it hard to give away the splendors of these trees. Most fruit growers are left with a yard full of rotting fruit carcases adorning their lawn.
they can be easy. try to get trees from a nursery, not a home depot or lowes. they MAY not sell what is fit for your area. a nursery should sell peaches fit for central texas if that is where you are. if apples don’t grow in hot texas, don’t try to be the first apple grower in texas! pears do well though…
why? failure i suppose. our courthouse is surrounded by pecan trees. i appreciate the nuts (usually $4 and up in the shells at the store) and too, often wonder why more fruit and nut trees aren’t planted.
in greece, you can find figs growing along the highway, stop and pick and eat! i wish some modern-day johnny appleseed would do america a favor!