# Fruit tree map



## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

What a wonderful creative resource! Enter in an address or a zip code, and it will pull up a map with fruit trees. I was pleased to find my neighborhood accurately depicted.


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## Genevieve (Sep 21, 2009)

lol nothing in my area. figures


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

You need to be careful with this. I noticed that most of the trees marked in my area are on private property. I also noticed that some are even commercial groves and orchards that people are raiding.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

Nothing in my area, so I plugged in my son's info in Columbus. No fruit trees listed, but lots of dumpsters! They even had notes on each one as to when the employees leave at night, so you know when it's safe to go dumpster diving! :lolsmash:


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## ContinualHarvest (Feb 19, 2012)

There are a couple in my area. One is an organic market that gives the "last leg" produce away at the end of the day.


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## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

It's not that there aren't any trees ... the intention is that the locals in a given area will contribute their own info. So I'm sure it just means that people haven't added to it yet. It's a relatively new thing.

And yes, I noticed the private property issue too. I think it's an individual thing - some people will be happy to share, and some won't. Many trees will be planted right along the sidewalk so it won't be an issue. It's also a cultural thing - in my city we even have formal gleaners clubs that people can contact to invite foragers in.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

notyermomma said:


> It's not that there aren't any trees ... the intention is that the locals in a given area will contribute their own info. So I'm sure it just means that people haven't added to it yet. It's a relatively new thing.
> 
> And yes, I noticed the private property issue too. I think it's an individual thing - some people will be happy to share, and some won't. Many trees will be planted right along the sidewalk so it won't be an issue. It's also a cultural thing - in my city we even have formal gleaners clubs that people can contact to invite foragers in.


Here people are listing commercial orchards! Those trees are a source of income for someone and their family. They shouldn't be worried about freegan hippie types raiding their lively hood.

Yes, I reported those listings as I know for a fact the owners don't want their fruit/nuts/veggies taken by a cheapskate.


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

I put in my zip code.
It found one walnut tree about 7 miles away and it's the only thing listed for about 30 miles. Also has this note:
_This source is on private property but may overhang public land. Please pick with discretion._

It appears the bulk of the listings are in urban areas.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

I noticed that MY peach tree is not listed, but I came home from work a couple years ago to find it stripped of 100s of peaches. 

What to do? Guard it with a shotgun? Would a sign actually draw more attention to it?

Sign options I have considered:

1. Please do not pick all my peaches. You may have one or two.

2. Touch my peaches and I'll report you.

3. You are being filmed. If you steal my peaches, I'll report you.

4. These are my peaches, not yours. If you want peaches, plant your own tree.

5. If you pick my peaches you are stealing. Stealing is punishable by law. Pick my peaches and I will have you prosecuted.

The funny thing about the peach theft is a story I have told many times. A few days later, I was out in my yard and a woman pulls up in the alley by my house and starts a conversation something like this, 

"You know how you told my brother he could have your peaches?" 

"No, I didn't tell anyone that they could have my peaches." 

"You know, my brother? You told him he could have your peaches?" 

"No, I didn't give anyone permission to pick my peaches." 

"You know, Tim? He is my brother. You told him he could pick your peaches." 

"No, I don't know anyone named Tim. I never told him he could pick my peaches. He stole them from my tree without my permission."

She steps on the gas and sped down the alley. Her lying, thief of a brother, Tim, stole my peaches and she was going to tell me how delicious they were, because they are absolutely some of the most delicious peaches you will ever eat. He stole them and then lied about it.

Thieves are liars. Stealing and lying go hand in hand. He probably took them and tried to sell them as well.

My recommendation is this: If there is a tree with fruit on it, get permission before you pick any, or especially before you strip it clean.

Don't be a thief.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

ZoomZoom said:


> I put in my zip code.
> It found one walnut tree about 7 miles away and it's the only thing listed for about 30 miles. Also has this note:
> _This source is on private property but may overhang public land. Please pick with discretion._
> 
> It appears the bulk of the listings are in urban areas.


I noticed the more apartment complexes in an area the more listings for "free" fruit and nuts coming from over hanging trees. Thank goodness we now live in a farming community with only 2 apartment complexes- both are senior living and have their own fruit trees. Also everyone here has their own trees and share with each other for the fruit they don't grow themselves.

The town even has a market day where everyone brings their 'excess' harvest to sell and/or share with others. Personally I'd can the excess.

Aside from the personal trees everyone has we are surrounded by commercial orchards and groves. Most of the state's fruit comes from this area. In the last year I have noticed more of the commercial growers building fences around their land. This 'freegan' crap may be the reason.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

weedygarden said:


> I noticed that MY peach tree is not listed, but I came home from work a couple years ago to find it stripped of 100s of peaches.
> 
> What to do? Guard it with a shotgun? Would a sign actually draw more attention to it?
> 
> ...


I did notice a few listings for trees and herbs growing in public parks. I have no issues with harvesting from these in moderation so others can enjoy them too.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

Grimm said:


> I did notice a few listings for trees and herbs growing in public parks. I have no issues with harvesting from these in moderation so others can enjoy them too.


I totally agree. The HUGE park a few blocks from my house has several cherry trees that I have picked cherries from. If someone doesn't pick these, they are a waste.

In a SHTF situation, things will change. I expect there will be much more stealing and pilfering. I think it is a good idea to know where stuff grows around you that you could pick, if a property becomes vacant, burned out, or unlivable for one reason or another.

We know there are people who think if it grows, they see it, they want it, they will take it. Of course, these same people will take anything they see and like.

I have a very shaded back yard, so growing a garden there has been a joke and a struggle. I now plant in my front yard. I had 6 cantaloupe growing there one year. Guess how many I got to pick and eat? Zero!

I have a chain link fence around my yard that I grow various climbing vegetable on, like cukes, pole beans and peas. Those are much less likely to be pilfered, and if they are, not as noticeable. I did come home one day and there was a woman picking green beans. I didn't say a word, I just stopped my car, rolled down my window and watched her. She heard my car running after a little bit and walked away. I should have gotten out and taken her photo.

Some people have no filter for what is okay to take and not.


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## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

Makes me think about contacting a few of the local municipalities and discuss planting a couple of my extra fruit trees in local parks.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

weedygarden said:


> I totally agree. The HUGE park a few blocks from my house has several cherry trees that I have picked cherries from. If someone doesn't pick these, they are a waste.
> 
> In a SHTF situation, things will change. I expect there will be much more stealing and pilfering. I think it is a good idea to know where stuff grows around you that you could pick, if a property becomes vacant, burned out, or unlivable for one reason or another.
> 
> ...


When we rented a house in Bellflower the front yard and back were full of fruit trees. The neighbors had fruit tres as well so there was less stealing by the neighbors but I would find a few kids and 'latin nannies' inside the fence in the front yard robbing the trees. I'd yell and scream since I was right there in the house the whole time and they'd run for the hills.

Once I had a kid ask if they could have some of the persimmons from the tree. I said yes and asked how many they wanted. The little girl asked her nanny and was told 3. I picked and gave her a sack full since we didn't eat them.

When I was was pruning the pomegranate tree in the back it was over loaded with fruit. I put up an ad on CL for free pomegranates just bring your own box or bag. Lots of responses but only one woman brought her own bags. She left with all the fruit I was not going to use.

Another time I found some guy in the front yard picking figs off the tree. I had been waiting all season for them to ripen so I could candy them. He took every last one and tried to tell the cops when I called them the tree was in a vacant lot (the front yard was sectioned into 2 halves- one serving as a dog run where the tree was. Since he had the fruit and I had to prove it came from my tree the guy walked off with all my figs!

I could go on with stories of jerks thinking they have the right to take the sweat from my brow.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

Grimm said:


> When we rented a house in Bellflower the front yard and back were full of fruit trees. The neighbors had fruit tres as well so there was less stealing by the neighbors but I would find a few kids and 'latin nannies' inside the fence in the front yard robbing the trees. I'd yell and scream since I was right there in the house the whole time and they'd run for the hills.
> 
> Once I had a kid ask if they could have some of the persimmons from the tree. I said yes and asked how many they wanted. The little girl asked her nanny and was told 3. I picked and gave her a sack full since we didn't eat them.
> 
> ...


I really do not like stealing and thieves. We know that in a SHTF, these entitled people will be even more aggressive.


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

My sign would read something like:

"My dog doesn't like people. My dog hates people near our fruit trees. Trying to pick the fruit is at your own risk".


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

Only fruit trees in my area is on the other side of a good size city. 

Steeling fruit reminds me of and incident at work. A High School kid mowed our yards and took pride in cleaning out and caring for a neglected flower garden. The rose bush couldn't keep a bloom for longer then a day before disappearing. Turns are a coworker was picking the roses and giving them to his secretary.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

TheLazyL said:


> Only fruit trees in my area is on the other side of a good size city.
> 
> Steeling fruit reminds me of and incident at work. A High School kid mowed our yards and took pride in cleaning out and caring for a neglected flower garden. The rose bush couldn't keep a bloom for longer then a day before disappearing. Turns are a coworker was picking the roses and giving them to his secretary.


Makes you wonder if he was being an appreciative boss or much more sinful...!
:eyebulge:


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## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

Grimm said:


> Here people are listing commercial orchards! Those trees are a source of income for someone and their family. They shouldn't be worried about freegan hippie types raiding their lively hood.
> 
> Yes, I reported those listings as I know for a fact the owners don't want their fruit/nuts/veggies taken by a cheapskate.


That is unfortunate. I would have reported it too.

Speaking as an occasional freegan myself, I can tell you that freegans _hate _thieves. Freegans take things that are either clearly unwanted by anyone else (which is to say, already dumped as trash by the original owners,) or explicitly offered for free. If it's not a castoff it isn't free. Theft by definition is not freegan.

I think that if something is deliberately planted in a public space like a park it's fair game, although I'd be concerned about pollution. I used to live in a neighborhood with lots of original Victorian architecture. I loved foraging and gardening ... until the day one of my neighbors told me that most of the soil tested positive for lead and asbestos. Both were the "harmless" hot new construction technologies in 1890. I uprooted all my veggies and trashed them, and only planted flowers after that. *sigh*

Now I live a couple miles from light industry. I have mountains of blackberry bushes right outside my window, but I go to a different neighborhood to forage. Foraging and self-sufficiency are great, but potentially contaminated food defeats the purpose. There's nothing wrong with being careful.


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## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

Grimm said:


> Another time I found some guy in the front yard picking figs off the tree. I had been waiting all season for them to ripen so I could candy them. He took every last one and tried to tell the cops when I called them the tree was in a vacant lot (the front yard was sectioned into 2 halves- one serving as a dog run where the tree was. Since he had the fruit and I had to prove it came from my tree the guy walked off with all my figs!


True story. My family lived in Cairo in the early 60s, and their house had a mango tree in the front yard. They realized that there was no competing with all the neighborhood kids, so they sold the rights to the produce to a local farmer. He got all the mangoes, other than what they picked for breakfast every morning. The farmer guarded his investment by sitting quietly in chair in their yard all summer. Nice guy! And the family had their peace and quiet all summer.


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## VoorTrekker (Oct 7, 2012)

The map has some non-existent trees in my area. 
In San Jose where there are umpteen olive trees, certain non documented people bump the trees with a car and all of the olives fall onto drop clothes. (While everyone was at work.) Nothing left for the neighborhood. 

I found two walnut trees roadside in Sunnyvale and would pick a few shopping bags once a year. The undocumented found it and stripped it in a day, all the unripe not ready walnuts and blossoms too. Eventually, this hazard was addressed by the authorities by felling the tree for firewood.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

weedygarden said:


> In a SHTF situation, things will change. I expect there will be much more stealing and pilfering. I think it is a good idea to know where stuff grows around you that you could pick, if a property becomes vacant, burned out, or unlivable for one reason or another.


They'll take the entire tree....

Selco (in Bosnia in the 1990′s) tells of anything that would or could burn was taken:


> After three months rumors started about first deaths from starvation,deaths from low temperatures, we stripped every door , window frame from abandoned houses for heating, i burned all my own furniture for heating, lot of people died from diseases, mostly from bad water





> Yes we had some trees in my city, parks, fruit trees, but most of the city is "building and houses" but believe me all trees in the city is going to be burned very fast when you don't have electricity for cooking and heating. After that all what you have is furniture, doors, wooden floors&#8230; (and believe me that stuff is burning too fast)


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## cqp33 (Apr 2, 2012)

I found this pretty useless, nothing for 70 miles. Which is good.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

cqp33 said:


> I found this pretty useless, nothing for 70 miles. Which is good.


Yeah, that's what I was thinking, too.

Our orchard is in front, about 300 ft from the house. It's not producing yet (other than a few apples last year), but when it does, we will be vulnerable, as the orchard is closer to the road (about 200 ft). We put it where it would get enough sunshine (back of the house is woods), but I'm wishing now that we'd made it less orchard-like and more hidden-edible-landscaping-like. With each passing year I'm seeing how more and more people have no respect for private property. I could never imagine taking someone's fruit (or anything else), but there are plenty of people who think that way - and we haven't entered really hungry times yet, either.


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## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

We had an empty lot in our town that had mature apple trees. The owner encouraged people to pick them or to pick up the drops. About two years ago a bank was built on the lot, and even though the trees were located in what now is a green space behind the bank, they were cut down and grass rolled out over the spot. 

:gaah:


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

We live in an area with low population and thousands of roadside fruit trees, apple, peach, plum and quince are the most common. Some years we get some, some years we miss out. If the fruit gets too old and no one has picked it we pick some for the pigs, hundreds of lbs of fruit. It's never great (except the plums) as our summers are dry and calcium deficiency is common. 

It does amaze me how many people think that anything found 'just growing' some where is free, even in peoples yards. Apparently it has no value or ownership unless it's in a store or has a price tag on it. Back when I ran a retail/wholesale plant nursery and had an open garden it was common to find people stealing 'cuttings' from the garden. I had those plants potted and for sale but their reasoning was that 'it wouldn't hurt'. Some even had labels and damp paper to slip the plant cuttings into. Most were not the least guilty when caught, they'd just swear at me and tell me they will never come to my nursery again. They honestly thought that would upset me :laugh:


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

People are often greedy and selfish. I have to say that I do not like this site and I believe it encourages stealing. I have a neighbor that has an apple tree that is listed. She never picks her apples. They lay on the ground, and all over the sidewalk. The raccoons and squirrels eat them. Someone told me there are people who come with bags and pick her apples.

The peach tree in my yard is a Redhaven Peach from Stark Bros., on sale right now for $12.99 each. It produces juicy, delicious peaches and is a dwarf. It produced 100s of peaches the year after I planted it. The neighbors wanted to know what I did to get that tree to produce that many peaches so young. 

I also have a pear tree that is also a dwarf. Both are accessible to people walking by, but the pear is harder to reach. 

Honestly, I would not care if someone took a peach or two. Picking the tree clean was just shocking to me. I couldn't imagine that someone would think they had the right to do that. 

There are no peaches this year, due to late storms, but trust me, in the future, if there are peaches, I am going to guard from the window, watching in a stealth like fashion. 

The peach tree has peach pits laying on the ground under it. I keep picking them up, but there is mulch under the tree, so sometimes I just don't see them. This year there are 2 small peach trees sprouted and growing close. One is 4 inches, the other is 2 inches tall.

I know that these trees may never produce the same quality peach that my tree does, but I am going to transplant them in my back yard where they are not as noticeable to people passing by. I know I can graft a branch from my original tree onto the root stock of these two seedlings when they are larger.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

They have figs in my area, but they are donated by USC 7 to small to bear fruit.


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