Thursday, February 26, 2009
England Porter took notice one day when she saw a few women walking on campus with a ladder.
Using the ladder, the women climbed the persimmon tree on the lawn of Strong Hall, picked some of its fruit and left.
The Lawrence Fruit Tree Project wants to make that type of fruit picking more accessible to the community.
How to plant your own fruit tree
Step 1: After making sure the soil is thawed, dig a hole about 18 inches deep and wide enough to fit the roots of the tree.
Step 2: Add compost to the hole and set in the tree.
Step 3: Pile topsoil until it overflows the hole by about two inches. Pack the soil in firmly while making sure the tree is upright.
Step 4: Water until the soil compresses to ground level. If desired, add mulch over the top of the soil.
Step 5: Enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Source: www.eartheasy.com
Information compiled by Deepa Sampat and Lauren Cunningham.
Porter, Independence senior and member of the LFTP, said the group wanted to plant and harvest more fruit trees in Lawrence for the community’s use. The group began organizing its tree-planting effort in October, and on March 21 will plant its first six community fruit trees at New York Elementary.
Skyler Adamson, Lawrence gardener and group organizer, said there were three ways the group would increase growing and harvesting of local fruit in Lawrence.
Adamson said he wanted to expand the presence of food plants in the community.
“Why grow a redbud tree in a park when it could be an apple tree, and people could eat from it?” Adamson said.
The group would also concentrate on collecting fruit from trees in residents’ yards or in public areas where the fruit was not being harvested and could go to waste, Adamson said. Residents with fruit trees will be able to register with the LFTP Web site to have group members harvest the fruit from their trees for them.
Adamson said fruit collected from residents’ trees would be given to the residents themselves if they wanted it, to the volunteers who helped pick it and potentially to area food pantries.
Education is the third component of the group’s efforts. The group plans on organizing workshops and working with schools in an effort to educate people on growing their own fruit, Adamson said.
Jason Hering, Hutchinson senior, said the group would like to bring more fruit trees to areas on campus, but there was some red tape to get through.
Kelly Kindscher, associate scientist with the Kansas Biological Survey and LFTP group member, said fruit trees on campus had been restricted because of what happened when the fruit wasn’t collected.
“Good fruits have not been planted on campus because they’re considered messy,” Kindscher said. “But there are so many potential suitable sites in Lawrence. We want to encourage people to use local fruit.”
While the group currently has no working budget, Kindscher said it was on its way to becoming a non-profit organization and would eventually accept donations from interested residents.
“There’s been a ton of positive response,” Adamson said. “It’s an idea a lot of people have on their minds.”
— — Edited by Heather Melanson
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Group wants more accessible fruit
Lawrence Fruit Tree Project can be visited on the web @ www.Lawrencefruittreeproject.wordpres...>
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