Uncommon Fruit

This website is meant to help growers select plants for an integrated cropping system that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. Dale Secher of Carandale Farm shares information about perennial fruiting plant species, many of which are unknown, little known or overlooked as potential food crops. Specifically, Dale shares his observations and knowledge of using fruits in an integrated system, benefitting both the environment and the grower’s bottom line. Dale also shares a vision about how these uncommon fruit crops could support an alternative local and regional marketing system with a smaller environmental footprint. This website should be useful for hobbyists, backyard gardeners, nutritionists, environmentalists and commercial fruit growers.

Most of the information provided on this website is based on experiences and observations, supplemented by other literature. The site is not intended to be comprehensive, but rather to serve as a repository for additional information provided by other contributors. Each fruit is identified by its scientific and common names followed by a brief summary of cultural information, economic considerations and its potential ecological benefit in an integrated cropping system. This is followed by more detailed information about history, background, observations in the test plot, and a general discussion.

This project was made possible by an Agricultural Development and Diversification grant from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). This site is hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS).