EDIBLE LANDSCAPING CONTINUES TO GROW IN POPULARITY
Last week, I wrote a blog post about going from garden to table, focusing on growing your own vegetables and herbs and using them at the table, freshly picked. Today’s blog on edible landscaping takes this idea of home gardening a little more in-depth on the concept of growing your own fruit, vegetables, and herbs.
So, what exactly is edible landscaping? Simply put, edible landscaping replaces common ornamental plants with plants that are edible. With edible landscaping, you are now growing shrubs and trees in your landscape that not only flower but also produce fruit you can pick and bring inside to eat.
I think what may be driving edible landscaping to become more popular nowadays is our current economy. People are struggling to make ends meet and finding themselves living from paycheck to paycheck. If you can grow some of your own food, then this becomes a cost savings. Another strong driving force for edible landscaping is a desire to be more organic and natural in your food. And, finally, homeowners are starting to realize that you don’t need to live on a farm to grow fruits and vegetables. Backyards and front yards are starting to be transformed into growing fruits and vegetables. If you think about it, it only makes since. Why not have your flowering shrubs and trees be fruit bearing in the landscape around the house.
Are you ready to give it a try this spring? If so, come see us and we will help you make the right choices and give you the advice needed to be a successful fruit and vegetable grower. Here are just a couple basic tips that you need to keep in mind in making your plant selection:
- Look at your area. Think about what you would like to grow. Do you have the needed space and sunlight?
- Lear the growing dimensions of your selected plants.
- Soil preparation is key to success. For instance, to be successful in growing blueberries you need an acidic soil with a pH around 5.0 to 5.5. So, not everything is the same. You need to do your homework with learning the needs of your plants that you want to try to grow. And, to be successful.
- Be aware that some fruits need a partner. For instance, apple trees are not self-fertile. It takes two different apple trees to cross pollinate one another to produce fruit.
- Once you have made your selection of plants you need to be patient. It can take a couple years or more before yielding any fruit.
We pride ourselves with our selection of fruit trees and small fruits. When you are ready then come see us. We would be honored to have the opportunity to help you with this edible landscaping trend.
HAPPY GARDENING & PLANT A LITTLE – NO, A LOT – OF HAPPINESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!