Would you pick fruit in the street?
By GreenMoo
@GreenMoo (11834)
February 8, 2011 1:01pm CST
During the course that I'm currently attending we've been discussion using food crop trees (fruit or nut trees) to replace purely ornamental ones in urban settings. It sounds like a very good idea, at a time when we should be concerned about the food miles of the food that we eat and increasing wildlife habitat in towns.
I know that in some parts of the world it's perfectly normal to have fruit or nut trees growing in public places, and that these trees are harvested by anyone in the local area. In the UK it's pretty unusual as local councils just don't seem very open minded to change.
But it strikes me that people may not take the fruit from trees on public ground. I mean trees planted in pavements or in parks and schools. I don't mean trees planted in private gardens which overhang the road.
How would you feel about helping yourself to fruit or nuts from such trees? Why not? Pollution worries, embarrassment?
Perhaps in your area it's normal. Who normally takes the produce from these trees?
3 people like this
8 responses
@GardenGerty (160483)
• United States
8 Feb 11
We have nut trees in our parks, and things like crab apples, not generally eaten but make good jelly. The wildlife tend to get those fruit. I do not see it being done on the street. There are also things like sand hill plums that grow on the rural roadside. People will pick those if they can beat the deer. I have had people come into my yard and pick things without permission. I have been planting fruit trees in my yards for over twenty years.
@GardenGerty (160483)
• United States
8 Feb 11
Last year was the best cherry crop I have ever had, and everything else as well. I am good at planting, not always as good at gathering, but I do have cherries in the freezer.
@GreenMoo (11834)
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9 Feb 11
I adore cherries. My trees are not particularly good eating cherries (though I will eat them quite happily), but they make delicious jams and sauces. I don't have a freezer so I have to deal with all my fruit immediately which can be hard work in harvest season.
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
9 Feb 11
Sorry, I hit add comment too quickly!
I meant to say that I would wash fruit and veg I bought in the supermarket before i ate them, so I'd treat food I picked from a public tree in exactly the same way. The only stuff I wouldn't necessarily wash would be stuff that grew above animal height in my own garden.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
10 Feb 11
We don't have such things, but I don't think I'd be opposed to taking some if I knew it was edible.
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
9 Feb 11
I don't think I have the guts to get fruits from those public places unless it is written that anyone can pick. The place has caretakers for sure and they are the ones entitled to yield all the produce. Nevertheless, I've seen so many people who do feast on public trees and they are not even ashamed at all.
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
10 Feb 11
You have a point there but in our place unless otherwise stated, trees planted in public places does not mean their fruits are for public consumption. You can't just pick those fruits. You have to ask permission from authorities if they would allow you.
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
9 Feb 11
Hello GreenMoo,
Speaking about nut trees, there are a lot of them on the streets here, in my country. Who harvests them? When the fruits are still green, usually the children are the ones to pick them. Later, when the fruits are ripe, old people wake up early in the morning to gather the fruits which had fallen on the sidewalks during the night. So they don't remain un-harvested and that's for sure.
I don't see any reason not to eat fruits from the those trees, in fact, sometimes, when I walk my dog in the morning and I find any nuts on the sidewalk, I pick them up.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
8 Feb 11
I think that's a great idea! I would pick fruit or nuts from such trees if there were no homeless people who needed them. There are a LOT of homeless people here. I think it's a good idea in any country that can sustain such trees.
Of course, we could not have that here because if someone got a bellyache from it they'd sue the city. 
@GreenMoo (11834)
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8 Feb 11
I think that's one of the reasons authorities in the UK shy away from planting food crop trees in public places, insurance issues. They're terrified that someone will slip on a piece of fruit on a pavement and sue!
I think this ties in with street cleaning concerns. But if local residents ate the fruit there would be no need to clean it from the streets.
@petersum (4522)
• United States
8 Feb 11
Here, orange trees are just about everywhere. They aren't very decorative and sometimes block the pavements too much. The fruit is sometimes picked by passersby but mostly it just falls down into the gutter. The problem with oranges is that when they are in season, there are just too many of them!
When I was in the UK, long ago, I did see cherry trees planted along the roadsides in Hertfordshire. Never saw any fruit though! I don't think the climate is suitable. The problem I see is that the indigenous trees of the UK tend to be very large and slow growing.
As for picking the fruit, didn't you collect "conkers" as a kid? I don't think picking will be a problem.
@GreenMoo (11834)
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8 Feb 11
You surprise me with the oranges! Oranges grow where I live now, and they stay delicious on the tree for some time. You must have an awful lot of oranges where you are!
There are indeed cherry trees planted in some public areas of the UK, but in public places they are mainly ornamental ones which produce lovely blossom but little or inedible fruit.
The climate in the UK is perfectly fine for a whole range of food producing trees, both fruits and nuts. Apples are probably the most common, and grow beautifully in the UK. Even grapes and kiwis can be grown out of doors in parts of the UK with care, though i wouldn't suggest that they are the right plants for a public role. Whilst there are indeed plenty of large and slow growing trees in the UK, most fruit trees tend to be smaller and quite suited to a role in a public space.
The cherry is a perfect example. It can be kept reasonably small, fruits well in the climate and grows very rapidly. It seems madness to me to plant ornamental varieties when fruit bearing varieties would be just as suitable!
