EcoBeneficial Interview: Edible Native Plants with Russ Cohen

[@tadblackington1676]

Great interview. Any bit of our own needs we can meet at home can help spare a bit of land far away. And the fuel needed to move it. One native that wasn't mentioned was aronia. Black chokeberries are a beautiful and easy fruiting shrub. Beyond that not all exotics are created equal, apples are great for wildlife on a number of counts. One of my favorites is Dolgo crabapple. Its intense little fruit makes great jelly and juice. Its fragrant flowers attracts a good number of pollinators. Its leaves support a good variety of professor Tallamy's caterpillars and any fruit that we don't pick has a tendancy to hang on throughout the winter and the birds love them.

[@EileenHagerman]

There are a few species of crabapple native to North America. The one native to eastern North America is Malus coronaria, I believe. 😊

[@tadblackington1676]

@@EileenHagerman You are absolutely right. There are a few North American species of apples. I'm a big fan of Dolgo because it really does do a good job both producing fruit and providing wildlife habitat but if you could certainly use a strictly nearctic apple instead. Go for it and garden with love.

[@EileenHagerman]

Great interview. Russ Cohen is awesome! If you're interested in expanding on this topic, check out Indigenous Landscapes. They have a KZbin channel, and they just put out a book on Native Plant Agriculture. 😊

[@adiposerex5150]

Elderberry bush has edible fruit also.

[@tadblackington1676]

Elderberries have a couple neat features. They cope with wetter soil than most other fruit trees/shrubs (aronia is in the same league). It plays very well with other fruit trees because it supports a species of aphids that is exclusive to it. These aphids can help support a population of hoverflies. The larval stage is a voracious predator of aphids on apples as well as elderberries. Then adult hoverflies useful pollinators. Elderberries also have those pithy stems that stem-boring bees like. And I just wouldn't want to face cold/flu season without a stach of syrup or tincture.

[@susannastephens1177]

Looking for sources to buy organic healthy crops