I’m tryin’, man. Fruit bearing plants take a lot of work compared to the manicured suburban steriscape. They’re not super easy to grow (depending on where you live), require pruning and fertilizer, soil amendment, and unfortunately pesticides or fencing if you don’t want insects or deer destroying your hard work.
That’s way more effort than most people want to expend. HOAs or even local ordinances may also restrict what can be grown.
Look into native plants. There are so many edible things that you can just leave in the wasteland that is your yard and they’ll take over. Here in Tennessee we have pawpaws and maypops for fruit, tomatoes that pop up randomly, garden greens like wood sorrel and lambs quarters, and a bunch of other things that absolutely take over given half a chance. Sure, if you try and grow the seed packets from your local Lowes you’ll have issues with pests and whatnot, but there is so much more food out there than these varieties.
Absolutely. Already have a couple.
European garden with some ten different berries/fruit trees and bushes - no work needed, they just do their thing (when they are big enough.) Rotate about one every three years, sometimes move some berries from one place to another.
Strawberries are a ton of work at the end of the year (not the little wild ones though,) don’t do them unless you really love them.
A lot of people are secretly cows and they actually eat that grass. Next time you say hello to someone and they respond “moo” you’ll know why.
Because having a big yard of grass that you have to mow every week while using up gasoline is the American dream and a flex for some reason.
Don’t forget about the expensive chemical treatments to maintain it so the local groundwater can become contaminated …
The answer is they were a wealthy European concept brought to the colonies as a status symbol. They are still associated with wealthier people which raises property values, so are enshrined in local ordinances and HOA rules.
There is a pretty great website called Falling fruit to map trees and other plants that you can pick from freely.
Hey. Thank you for sharing this.
Websites like this are the good part of the internet.
You’re welcome 😊😘🤗
We do. Obviously not everyone can But I wager the number of Americans growing something edible on their space is decent. Usually it’s easy stuff to grow, or someone’s favorites.
Thinking about it and counting in my head I actually know dozens of people that grow tomatoes personally. They grow easily in large quantities in relatively small space and all taste better than store bought.
Citrus has been pretty plentiful my entire life too. Lemon trees especially.
Zoning laws in a lot of places.
You think we own shit? Lawns are the landlord’s landscaping equivalent of white paint: inoffensive but dull and useless
HOAs say “ew no that’s for the poors” and good luck finding a house that’s not in an HOA within a reasonable commute to your job
Sadly, bad behavior from owners are the cause. I have several fruit trees in my backyard and the pest presence is high. If they aren’t harvested and maintained the impact on your neighbors is high. I hate HOAs, but I get why they would prohibit it, and it’s not a class thing, after all…you’re a property owner.
Bugs, pests, and animals, at least where I live. Unless you build a green house, clear the yard of all other foliage, or somehow fortify your garden, only produce with natural defenses like peppers will make it to harvest. However, I am jealous of my friends on the west coast, who don’t really have to worry about bugs or other critters eating from their fruit trees just passively growing in their yard.
If you’re East Coast, I think you’ve just given up too early. Plenty of pests on the West Coast, too. There are also plenty of organic ways to keep them in check. Will you have perfect harvest? Never, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have anything at all.
Trees (e.g. apple trees or others) provide great shade and help lower the temperature. They are beneficial if you feel that summer heat is getting worse due to climate change. Additionally, if you have issues with heavy rainfall, trees can help by absorbing large amounts of water through their roots. This approach can be applied in most countries.
I’ve lived in 9 states and in every neighborhood many people have food producing plants. It’s one of the healthiest hobbies you can have.
I love gardening and have a small orchard and have other food plants all around my house, but I still maintain a lawn because it gets my kids outside playing sports, it’s a very multifunctional space, and because covering every square inch of my property in food bearing plants would be way more work and time than we have to give. In every home (except Arizona) I’ve kept at least some portion of the property as grass lawn.
Some people latch on to your idea but then a few years later end up with an unmaintained berry bramble of a yard full of invasive food plants that is totally unusable. Moderation and common sense in all things.
Some do. Grass just got into the pop culture as the “proper” look for a residential property. But having fruit trees is amazing, especially in spring when they are all in bloom with flowers.
My landlord would get a fine from the city and it would be tacked on to my rent.
Probably need a permit and license
Wait…
