Native or Wild Southern Fruits as Small-Scale Crops

While many fruit or nut trees are “weed trees”, domesticated varieties gone wild, or scrubby native plants, their value to farmers or backyard gardeners is measured in terms of additional produce for harvest. Small-scale harvests may not yield enough fruit to provide a living, but their produce can supplement personal harvests or roadside stand profits.

Additional efforts by gardeners to cultivate these crops include some forms of pest control, dormant sprays, irrigation, or pruning to aid these seemingly-free (or seemingly maintenance-free) fruits. Common varieties found “running wild” in southern states include peaches, walnuts, and berries.

“Indian Blood” Wild Peach

With trees found in woods, abandoned orchards, and along roadsides of Southern farming communities, the once-domesticated “Indian Blood” peach and other varieties are found scattered across the countryside. Although prey to occasional nests of tent worms, these wild trees often possess a tough resistance to pest and disease factors and hot summer temperatures.

Farmers willing to provide irrigation during the hottest months and remove nests of tent worms during the early spring months may be rewarded with a modest crop of peaches in exchange. The wild peach’s quality is good enough for pies, preserves, and personal consumption, although some growers harvest them for sale at farmer’s markets or summer produce stands.

Black Walnuts

The black walnut is a common sight across the South, along forest boundaries or old homestead sites. Its seedlings have spread through the woods and open spaces of rural regions, prompting many farmers, gardeners, and locals to collect their nuts for roadside sales or cash crops during the autumn harvest.

Although its thick shell and smaller kernel makes it less desirable than its English counterpart, the black walnut is a hardy, drought-resistant choice that requires minimal maintenance for survival. The flavor is strong and somewhat bitter in comparison to English varieties, but the nuts are a popular choice for bread recipes, baked goods, and flavored ice cream.

Wild Plums

Sweet and small, wild plums are some of the most common wild fruits found in the South, growing rampant in rural regions in Arkansas and Oklahoma. There are a variety of wild trees which range in size, fruit quality, and color, with descendants populating the surrounding area from abandoned fruit tones.

The fruit possesses an appealing flavor and grows in plentiful supply, but gardeners interested in harvesting plums will be forced to apply dormant spray and take other anti-pest measures to prevent the populations of worms which tend to prey on the fruit. The trees are tolerant of both heat and drought, however, as well as disease-resistant in nature.

Scuppernongs or Golden Muscadines

Typically introduced as a domestic variety, scuppernongs are a muscadine fruit whose hardiness and proclivity for rooting new vines allows it to spread quickly from vineyard rows to fences, trees, and nearby shrubs and woodlands. Sweet in quality and golden in appearance, the vines are hardy, productive, and pest-resistant compared to domestic grapes and dark muscadine varieties.

Pruning vines before budding and providing basic irrigation during the hottest months can yield a sizeable crop with only a few vines. Gardeners transform their harvest into jellies, juice, frozen fruit, or extra pocket money through fruit sales at farmer’s market and produce stands.

Extra produce for the freezer or pantry is beneficial in light of tighter economic times and small grocery budgets. Backyard gardeners and farmers may find wild fruits and nuts an overlooked crop for personal food stores or modest profits.