Help Me Build A Fruit Park

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by RusticBohemian, Jan 31, 2009.

  1. RusticBohemian

    RusticBohemian Junior Member

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    I live in Connecticut in a poor, dense city of about 59,000 people. It was once a rich factory town, but the high paying factory jobs are long gone, and the crumbling urban core of the city is populated by a lot of low-income people who eat horribly, and suffer from the diseases that follow that.

    During my daily runs though the city I see these empty grass-filled lots spread periodically between the two and three-family houses.

    They're there because as those houses fall into disrepair, the city ends up buying them up and tearing them down. Now they're just wastelands of grass.

    I want to make them oases of fruit.

    Some of the lots are less than an acre, but some are almost two.

    I've been dreaming about what I could do with them if they were in my hands. Apples, pears, peaches, persimmons, cherries, blueberries, ....maybe even paw paws. Whatever I like (that grows in zone 6a).

    Over a year has passed since I first had the idea, but here's the thing- the city won't give one guy permission to work on these lots. You need legitimacy, and today I found it.

    I sold the new president of the local Lions Club on my idea for a fruit park. She loves it and agreed to support my proposal. So now I'm going to put together a concrete plan a go before the city council in a month or so and try to sell them on it too.

    Here's my thinking. I need to convince them that it will cause them no trouble, but will help the population.

    I'll mention how this is a low cost way of providing the population with thousands of dollars of healthy food for practically nothing.

    I don't want them to give me, or the lions club, the land, but keep it themselves. I just want permission to plant trees there. I'm only asking for one piece, and if it's successful I can go back and ask for more.

    The city has this weird thing about hating trees. Full-sized trees get big and the roots rip up the side walks and the branches take down power lines during storms. They're constantly tearing them down, and so I don't want them to object on these grounds.

    So here's my selling point - dwarf and semi dwarf rootstocks for my fruit trees. They only grow to 6-10 ft, and they won't take down any power lines. You can also plant more of the small trees, get more variety, and more fruit per square foot.

    Another selling point is that it won't cost the city anything to plant. I'm going to try to get the trees donated. I'm even willing to buy some myself.

    The park will be open for picking by all, but I'll get the Lions club to pick the rest and give it to the soup kitchen or other groups that help the needy.

    I've got one particular property in mind that is longer than it is wide. I'm thinking maybe it's a little over an acre, but I'll find out for certain from one of my frequently-quoted sources (I work at a newspaper) in the economic development office. So I should know how big exactly soon.

    I thinking I would have a path gong down the middle of the property, and surrounding this this I would have some sort of arbor. Growing on these I would have grapes and other climbing fruit.

    On the outside edge of the arbours would be berry bushes, and further out I would have perhaps two dozen dwarf fruit trees.

    It's a rough plan, but I can change it as needed.

    My question is, has anyone attempted anything like this before? I know most of the city councilors because I talk to them for stories pretty often, but I don't know the first thing about soliciting donations from nurseries or making up a proposal.

    1) I'm probably going to have to run this by the city's Parks and Recreation Director, so if I had stats on the fact that other parks have fruit trees, that would help. What do I tell them about cleaning up fruit fallen to the ground? I imagine they'll think that it will rot and attract pests. Any advice on what to tell them about tree maintenance appreciated.

    2) Do you have a list of fruit trees that grow in zone 6A? Besides the normal apples, peaches, plums, nectarines, and cherries, I was thinking of adding American persimmons, and maybe paw paws, though I've never seen paw paws on dwarf rootstock. I'd love any unusual varieties you might be able to think of. I want trees and fruit varieties that I can let just grow organically. I won't be around to prune them.

    3) I'm going to have to buy or have donated all of these trees/bushes/vines. Are you aware of any nurseries that might be willing to donate to the project?

    If you have some other suggestions, I'd love to hear them too.
     
  2. Hamishmac

    Hamishmac Junior Member

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    Re: Help Me Build A Fruit Park

    Wow, impressive vision.

    I've not got the project experience to answer the nitty-gritty, but on the issue about convincing others to allow/finance/assist you I'd think as widely as possible.

    For example, benefits to...

    the city council:
    less expenditure on maintenance, weed control
    decrease in fire hazard
    city beautification scheme
    local pride increases
    less crime in beautification areas as tend to be people there doing maintenance, learning etc
    less rubbish on & around project sites
    a good news story in uncertain times
    local populations take ownership of local problems
    a councillor gets a newspaper photo-op at the official "opening ceremony"

    the population:
    much of the above, more specifically, local pride, reduced crime (site becomes a de-facto neighbourhood watch), less rubbish plus;
    educational opportunities,
    recycling
    efficient water use
    growing food plants which can also be grown at home, even windowsill herbs
    get kids involved
    social opportunities, interaction, less isolation
    health opportunities, education, diet, better food choices, bit of exercise, a peaceful spot to hang out
    free food

    the Parks and Recreation Department:
    part of the solution, not of the problem. They may well be a huge resource.
    promotional opportunities for the department
    "feeder traffic" into any of their other schemes or activities
    employment or work opportunities at setup for any trainees they have
    if you establish a nursery area, a cheap way of them to have their seedlings looked after till ready for planting (as long as you get some free)

    Your priority may be the fruit trees, but others with different agendas may need other buttons pressed to give you support. With a long list of wide-ranging benefits to multiple groups, it may be easier to get them on board. To them, the fruit trees & free food may almost be an afterthought, an "Oh yeah, there will also be a few small fruit trees for some free food opportunities" sort of thing. They might wish a risk/benefit analysis type of thing, but I wouldn't be pushing any downsides, even if considered and planned for, unless asked.

    There's a post about the Greening The Desert project at

    https://permaculture.org.au/2009/01/29/greening-the-desert-project-outcomes-profiled/

    In the pdf it was interesting how much focus & effort went into community involvement & education to maximise the chances of success (project description p59, public awareness p62).

    Go for it mate

    Hamish

    PS. Might need to consider cost of fencing re restricting ferals of all descriptions.
     
  3. sampsms

    sampsms Junior Member

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    Re: Help Me Build A Fruit Park

    Hi, there are a lot of community gardens in australia. the land is usually leased, divided into plots, and plots are either free or a small yearly fee.
    you are suggesting a fruit park, so I presume it will not have plots. also there willbe maintenance and clean up, as well as problems with bugs and pests.
    https://www.permaculturevisions.com has free pages about this, but in a nutshell you need to start a 3 year plan, collect a team, and empower people.
    one of the trees i would recommend is the ice cream bean tree, because even when the pods fall they are not messy. they sit there encased and can easily be raked up up. the other is lemon. Lemons are high in vitamin C, useful in asian and all cooking. Orange groves are great and there are many of them in spain etc. in Public places. the red orange would be a good choice.
    Hopefully your dream will materialise, BUT it must become a team dream to suceed. Good luck.
     
  4. Tropicana

    Tropicana Junior Member

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    Re: Help Me Build A Fruit Park

    I'm impressed with your vision, Rusticbohemian. I truly hope you can get this off the ground. Have you read the posting "Guerrilla Gardening"? Maybe a few hands full of seeds dropped as you run through that city of yours could get a few veggies growing, too.....................
     
  5. janahn

    janahn Junior Member

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    Re: Help Me Build A Fruit Park

    Another option, find farm land on the edge of town, utilise urban "waste" grow food and sell it for a fair price to local inhabitants. unemployed people are always a good source of labour if you create a fair deal that may include supplying food to those who work and contribute to the project.

    wot do you think.
     
  6. marklowel

    marklowel New Member

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    Re: Help Me Build A Fruit Park

    I share my experience in building a fruit park,,, see a location that the fruit u wanted to plant is fitted. Land is very important and the freshness of the location.

    __________________
    Urban Net Zone
     
  7. trishandpete

    trishandpete Junior Member

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    Re: Help Me Build A Fruit Park

    I have been involved in a local government working party looking at Food Security in our area. Melbourne apparently has only enough food to last our population one week should all imports/roads be cut off. Some of the strategies we have workshopped include 'edible naturestrips and traffic islands', community gardens (of which there are many) sharing backyards, community buses bringing markets to the populace rather than the other way around, and so forth. Look at selling the concept, and I post and extract below from Wikkipedia, as a civic responsibility. Two shires in Melbourne have embraced the concept, the most far along is Maribyrnong. A targetted program for food security that includes community gardening in vacant council land using a mixture of paid consultants and community volunteers should be just the sort of thing a local government would go for.

    T



    Food security in the United States

    [edit] Community food security
    Community food security is a condition in which all community residents obtain a safe, culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate diet through a sustainable food system that maximizes community self-reliance and social justice

    Following are six basic principles of community food security, as defined by the Community Food Security Coalition:

    Low Income Food Needs Like the anti-hunger movement, CFS is focused on meeting the food needs of low income communities, reducing hunger and improving individual health.
    Broad Goals CFS addresses a broad range of problems affecting the food system, community development, and the environment such as increasing poverty and hunger, disappearing farmland and family farms, inner city supermarket redlining, rural community disintegration, rampant suburban sprawl, and air and water pollution from unsustainable food production and distribution patterns.
    Community focus A CFS approach seeks to build up a community's food resources to meet its own needs. These resources may include supermarkets, farmers' markets, gardens, transportation, community-based food processing ventures, and urban farms to name a few.
    Self-reliance/empowerment Community food security projects emphasize the need to build individuals' abilities to provide for their food needs. Community food security seeks to build upon community and individual assets, rather than focus on their deficiencies. CFS projects seek to engage community residents in all phases of project planning, implementation, and evaluation.
    Local agriculture A stable local agricultural base is key to a community responsive food system. Farmers need increased access to markets that pay them a decent wage for their labor, and farmland needs planning protection from suburban development. By building stronger ties between farmers and consumers, consumers gain a greater knowledge and appreciation for their food source.
    Systems-oriented CFS projects typically are "inter-disciplinary," crossing many boundaries and incorporating collaborations with multiple agencies.[18]
     
  8. raincrow

    raincrow Junior Member

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    Re: Help Me Build A Fruit Park

    I typed "permaculture guerilla gardens" into google and came up with a bunch of sites. I know you are gardening with permission, but you might learn more about organizing the community from them. That sounds counter-intuitive when I re-read that part, but I know that one of the Vancouver BC guerilla gardens now has full community support. Most of the posts so far have suggested you get community help and I agree. I like Hamishmac's suggestion about getting kids involved.
     
  9. Noz

    Noz Junior Member

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    Re: Help Me Build A Fruit Park

    Hi

    Nice vision!

    Suggest that you get in touch with people who are already doing this type of thing. I feel that more administration is required when you do it formally. You might try and convince the local government to manage it in terms of retic and composting systems, using some volunteer time.
    https://www.dug.org/

    if you're not an administrator and you just want to get the plants in the ground:
    https://www.guerrillagardening.org/

    good luck!
     

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