District Forester Chris Mullins advises that the peak of fruit harvesting in Kansas is well underway by mid to late July – which means now is the time to harvest! Chris has been out gathering native sandhill plum with a local landowner to gather seed for the KFS conservation seedling program. Gathering local seed sources is an essential part of offering a genetic variety of plants that can tolerate harsh Kansas weather conditions.
When he isn’t assisting with seed collection, Chris provides guidance and assistance to landowners in south central Kansas on timber stand improvement, windbreaks, pollinator pockets, wildlife habitat, and many other topics!
Born-and-raised near Hutchinson, Kansas, Chris’ favorite tree and fruit comes from red mulberry. The fruit and leaves from the tree are high in protein. Red mulberry can also grow in many places where other high-value trees would not be likely to survive. Mulberries have long production season as well, with fruit often on the tress through August.
Chris spent time harvesting apricots earlier in the season as well but advises that they are highly susceptible to late frost damage. Blackberries are also in abundance this time of year. But forager be warned, the “cat like” thorns are likely to result in many cuts and scrapes.
Moving into the fall, persimmons will ripen in late fall – October and even into November. The unique flavor is nutty and favorite of deer (and bow hunters).
Paw paws are likely to be ripe or close to it in northeast Kansas along with fragrant sumac and rose hips.
Before heading to harvest, have a plan and recipe in mind. Knowing what you want to do with the fruit you harvest leaves fewer opportunities to waste the fruit. Base your harvest based on availability of fruit. In a good year, up to two-thirds of the fruit could be gathered without having negative impacts for the wildlife and insects that rely heavily on wild fruits for their diets.
Always ask for permission before harvesting on private land. There are also opportunities to harvest on public land – both at state parks and federal reservoirs. Always check with the managing office for local rules and regulations on harvesting from public lands.
Karen Blakeslee, extension associate with K-State Research and Extension, manages the Rapid Response Center and is one of the co-directors for the Value Added Food Lab. She has many years of experience on safe food preservation. She is a self-described “extension agent for extension agents” specializing in food safety.
She offers sage advice on how to safely preserve fruits and vegetables both wild and raised. As more and more people turn to home preservation, Karen warns that here has been a shortage of required preservation supplies and safe preservation knowledge for people new to the task. There is no shortage of misinformation online – be sure to always use recipes from a reputable resource like Research and Extension or the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
https://www.rrc.k-state.edu/preservation/index.html
https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/food-nutrition/jams-and-jellies-from-native-wild-fruits/fn-1423-jams-and-jellies-from-native-wild-fruits.pdf
https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/lawns-gardens-trees/the-windbreak-cookbook-featuring-fruits-of-prairie-forests/f1839.pdf
One pro tip Karen offers is to freeze fresh fruits individually on a cookie sheet before bagging for storage in the freezer. This will keep the fruit from turning into a single blob of frozen fruit.
