Filtering down all we’ve learned about harvest for the abundant diversity of food forests into a guide that is comprehensive and approachable has proven to be the most difficult of our POPCORE series! We are brainstorming and playing around with how to approach creating a more extensive Harvest Guide, but for now we offer our extremely practical Harvest Guide pamphlet.
Some of the most common questions around harvests are: How do I know if it’s ready to pick? Do I need to put it in the fridge? Those are the questions we aim to answer with this pamphlet so that everyone is able to make the most of their harvests.
Harvest Blogs and Recipes
Of course, there is a lot of detail missing from our Harvest Guide. For now, let me guide you to some POP resources that offer specificity on how to harvest and use different plants from the food forest that will be ripening in the coming months.
Hardy Almonds (Sep): POP originally attempted to grow almond trees, but they flowered so early that the whole crop was often lost to a late frost. Now we grow hardy almonds, a peach crossed with an almond which causes it to flower later. They can be harvested in May while they are still green, or in September when the leathery fruit part splits open. Check out harvest tips and uses.
Harvesting Pears (Sep – Oct): European pears are one of the trickiest fruits to harvest because most of them ripen off the tree under specific conditions that differ based on type. Check out the ins and outs of that here.
Eating Trifoliate Orange (Oct): Trifoliate orange is a cold tolerant citrus that thrives in Philadelphia. We can grow citrus! But it comes out seedier, less juicy, and more bitter than the citrus we are used to. So it often goes unused. Jeannie Gerth (LOV at Awbury) has been experimenting with it for years and shares beautiful harvest information along with some delicious recipes.
Exploring the Magic of Hawthorn (Oct – Dec) This native fruit is full of stories and traditions. It is also jam pack with support for heart health. Top notch overview with recipe for Hawthorn Honey. Contributed by Clinical Herbalist Yam Vallis.
Harvest Workshops
This year, our harvest workshop offerings include 3 different preservation workshops:
- In Honor of Edna Lewis: A Blackberry Jelly and Canning led by Deja Morgan at the POP Learning Orchard (Aug 9)
- Harvesting the Healing Power: An Afro-Herbalism Workshop on Elderberry and Medicinal Syrups and Tinctures led by Yam Vallis at Mill Creek Urban Farm (Aug 22)
- Community medicine making: Herbal Tea blends led by Ona McGovern at the POP Learning Orchard (Oct 18)
