Community Orchard Planting

~ Rebecca B. Frimmer

On a beautiful November sunny day with a brisk autumn breeze, I had the opportunity to volunteer with Philadelphia Orchard Project to plant the beginnings of an urban food forest in Gorgas Park, in Roxborough.  The orchard was going to be a joint community urban farming effort between Philadelphia Orchard Project (POP) and Roxborough’s Northlight Community Center, and Teens 4 Good.  The Gorgas Park property borders the fence of Roxborough High School, and the gate to the orchard is right next to the school, with hopes that the biology classes will get involved.  Penn State Extension Master Gardeners have taken on the role of helping to maintain some of these new urban orchards in their neighborhood parks.

 

Last year, the Extension Philadelphia Master Gardener class hosted Phil Forsyth, the Executive Director of Philadelphia Orchard Project, to teach about fruit trees, and ask for Master Gardener trainees to come volunteer at their plantings or even be a liaison for a new orchard.  Liasions for POP take on a volunteer role to help organize orchard maintenance and volunteer days, keeping on top of communications between the community organization's host site and POP.  POP has planted over 35 orchards – almost 700 fruit trees, not to mention thousands of shrubs, vines and perennials.  From persimmons to hazelnuts, POP isn’t shy about planting interesting and delicious fruit and nut varieties that are not widely commercially produced in our region. It is really exciting to introduce people to elderberries and kiwi berries while also seeing their delight in delicious favorites like apples and raspberries. 


Many of the Master Gardener trainees participated in the orchard planting behind the horticulture center in Fairmount Park last year. That Food Forest will be maintained by the Master Gardeners along with their Edible and Pollinator Demonstration gardens nearby. 

For more information:
Food Forest Horticulture Center     Food Forest Horticulture Center Part 2            

It all came full circle last Saturday at the orchard planting.  At the outset, all three community organizations shared their missions with us, followed by a tree planting demonstration, and then the planting itself.  The morning culminated in a group of a dozen happy volunteers proud of their plantings, sharing soft pretzels and local apples, looking forward to seeing the next phase of the food forest in the spring.  At that time, POP will come back and plant the understory of herbs and perennials to truly make this orchard site into a food forest.   

The Orchard Planting:

Philadelphia Orchard Project’s Executive Director Phil kicks off the day by offering a tree planting lesson.  We dug wide holes 2-3 times the width of each plant pot, and matched the depth to the current planting depth of the plant in its pot.  The orchard site and volunteers are watching the lesson here:

As you can see here, Phil is removing some of the topsoil because the tree is planted too deep.  He’s pulling the topsoil back to just above where the main root branches horizontally. Sometimes nurseries can even plant too deeply, when planting a tree its important that the depth is right, many novices have a tendency to plant just a little too deep for optimal results.

Once we were finished planting all of the fruit trees inside the gate, and berry bushes around the perimeter, we spread mulch around all of the fresh plantings, with a well to hold some water.  Here, Corrie Spellman, Teens 4 Good farmer who will be managing the site, gets ready to spread some mulch.  The volunteers also helped water in these new trees.

 

The orchard included Asian Pears, Currants, Raspberries, Blueberries, Sweet Cherries and Sweet Goumi. I’ve never had a Goumi berry before, but supposedly they are a sweet and sour red berry that is very high in Vitamin A & E and has the highest lycopene content of any food – even more than tomatoes!  I am looking forward to sampling some Goumi in the spring.

A Little More About The Orchard Hosts:

Philadelphia Orchard Project: The Philadelphia Orchard Project plants orchards in the city of Philadelphia that grow healthy food, green spaces and community food security. POP works with community-based groups and volunteers to plan and plant orchards filled with useful and edible plants.

Teens4Good: Teens 4 Good, a program of the Federation of Neighborhood Centers, is a youth-led entrepreneurial farm and nutrition business that transforms vacant lots into urban farms, improving access to healthy food for communities, creating meaningful jobs for at-risk youth and empowering youth to become healthy responsible stewards and leaders who give back to their communities.

Northlight Community Center: Their mission is to enable people of all ages and abilities in our communities, especially those most in need, to reach their full potential as productive and responsible citizens through initiatives that support and enrich children, teens, and families.

Pollinator Garden in Bloom

ThePhiladelphia Master Gardener Pollinator Garden in Fairmount Park is in full glorious bloom.

Never been?….stop by and see the garden, get some ideas and just enjoy. The garden is directly opposite the gazebo and in view of the Japenese house.  Map to Horticulture Center

Great job team.

Go to our facebook page and tell us what you think.
Facebook tell us what you think after your visit.

 

News from the Edible Landscape Demonstration Garden

Cardoon in bloom

This past week brought the judging panel from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's City Gardens Contest to the garden. It was a beautiful, sunny morning and the garden looked splendid -- not a errant weed, nor a feasting harlequin beetle in sight! The weeks of attentive care by the Master Gardener volunteers were obvious to the four knowledgeable judges, one of whom was a retired Penn State Extension horticulture specialist. We silently chuckled when even she was unable to identify the cardoon in bloom! Winners will be notified sometime after Labor Day. Stay tuned for the update!



Black Turtle and Great White Northern Beans

The shelling bean harvest has begun -- Black Turtle, Great White Northern, Calypso, Whippoorwill -- all are at their height of production. These beans are excellent choices for freezing shelled in small freezer bags. Adding them to homemade soups in the winter adds extra flavor, texture and nutrition.

The first planting of cucumbers have finished fruiting and have made their way to the compost pile. 'Pickle Bush' is a very prolific producer. Our small number of plants produced enough cucumbers for salads, soups and a dozen or more pints of 'bread and butter' and 'spicey ginger' pickles.

The herb beds are in their glory right now. The eight different cultivars of basil are a sight to behold .Summer or winter savory combined with rosemary,sage, thyme and sweet marjoram are ready for drying and making Herbs de Provence. Please stop by after this Saturday's (August 10, 2013) workshop -- Culinary Herbs: Fragrant, Flavorful and Festive Foods -- at the Horticultural Center, N. Horticultural and Montgomery Drvie, Philadelphia, PA 19131. 9:30 am registration. The workshop begins at 10 am. $10 registration fee. For more information: 215-471-2200, ext. 116 or
e-mail at PhiladelphiaExt@psu.edu

Views of the Butterfly Garden

The Butterfly Garden in Fairmount Park has gone through a restructuring this spring by a group of dedicated and ambitious Master Gardeners dedicated to providing a garden specifically for butterflies. Many plants were removed or moved and others added. The team that worked on this project did an outstanding job and the garden is taking shape.

Some of the plants in the garden include: Butterfly Bush, Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, Phlox, Clethra, Deutzia, Asclepias Tuberosa, and Solidago Sphacelata, and Honeysuckle.

There is still some work to be done but it looks terrific. If you are in the park stop by. It is near the gazebo on the Horticulture grounds.

News from the Edible Landscape Demonstration Garden

This past week's rainy weather has encouraged plenty of new growth in the vegetable demonstration garden at the Horticulture Center. The various beans -- bush and pole, shelling and string -- have sprouted and their growth can be measured daily in inches. There are small fruits on some of the pepper plants and the tomaotes have reached the first cross pieces on their teepee supports. The grapes that were transplanted in the early spring have grown at least three feet and will soon cover the arched arbor.

Eldredge Ragsdale hard at work

Many of the spring crops including the various lettuces and radishes have been harvested. Various beans and other summer vegetables have been planted in their place. The bush cucumbers are two inches high and will soon be climbing the space-saving trellises.

Visitors to the garden have been signing-in at the information box and taking the educational hand-outs home with them. Stop by and see us anytime you are in the neighborhood!

News from the Edible Landscape Demonstration Garden

Chinese mustard and collard greens at their peak

Trellised nasturium in the annual herb bed

Lois Fischer

The past few days of unseasonably high temperatures has had its impact on the vegetable demonstration garden in Fairmount Park. Some of the cool weather crops have pushed miraculously and are at their full harvesting glory. Others are just at the brink of bolting and are waiting to be replaced by new plantings. It has been a challenge for our small crew of dedicated volunteers to remain on top of the changes. Many of the summer crops are well on their way. A variety of bush beans, shelling peas and runner beans have sprouted. The two rows of dwarf okra are visible. The bush cucumbers that will later be trellised to save space have poked their ways up through the soil. Tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers and two varieties of eggplant have been planted. The herb beds are a sight to behold. Our committee members have entered the garden in the PHS sponsored City Gardens Contest in the "small community garden" category. We will keep you updated on our progress.

Stop by the garden sometime soon should you be in the neighborhood. It is located behind the greenhouse at the Horticulture Center in Fairmount Park.