By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

Everyone that can go outside can grow fruit of some sort.

Strawberries are an easy fruit to start with if you are a beginning gardener and/or apartment dweller.

This project requires more planning then what is needed when using a strawberry container, but it is well worth the effort, especially if space is limited.

To begin the process, first decide if you want to start your strawberries from seed or just buy the plants. Growing strawberries from seed is not difficult to do but you will need Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

This year I have made a commitment to be more hyper-local in my food choices.

I have decided not to eat anything out of season that I have not canned or frozen and I will not eat anything exotic that I have not grown myself.

But when I made this personal commitment I did not think about one of my favorite fruits and that is the pomegranate.

Pomegranates are not that difficult to grow and actual do well indoors since they are self-pollinating. They can be started from seed or cuttings without much trouble and require only the basic equipment needed for any type of plant.

They can even tolerate a few nights of below 32 F degrees but it is always a good idea to move indoor when the temperatures dip into the low 40s F degrees.

To start pomegranates from seed requires a little work and patience. First remove the seeds from the pomegranate and eat a few during the process. I know what you are thinking, this is about growing pomegranates but everyone needs the energy to continue through this process. Once the seeds are Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

I was raised in an area where my family could go out and pick fresh apples, pears, and peaches during the summer.

As my children grew up they too experienced the joy of picking your own fruit from the many trees that their Pappy had in the orchard.

But this year, as my children fly the nest, I plan to reproduce my dad’s orchard in an urban setting or in my case on less than 1/5 of an acre.

The first thing I have done like any gardening project is to plan my garden or in this case my orchard. I decided I was going to use a European style of orchard management that utilized bending and training fruit trees to grow in a small area.

My small area consisted of the land along my privacy fence. At first Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Naas

Just because you garden in the city doesn’t mean you can’t grow some delicious fresh fruits.

There are good choices for any gardener, whether your garden is a small plot or a collection of pots on the stairs.

Here are a few great ideas for growing fruit in the urban garden:

Strawberries- There are a couple of choices for strawberries in a smaller garden. Traditionally, strawberries have been a spring or early summer fruit and the vines continue growing for the entire summer. For the very smallest gardens, this takes up a lot of space for very little return. I have a small strawberry patch, but my garden is fairly large for a city garden.

The other choice is Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

When you think of growing fruit, you may envision orchards that cover acres of land.

Don’t despair – there are many options available for the urban garden.

Some fruits grow on plants that are naturally small. The two most common ones are strawberries and blueberries. Both are small enough to be grown easily on a patio. Strawberry pots can help you grow many strawberry plants in one pot.

A note for blueberries : make sure they have acidic soil, or your blueberries will not do very well…if they live.

When it comes to fruit trees and urban gardens, one word stands out Read the rest of this entry »