Weird Al has a spoof of Michael Jackson's song "Beat It" called "Eat It". I knew of "Eat It" long before I had heard "Beat It". You can connect with Weird Al through my Twitter page or do a search in Twitter for @alyankovic
My friend, Dion, said "If I can't eat it, I pull it out of my yard". That includes shrubs and shade trees that don't produce tasty fruit. He and I spent several hours last Saturday grafting multiple varieties of cherries onto an established cherry tree. I commented that a crepe myrtle was shading the cherry and should be transplanted or pulled out. Dion said "If we can't eat it, pull it out". It wasn't even his yard. The crepe myrtle stayed-for now. I'm guessing once the cherries start producing, they will become a priority. Trees that produce edible fruit are mostly well known. Some not so well know are Avocado (Mexican types are the most cold hardy), Cornelian and Kousa Dogwoods, Jujube, Mayhaw, White and Persian Mulberries, Elderberry, Olives, Persimmons, Strawberry Tree and Loquat (there are hybrids that produce superior fruit to the seedlings). For an extensive list of deciduous fruit trees see: Dave Wilson Nursery Catalog Online
Here is a list of edible shrubs and vines for your yard:
Pineapple guava, strawberry guava, Natal Plum (caution: spiny thorns!), Artichoke, Paw paw, Ginger, Dwarf citrus, kiwi, passion fruit, dwarf purple fig, blueberries, cane berries like Oregon 1030 Everbearing Raspberries, Fruiting Quince, Currant, Gooseberry, Rosemary, sages, thymes, many more perennial herbs, Asparagus, Rhubarb (keep raw plants away from pets and children. Must be cooked to be edible), Grapes, Passion fruit vine (use only a hardy one), Aloe, Lemon grass,
If you have a greenhouse, you can have Lichee, Mango, Macadamia, tea, lemon guava, Vanilla Orchid, dwarf bananas like Ice Cream and Cavendish and many more varieties.
So, don't worry if you eat yourself out of house and home, because there's always they yard.
Healthy Gardening,
Ken Brizzi
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