Feeding Everyone, One Tree at a Time

[MineralMan]

I live in St. Paul, MN. My wife and I walk our dogs, Sam and Dude, each afternoon, which gives all four of us a bit of healthy exercise. One of our favorite walks is along a nearby parkway created by the city.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed berries on some of the trees on that parkway. When I looked more closely, they looked a lot like unripe blueberries. I wondered what the tree was, so I was looking at its leaves so I could remember their shape. But, then, I saw a nursery tag still attached to a branch. So I borrowed the tag, to be returned the next time I walked by.

It turned out that the tree was a serviceberry tree, I learned from Google. Its fruits are called by a number of names, including Serviceberries, June Berries, and Saskatoons (of all things). Edible? Yes. Taste? Like the related blueberry, but with a hint of apple and almond.

Yesterday, as we walked by, I noticed that the berries were now a dark bluish purple. So, I picked a half dozen of them and ate them. Delicious. I'll leave the rest for the birds and other walkers who recognize the plant. I would guess that the young tree probably had at least several quarts of the berries on it. There are several others like it in the vicinity, too.

I looked at some of the other trees along the parkway, and noticed that the city had planted other edible varieties, including Minnesota's native wild plum, and others.

I say Bravo! to the City of St. Paul. Good for them. I'll spread the word about the free food in the parkway.

[Ohiogal]

1. Good for St. Paul!

In my area, cities have inundated us with this species of tree.

https://www.npr.org/2015/04/24/401943000/whats-that-smell-the-beautiful-tree-thats-causing-quite-a-stink

Two buildings I visit often -- the community pool, and the public library -- both have these blasted things all over the place near where you park. Thank goodness their "scent" only lasts for a few weeks in the spring.

[MineralMan]

2. LOL! That doesn't sound like a good choice. Pretty, but stinky.

My street has flowering crab apple trees between the sidewalk and street. They're beautiful when they bloom, but that only lasts for two or three days. The rest of the time, they're just greenery. At least they don't smell bad.

[Ohiogal]

3. I have a flowering crabapple in my back yard

It always is in bloom for Mother's Day.

The proliferation of Bradford pears around here seems to have subsided recently as far as new construction goes. I wonder if landscapers liked them at one time because they were either cheap or grew anywhere and were show-y in the spring. I have a feeling there were too many complaints about the smell. I have seen whole streets with these things lining the treelawns in newer developments.....

[MineralMan]

4. "Treelawns." Nice name for that strip.

Here in Minnesota, they're called "boulevards." In California, where I grew up, they were called "parkways." These days, a lot of new developments don't have sidewalks at all, which I find very sad. As a kid, the sidewalks were our roads, on bicycles, roller skates, skateboards and whatever other wheeled things we had. I can't imagine growing up without sidewalks.

We still have sidewalks in our mid-50s neighborhood. And the children still use them the same way. With school out for the summer, we get to watch the children's parade go by out house almost constantly. The only thing missing are dogs running along with the kids. We had that when we were kids. Now, the leash laws are strictly enforced.

[Ohiogal]

9. I grew up in the '60s era in a neighborhood with sidewalks

I don't know how we would have existed without sidewalks! Hopscotch, jump rope, chalk drawing, bike riding..... I agree it's sad that many new developments don't put them in these days.

Now I live in another '50s'-built house but it's in a township, and although my house sits back from the road, the road is busy (40 mph speed limit), no sidewalks, and you take your life in your hands if you want to walk anywhere. I miss being able to go outside my front door and toddle off down the street for a nice walk.

[onethatcares]

5. just noticed the

50 ft tall mango tree in my neighbors yard. Gonna get me some of them before the squirrels tooth them. The tree is loaded with mangoes

[MineralMan]

6. Nice. I don't think they'd grow here in Minnesota.

[onethatcares]

7. wish they would plant

a vodka tree next to it.

[MineralMan]

8. Yes!

[hunter]

10. America's native forests, North, Central, and South...

... were largely shaped by the permaculture practices of native Americans.

American forests were literally gardens. They were not the "virgin" wilderness romantics imagined.

Humans are not the only animal that influenced the evolution of edible forests.

In Eurasia bears ate apples from their favorite trees and spread the seeds in their poop.

Giant ground sloths likewise ate avocados. (Sadly, humans ate all the giant ground sloths, but they continued the cultivation of avocados.)

Further "domestication" of both apples and avocados was later taken over by humans.

I'm hugely enthusiastic about urban and dense suburban gardening. It's my utopian vision that even urban people share some close connection to the earth.

DU is blessed by the presence of a few urban gardeners including mopinko and NRaleighLiberal.

[MineralMan]

11. St. Paul, MN, my adopted city, takes the urban forest

very seriously. We even have a City Department of Forestry. I'm glad they're starting to include some trees with edible fruit in their mix of city plantings. I wish they'd plant some apple trees in the parks and green belts. They do very well here. We have a mix of native species and ornamental varieties around town. The Catalpa trees are just finishing up their showy blooming period.

In the forested areas, natives dominate. Springtime here is morel-gathering time. I have my favorite little grove of trees nearby that always produces enough for a nice meal that would cost me a fortune if I bought the fungi. It's my secret. Others have their own morel-gathering spots. We don't share the information, either.

[hunter]

12. One year we got a few morels in the ramshackle area between our compost heap and oak tree.

Alas, it was a performance that has never been repeated.

[MineralMan]

13. There are little patches of forest here and there

in St. Paul. There's one not far from my home, and it does have morels every year. There are also thickets of black raspberry vines, which also get visited by me. Nobody ever goes into it, so I get mine there. People are afraid of wooded areas, it seems. We're no longer connected to the forest environment. Too bad.