Philadelphia Orchard Project Blog
5 FOLLOWERS
The Philadelphia Orchard Project Blog is a community-driven platform dedicated to urban orchards and community gardening. Founded with the mission of transforming underutilized spaces into vibrant orchards, the blog shares stories of community involvement, orchard maintenance tips, and updates on fruit tree cultivation in the Philadelphia area.
Philadelphia Orchard Project Blog
1w ago
Finding Musaceae: A Small Odyssey i. It’s March of 2019, and a friend brings me to work with them for a few hours at the Fairmount… Read More ..read more
Philadelphia Orchard Project Blog
2w ago
By Yam Vallis, MS Clinical Herbal Medicine Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) may just look like another scruffy tree on the side of the road or along… Read More ..read more
Philadelphia Orchard Project Blog
1M ago
¿Alguna vez comiste una fruta deliciosa y te preguntaste si puedes plantar la semilla para hacer crecer un nuevo árbol? Aunque las frutas comunes generalmente… Read More ..read more
Philadelphia Orchard Project Blog
2M ago
MEDICINAL AND CULINARY NATIVE HERBS IN THE LEARNING ORCHARD AT THE WOODLANDS Scarlet Bee Balm, monarda didyma, in the new herb row at the Woodlands… Read More ..read more
Philadelphia Orchard Project Blog
5M ago
WHAT ARE THEY?
Beneficial nematodes are microscopic roundworms that live in the soil. They are used for pest control because they are excellent hunters of soil pests (and occasionally aboveground pests, as well). Their main tactic is to parasitize insects in their larval and pupal stages. Nematodes move within moist soil and enter a suitable host. The nematodes, alongside an associated bacteria, kill the host within a few days. It is still relatively unresearched in the horticultural and scientific community but is gaining traction as an another low-risk, chemical-free method for controlling p ..read more
Philadelphia Orchard Project Blog
5M ago
On a rainy Friday in May, POP invited our partners to celebrate the construction of two new high tunnels at our home base, the POP Learning Orchard. These high tunnels are POP’s first major capital investment, and the latest addition to our infrastructure at the historic Woodlands Cemetery in West Philadelphia where we also maintain a 90-tree demonstration orchard and edible plant nursery.
The pollinator garden at the entrance to the POP Learning Orchard at The WoodlandsA bicyclist rides by the berry gardens and grape arbor on the running path outside the orchard
Attendees at the May 10 ..read more
Philadelphia Orchard Project Blog
6M ago
Survey Participation
In 2023, POP added 2 new orchard sites to its list of partners: Get Fresh Daily and West Philly Peace Park. In all, 48 of 66 POP partners (72%) participated in our annual Partner Survey in November and December, including 37 of 51 full partners (72%) and 11 of 15 supported partners (73%). This is typical of participation rates over the last 5 years. A few respondents included information compiled for multiple orchards that they or their organizations steward, so some numbers and responses were adjusted to best average and extrapolate data.
Some key data from th ..read more
Philadelphia Orchard Project Blog
6M ago
Did you know that there a growing number of cultivated varieties of Paws Paws? Often thought of only as a wild, foraged fruit, for decades growers have been selecting, breeding, and propagating the best trees for larger fruits, greater fruit to seed ratios, and improved flavors. We, at POP, currently have 8 different varieties planted in our Learning Orchard! We went for many varieties because you get a wider array of flavors and other plant characteristics, as well as the opportunity to propagate these varieties to share with our partners across the city.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
A LITTLE AB ..read more
Philadelphia Orchard Project Blog
6M ago
There are a couple species of Hardy Kiwi (also called Kiwiberry) vines that will grow and produce in Philadelphia. Hardy Kiwi (Actinidia arguta) is a perennial fruit vine that can grow up to 30 feet tall. Originally native to Asia, this cold-tolerant and easy to grow species can be grown in zones 3-8. The vine produces a sweet edible fruit with a beautiful green color, smaller but similar in flavor to its more familiar subtropical cousin, the Fuzzy Kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa). The grape-sized fruits are arranged in clusters and have a smooth, thin skin so they can be enjoyed whole without peeli ..read more
Philadelphia Orchard Project Blog
8M ago
The fig was one of the earliest fruit trees to be cultivated, so our history goes way back with these fruits. This might have something to do with the highly abundant and delectable fruit that it offers with little work from our end. Fig trees are some of the easiest fruit trees to tend to, so let’s dig into all the good things figs offer and the specific varieties we have at the POP Learning Orchard.
FIG OVERVIEW
The common fig (Ficus carica) is part of the mulberry family (Moraceae) and Ficus genus, made up of over 750 known species all across the globe. Most Ficus members res ..read more