So you need food to eat in your forest garden, and you are growing all the regulars – apple, pear, citrus, fig, and so on.
Then your shrub level (using Patrick Whitefield’s 3 level arrangements as per his How to Make a Forest Garden), is hard at work. All those empty spaces are getting filled with berries, pepino, herbs, globe artichoke. But there is fruit from a plant that you might have seen but never tried – Fuchsia!
I was reading a great book by Mark Diacono named Taste of the Unexpected, and in this he mentions fuchsia as an edible option.
From page 81 of the 2010 hard copy:
Mini-batons, up to 6cm long, develop from the flowers, typically turning from green through reds to a deep purple. They may not be huge, but their flavour is so very special, with suggestions of kiwi, plum and sweet grapes, as well as a gentle edge of pepper that comes along near the end.
Buy or grow from cuttings One of the best things about fuchsia is that they take from a cutting very easily. So my advice here is to look be on the lookout for a plant with good sized flowers (which indicates the size of the fruit), and take a few pieces from it.
The general process for a fuchsia cutting is:
- Cut a section just below a leaf node
- Leave one flower and remove the bottom half of leaves
- Dip stem into hormone powder or gel (an option not essential)
- Push into some gravely mix and add water
- Keep the pot out of direct sunlight and keep the soil moist
Or you could buy some already established plants – it will be a heap quicker, but all up to you. This is a great example of the fuchsia shrub, sitting in filtered sunlight at the base of a Camellia.
The fruits are just waiting to be taken.
And here we go with the ripe fruit. Ready when soft to touch – remove and eat! Or turn into jam.
I am request permission to use some of your articles in my book the history of food to help this and the next generation to live healthier lives.
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Sure Paul, which articles?
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Amazing. I bought two fushia plants this week, and it would never have occurred to me that the fruits would be edible. Thanks 🙂
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Well thank you for writing in. I was the same, but read it in the book and very quickly started to notice those little berry fruits.
Are you growing them in pots or in the ground proper?
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Really, really interesting; as hard as I look I still miss so much in the garden. Great post…
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Thanks Charlie. Isn’t that one of the best things about the garden? No matter how many time I stare at the same patch of ground, there is always something new to see going on. Might need to wait a while to see it but that is half the fun 😉
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Interesting. I love fuschias, but have never even thought of eating that fleshy bit.
Might pop over and see your chooks at some stage. It’s been ages since the group got together. I miss it.
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That would be great – made a few changes since you were here last and would be good to compare notes. A Sunday morning perhaps?
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