Gardening

Edible Fruits for the Adventurous Gardener

by Dr. William M. Johnson, Galveston County Extension Agent - Horticulture

January 25, 2006

Edible Barbados Cherry is an attractive landscape shrub or tree and also produces multiple crops of edible fruits high in vitamin C. Master Gardeners will offer three varieties of Edible Barbados Cherry as well as a wide selection of other fruit trees at their February 4 plant sale. Photo Credit: Heidi Sheesley

Whether you plan to add to your existing collection of fruit trees in the landscape or you are just starting out, be sure to make a notation on your gardening calendar to attend the Galveston County Master Gardeners Fruit Tree Seminar & Sale on Saturday, February 4, 2006. There will be an offering of the “normal stuff” such as a wide assortment of apples, citrus, Asian and European pears, plums, peaches, figs, grapes, blackberries, and pecans.

There will also be a selection of fruit trees for the adventurous. Some gardeners will be delighted by some very different, hard-to-find-them-anywhere fruits that may do well in our yards. For example, Mexican Avocados and Edible Barbados Cherry offer their own distinctive flavors and textures and merit consideration.

Mexican Avocados

Mexican Avocados are a highlight in this year Master Gardener’s plant sale. There are three distinct horticultural races of avocado (West Indian, Guatemalan and Mexican) plus hybrids between them. Mexican Avocados are the most cold tolerant of the three.

Mexican Avocados offered at the plant sale are grafted and will sustain temperature drops to at least 15 degrees F two years after planting since cold-hardiness increases as the tree matures.

Mexican Avocado fruit ripens in the summer and has good flavor. The fruit is rarely larger than 8 to 12 ounces, is green to purple or black, and has very thin skin. The crushed leaves of Mexican Avocados have a distinct odor of anise (licorice), which is lacking in the other races of avocado.

Avocado trees are adapted to most soil types found in our growing region, provided the soil has good internal drainage. The tree will not perform well in poorly drained soils, nor will it tolerate flooding. The planting site should be chosen with cold protection in mind, especially during the first two years’ of growth. Generally, the south or southeast side of the house is the warmest location in a residential site. Because it can become a large tree, it should be planted no closer than 8 to 10 feet from the house.

Trees generally mature to 20-25 feet in our area, and no training is required. Avocados flower at an early age, and you may pick a couple of fruit by the second year. Blooms appear January-February, and the fruit begins to ripen in September, depending on the variety. Harvest avocados before they're too soft, and allow to further soften indoors.

Grafted varieties will produce a few fruit two years after establishment (which is defined as the tree having made significant growth after planting). Mature trees can produce two to three or more bushels of avocados with good management, depending upon variety. If you’re waiting on that grocery-store seedling, be aware that avocados do not come true from seed and seedlings may take up to 10 to 15 years to fruit.

Edible Barbados Cherry

Another temptation for the adventurous gardeners is the Edible Barbados Cherry. Unlike the ornamental Barbados Cherry with small red berries edible by birds, this Barbados Cherry is larger and edible by humans. It is still an ornamental bush and doubles as a source of wonderful fruit to eat.

Edible Barbados Cherry is a 15- to 18-foot plant with early-spring pink flowers followed by sweetly tart 3/4 -inch red fruit high in vitamin C. Heidi Sheesley of Treesearch Farms says this small tree, like the avocado, needs winter protection during the juvenile stage.

The fruit of Edible Barbados Cherry can be used in many ways. It can be eaten fresh and is excellent for juice, by itself or in a mixture

The cooked fruits must be strained to remove the seeds and the resulting sauce or puree can be utilized as a topping on cake, pudding, ice cream or sliced bananas, or used in other culinary products. The fresh juice will prevent darkening of bananas sliced for fruit cups or salads.

The fruit can also be used for gelatin desserts, punch or sherbet, and has been added as an ascorbic acid supplement to other fruit juices. The fruits may be made into syrup or, with added pectin, excellent jelly, jam, and other preserves.

The soft, juicy, thin-skinned fruits are light to deep crimson when mature. The flesh is yellow-orange. They average about an inch in diameter but vary from one-half to more than an inch.

The fruit is also widely used in the health food industry as a natural source of vitamin C. Vitamin C content ranges from 1000 to 2000 mg per 100 gm in the edible portion of fully ripe fruit and may be as high as 4500 mg per 100 gm in partially ripe fruit. A single fruit of some selections could supply the daily adult requirement of vitamin C.

The tree may have 3 to 5 crops per year, May to November, with the largest crops during the summer. However, this can vary with weather conditions. In addition to the value of its fruit, Edible Barbados Cherry is an attractive shrub or tree which can be used for its ornamental value in landscaping.

Dr. Johnson is a horticulturist with the Galveston County
Extension Office of Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University. Visit his web site at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/index.htm

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