Fruit For Our Children

By Dana Louise Stewart

What a great day we had with our guest actor and musician Greg Cipes.  Greg was visiting New Zealand as part of the Armageddon Expo and came to visit us to plant fruit trees.  The children were so excited and had so much fun, learning how easy it is to plant fruit trees.  We had great discussions on what that would and can provide for our future and the children were so inspired they were all going home to ask their parents if they could plant more!  Thank you Greg for being such a positive inspiration to children all over the globe!  Remember that our future is in our own hands and taking the time to dedicate to such a great cause was much appreciated.  May it be an inspiration to many many more actors to get behind great charities to promote healthy, sustainable living for the future of our children.

Greg has also kindly donated the proceeds from one of his songs “Free Me” that showcases on the Real N’ Raw soundtrack to this trust.  Help to support fruit tree planting in NZ by visiting our itunes store or by purchasing the Real N’ Raw DVD/Soundtrack for the bargain price of $19.95 NZD.

Thanks to a $500 donation from Gull we were able to purchase 20 fruit trees to plant our first Fruit For Our Children fruit tree food forest.  A lot of fun was had over several planting b’s.  Chalice now has an amazing back yard with more than 20 planted fruit trees along with natives a vegetable patch and what was a grass lawn is now totally transformed to be able to provide fresh fruit for many many years to come.  Thanks to everyone who came and supported and Gull for donating to a great cause.

Children love to grow plants and the cape gooseberry is a favorite of my children, so easy to grow and they love to run out back and devour the fruit – plant yours today, it only takes 6 months for fruit and they are prolific little beauties that form in the shape of hearts with a golden skin.  

Origin: The cape gooseberry is native to Brazil but long ago became naturalized in the highlands of Peru and Chile and became identified with the region. It was being grown in England in 1774 and was cultivated by early settlers at the Cape of Good Hope before 1807. Soon after introduction to the Cape the plant was carried to Australia where it quickly spread into the wild. Seeds were taken to Hawaii before 1825 and the plant is naturalized on all the islands at medium and somewhat higher altitudes. Only in fairly recent times has the fruit received any attention in the continental U.S.

Adaptation: The cape gooseberry is an annual in at temperate regions and a perennial in the tropics. In the Andean regions of South America it grows wild between 2,500 and 10,000 ft. The wild range in Hawaii is 1,000 to 8,000 ft. The plants are frost tender and are killed at temperatures of about 30° F. In much of California the cape gooseberry is best grown as an annual, but will persist for several years in frost-free areas of southern California. Some California growers have grown seedling materials under glass during the fall and winter and set out in early spring to gain the advantage of the longest possible growing season.The plants are easily grown in pots and adapt well to greenhouse culture.

DESCRIPTION

Growth Habit: The cape gooseberries is a soft-wooded, perennial, somewhat vining plant usually reaching 2 to 3 ft. in height. Under good conditions it can reach 6 ft. but will need support. The purplish, spreading branches are ribbed and covered with fine hairs.

Foliage: The heart-shaped, nearly opposite leaves are 2-1/2 to 6 inches long. They are slightly velvety when compared with the narrower and smoother leaves of the tomatillo.

Flowers: Bell-shaped, nodding flowers form in the leaf axils. They are yellow in color with dark purple-brown spots in the throat, and cupped by a purplish-green, hairy calyx. Fruit buds are produced after 12 to 13 stem internodes are formed.

Fruit: After the flower falls, the calyx expands, forming a straw-colored husk much larger than the fruit enclosed, which take 70 to 80 days to mature. The fruit is a berry with smooth, waxy, orange-yellow skin and juicy pulp containing numerous very small yellowish seeds. As the fruits ripen, they begin to drop to the ground, but will continue to mature and change from green to the golden-yellow of the mature fruit. The unripe fruit is said to be poisonous to some people. Cape gooseberries are self-pollinated but pollination is enhanced by a gentle shaking of the flowering stems or giving the plants a light spraying with water.

CULTURE

Location: The plant likes a sunny, frost-free location, sheltered from strong winds. It does well planted next to a south-facing wall or in a patio.

Soil: The cape gooseberry will grow in any well drained soil but does best on sandy to gravelly loam. Very good crops are obtained on rather poor sandy ground.

Irrigation: The plant needs consistent watering to set a good fruit crop, but can’t take “wet feet”. Where drainage is a problem, the plantings should be on a gentle slope or the rows should be mounded. Irrigation can be cut back when the fruits are maturing. The plants become dormant during drought.

Fertilization: The cape gooseberry seems to thrive on neglect. Even moderate fertilizer tends to encourage excessive vegetative growth and to depress flowering. High yields are attained with little or no fertilizer.

Pruning: Very little pruning is needed unless the plant is being trained to a trellis. Pinching back of the growing shoots will induce more compact and shorter plants.

Frost Protection: In areas where frost may be a problem, providing the plant with some overhead protection or planting them next to a wall or a building may be sufficient protection. Individual plants are small enough to be fairly easily covered during cold snaps by placing plastic sheeting, etc. over a frame around them. Plastic row covers will also provide some frost protection for larger plantings. Potted specimens can be moved to a frost-secure area.

Propagation: The plant is widely grown from seed. There are 5,000 to 8,000 seeds per ounce, which are sometimes mixed with pulverized soil or ashes for uniform sowing. High humidity is required for good germination. The plants can also be propagated from 1 year old stem cuttings treated with a rooting hormone. Plants grown this way flower early and yield well but are less vigorous than seedlings.

Pest and Diseases: Cape gooseberries are bothered by several diseases, including Alternaria spp. and powdery mildew. The plants are also prone to root rots and viruses when grown on poorly drained soil. A host of insect pests also attack the plants, namely cut worm, stem borer (Heliotis suflixa), leaf borer (Epiatrix spp.), fruit moth (Phthorimaea), Colorado potato beetle, flea beetle and striped cucumber beetle (Acalymma vittata). Greenhouse grown plants are attacked by white fly and aphids. The stored fruit can be adversely affected by Penicillium andBotrytis molds.

Harvest: The fruit is harvested when it falls to the ground, but not all fallen fruits may be in the same stage of maturity and must be held until they ripen. It may take some experience to tell when the calyx-enclosed fruits are fully ripe. Properly matured and prepared fruits will keep for several months.

The ripe fruit can be eaten out of hand or used in a number of other ways. The unique flavor of the fresh fruit makes it an interesting ingredient in salads and cooked dishes. Cape gooseberries cooked with apples or ginger make a very distinctive dessert. The fruits are also an attractive sweet when dipped in chocolate or other glazes or pricked and rolled in sugar. The high pectin content makes cape gooseberry a good preserve and jam product that can be used as a dessert topping. The fruit also dries into tasty “raisins”.

Have just read a great article that shows how sometimes a challenging situation can close one door and open another to a more fruitful future.  Enjoy Dana

Mansfield’s all-time champion fruit grower was Jacob Deane of Fruit Street. As I’m sure you’ve already figured out, the street took its name from his extensive orchards. Until the mid-1800s, Fruit Street was called, for reasons clear only to our forebears, the Medfield High Road.

Jacob started out by teaching school in Taunton. That town’s wealthiest citizen, whose teenage son attended his classes, took a dislike to the young Mansfield man and decided he had to go. He ordered the son, who was a big kid, to beat up the teacher. Male schoolmasters in those days had to be skilled pugilists and wrestlers. Jacob flattened the boy. The father pressed charges. A judge ruled in Dean’s favor, greatly enhancing his local popularity, because nobody liked the old man or the son.

Perhaps irresistably drawn by the lure of his ancestral lands, Jacob, after teaching in Taunton, Easton, Stoughton and Mansfield, gave up his career as an educator and became a horticulturist.

Jennie Copeland tells us, “He sold his Greek and Latin books, in which he had been delving for the roots of languages, and turned his attention to the roots in the soil of the old homestead.”

From his father, John Dean, Jacob had inherited the house and 135 acres of farmland on what was called Eight Mile Plain. Overlaid on a modern map of Mansfield, his estate would swallow our municipal airport plus adjoining land on both sides of Fruit Street. On this tract Deane planted 100 varieties of apple trees, as well as cherry, peach, pear, plum and mulberry trees. The presence of the latter suggests that he may have been one of the many farmers to experiment with raising silkworms, which feed on mulberry leaves.

Some of his fruit trees he imported from England. Maybe in this connection, he wrote Queen Victoria about trees, though there’s no evidence that Her Majesty, who had matters of Empire on her mind, deigned to reply. Jacob also opened a nursery where he sold ornamental and fruit trees. To increase his farm’s diversity, he hired East Mansfield’s universal man, Isaac Stearns, to graft trees for him.

In 1835, when Jacob Deane was 55, the Taunton Branch Rail Road decided they wanted to run a track through his land. The railroad would connect the Boston & Providence rails at Mansfield depot with Taunton and eventually with the rich whaling port of New Bedford.

“No way!” was Jacob’s response. He was convinced that smoke from the wood-burning locomotives would blight the orchards to which he’d devoted so much of his life. He hadn’t yet learned what all Florida citrus growers know – that smoke helps protect fruit trees from frost.

The corporation realized that Jacob had them over a barrel. His estate was too big to detour around. If he persisted in stonewalling them, they might as well take their trains and go home. Rather than get embroiled in a long costly court dispute, they sweetened the deal.

They told Jacob they’d build him an 8 by 12-foot private station where he, his family and relatives, simply by displaying a flag, could stop any train and get aboard. It may have been the only private passenger depot on a U.S. public railway. Not only that, the company presented him with a handsomely engraved lifetime pass, good for himself and his family, bearing railroad president Thomas B. Wales’ ornately scrolled signature.

Jacob caved. In 1836, trains began running regularly through his property. They did no harm to his fruit trees. The station and the free pass served him until he died in 1871 at age 91.

In 1917, the historic Deane house burned. The foundation hole and the walled lane by which Jacob Deane reached his private depot are now obscured by a housing development.

Yes, real fresh fruit!

(NaturalNews) It’s hard to beat fruits. They provide an abundance of nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, essential oils, antioxidants, fiber, and anti-inflammatory substances. Many are alkaline-forming, so they help counteract the strongly acidic Western diet that eats away at our bones. High levels of potassium in fruit balance high salt diets to help prevent high blood pressure. They also help manage blood sugar, regulate bowel function, and strengthen blood vessels, bones, nails, teeth, skin and hair. Humans could not survive long without healthy fruit.

Antioxidant content may be the most compelling reason for loading up on these wonderful foods. Oxidative stress from eating, illness or injury, produces excess free radicals that damage cells and tissues. Skipping antioxidants, over time, may ultimately lead to heart disease, cancer, allergies, and other inflammatory diseases. However, not all fruits are created equal. Fruits like blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, grapefruit and fresh cranberry have the best antioxidant content, followed by apples, peaches, pears, plums, oranges and dates. The exotic juices of pomegranate, mangosteen, acái and goji berry are also unbeatable for antioxidant protection. Whole fruit is best, but juices are acceptable, especially if not concentrated and no sugar is added. Unfortunately, people are attracted to the super sweet juices and fruits like bananas, grapes and orange juice. Yet, even these are superior to most of the sweetened junk that we feed our kids.

Choosing organic fruit is another important consideration, especially for children, who are more susceptible to the dangers of pesticides and other toxins. Organic fruit has also been shown to contain more antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals than conventional fruits. It may cost more, but the cost to health from eating inferior fruit is much greater.

Fruits are best eaten on an empty stomach. Indigestion is on the rise in the U.S., and one reason is from eating fruits with other foods. Fruits pass quickly though the stomach and are rapidly digested in the intestines. If fruit is eaten with other foods, it is kept waiting in the stomach, where it may ferment and produce gases and harmful compounds. Digestive processes are also disrupted and the fruit’s nutritive value is compromised. Therefore, it is best to eat fruit as a snack in between meals, especially about 30 minutes before a meal to get the best antioxidant boost. Scientists at the Agricultural Research Service, investigating the effects of antioxidants on after-meal oxidative stress, found that grapes, kiwi and wild blueberries were high performers when it came to raising blood levels of important antioxidants. As a general rule, fruit should not be eaten at the end of a meal. However, most people do not have digestive problems with berries after eating. So, if you insist on dessert after a meal, go with berries.

Our early ancestors would not recognize the fruits available in today’s supermarkets. Scientists in the last century have selectively bred fruits to have a long shelf life, few seeds, less fiber and a powerfully sweet taste. Wild fruits are typically less sweet, and much richer in micronutrients than cultivated fruits, particularly in minerals (e.g., copper, iron, calcium) and the vitamins C, E, K, beta-carotene and folic acid. The vitamin C intake of our fruit-eating ape cousins is estimated to be 2-6 grams, compared about 60 mg for humans (one hundred times less!). Wild fruits are also much richer in the millions of “background” nutrients essential to good human health, such as bioflavonoids, terpenes, phenols, carotenes, and many more. For much more information regarding the good foods our ancestors ate, pick up the book “Deadly Harvest” by Dr. Geoff Bond.

The biggest problem with modern fruits has as much to do with what is present in them as what is absent. Starchy and processed fruits are loaded with sugar. Fruits rich in sugar can aggravate pre-existing ailments, such as diabetes, allergies, cancer, and other inflammatory conditions. Dried fruits are nearly as bad, since the sugar is concentrated, and the drying process destroys many of the micronutrients. Frozen fruit retains much of its antioxidant content, but canned fruit should be (garbage) canned.

Vitamins, minerals and antioxidants can also be obtained through dietary supplements. Obviously, fruits and vegetables provide a greater wealth of nutrients than do supplements, but getting these nutrients in the diet somehow is the most important consideration. Even gummy bear antioxidants are better for kids than no fruit at all. Plus, antioxidant supplements can provide higher quantities of vitamins C, E, zinc, selenium, vitamin A and many plant flavonoids than fruits and vegetables. The content of these nutrients in fruits varies from farm to farm and year to year. And, with the deterioration of our soil, less and less of these nutrients are found in food. Fortunately, many essential antioxidants can be found in a high quality multivitamin, which every man, woman and child should be taking daily.

If you’re not interested in the chemistry of all the wonderful things found in fruits and vegetables, just shop for color. The colorful pigments in blueberries, raspberries oranges, pomegranate, purple tomatoes, etc., are chemicals that protect them from the sun. These pigments are antioxidant rich and protect people in the same way they do plants.

So, if you have a little boy or girl at home with a diarrhea problem, or an inflamed bun, the last thing you want to do is stop all fruits (as an ignorant physician recently recommended to a friend). Certainly stop the sugary juices, but not the whole fruit, especially organic, non-starchy varieties. Switch to water, perhaps with a little pomegranate juice for flavor and antioxidant punch. Make your own fresh fruit sauces or smoothies, or find a good organic brand of baby food that contains these antioxidants. Good food means good health. So, when it comes to food, we must take health into our own hands.

Reference: Bond G. Deadly Harvest. 2007. Square One Publishers, Garden City Park, NY.