{"title":"Philadelphia Orchard Project","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Philadelphia Orchard Project was founded in 2007 with a mission to plant and support community orchards in the city of Philadelphia, improving access to nutritious food and creating beautiful and bountiful green spaces. Orchards, primarily located in low-wealth neighborhoods, are owned, maintained, and harvested by the community. POP orchards contain a variety of fruit and nut trees, berry bushes and vines, herbs, pollinator gardens, and other useful and edible perennials. Follow POP on Facebook @PhiladelphiaOrchardProject, or on Instagram and Twitter @phillyorchards.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2020, POP staff and volunteers established the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.phillyorchards.org\/pop-learning-orchard\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePOP Learning Orchard at The Woodlands\u003c\/a\u003e and other infrastructure at POP’s new headquarters. Through weekly work days held from spring through fall, a small team of POP staff, interns, and dedicated Lead Orchard Volunteers helped plant, maintain, harvest, and distribute produce from this new one-acre orchard space. Over the course of the year, the Learning Orchard team helped to plant 90 fruit and nut trees; 156 berry bushes, shrubs and fruiting vines; and 410 perennial flowers and herbs. The orchard contains both native and heirloom plants, restoring a small piece of the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/b1ad8dbca2e04f73b8cf31e86056be90\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehistoric edible landscape\u003c\/a\u003e of both William Hamilton and earlier Lenni-Lenape land stewards. The space is designed for education, inspiration, and engagement with the environment and will serve as a vital education hub for sharing best practices in ecological orchard care with POP community partners, volunteers, and the general public. The POP Learning Orchard will also serve a vital function as a space to try out new plants and techniques and train new interns, apprentices, and volunteers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGiven the economic impact of the pandemic and heightened community need for emergency food access, POP quickly shifted spring plans to focus on growing as many vegetables for donation as possible which would be ready for harvest this year. The Learning Orchard team interplanted a wide variety of annual crops between the young fruit trees and berry bushes; the trees will take some years to mature, while the berry bushes should start producing fruit next year, but the immense need demanded a quicker response. Despite numerous growing challenges from deer to squirrels to vine borers, the team grew and donated over 1400 pounds of fresh produce to families in need via local distribution partners \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/West-Philly-Food-Not-Bombs-221895184606526\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eFood Not Bombs\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bunnyhopphl.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBunnyhop\u003c\/a\u003e. In addition to produce grown for donation, POP collaborated with True Love Seeds in growing and saving heirloom seed varieties.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWebsite: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.phillyorchards.org\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ewww.phillyorchards.org\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFacebook: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PhillyOrchards\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e@PhiladelphiaOrchardProject\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInstagram: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/phillyorchards\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e@phillyorchards\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwitter: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/phillyorchards\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e@phillyorchards\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"SGSpiceGallery\" id=\"SGSpiceGallery10153\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"cossack-pineapple-ground-cherry","title":"Cossack Pineapple Ground Cherry","description":"\u003cp\u003eSweet, pineapple-flavored, lemon-colored ground cherries on short plants (12-18\"). Ground cherries are sweet cousins to tomatoes and tomatillos. Kids of all ages love finding tiny wrapped packages and eating the yellow fruits like candy right in the garden, or several weeks later in fruit salad or over ice cream, as they store well in their husks. Naturally high in pectin, they make great preserves and pies as well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDays to maturity:\u003c\/strong\u003e 60\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeeds per pack:\u003c\/strong\u003e 100\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGermination rate:\u003c\/strong\u003e 97% on 06\/25\/2026\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003ePlanting \/ harvesting notes\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSow indoors 1\/4\" deep around 6 weeks before the last frost date. Germination can take as long as 20 days, but can be sooner if set on a heat mat with a temperature between 75 and 80 degrees F. Transplant in the garden in rows about every 18\"-24\". Plants will form blousy bushes like tomatillos. Keep well weeded until they fill in the space in order to best find the fallen fruits later in the season; some growers put down weed barriers (plastic, cloth, or newspaper) under the plants to prevent those weeds and more easily see the fallen fruits. Harvest when the husks turn brown and the fruits are yellow. For winter use, store the fruits unhusked in a dry, airy place (like a basket). To eat, remove the husk and eat the yellow fruit raw or bake in pies or stew with sugar for jam.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNote: Unripe, green ground cherries and their leaves and husks are bitter and toxic. Do not eat!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eSeed keeping notes\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGround cherries are self-pollinating, but different varieties of the \u003cem\u003eP. pruinosa\u003c\/em\u003e should be isolated by several hundred feet to prevent unwanted cross-pollination. Seeds are ready for harvest when fruit is ripe. A single fruit can have 100 seeds! You can remove seeds by hand, rinse, and dry. We use a blender on the lowest setting with plenty of water. When the fruits have been broken open, pour the mixture into a large container and add water. Allow the fruits to float and the seeds to sink. Pour off everything except the seed (you may have to add more water and repeat this process a few times) and then strain and rinse the seeds, and dry. However, you may never need to replant ground cherries after your first year - they tend to reseed themselves!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Philadelphia Orchard Project","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":21413684510800,"sku":"PHYS-004","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2406\/3467\/products\/image_330f1404-4752-4472-823b-ebe80023051b.jpg?v=1568697315"},{"product_id":"clemson-spineless-okra","title":"Clemson Spineless Okra","description":"\u003cp\u003eVigorous 3-5' plants produce plentiful, green, spineless pods, which are best harvested when tender at 3\" long.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis variety was an All-American Selection in 1939 and has been the most popular okra in production since. David Shields, known as the \"Flavor Saver\", is the chair of Slow Food’s Ark of Taste Committee for the American South. He writes: \"In 1988 agronomists estimated that 99% of the commercial produce crop of okra in the United States was the smooth skinned, green variety that Clemson released in 1937. If okra is the southern-most vegetable, then Clemson’s Spineless Okra is the most important, most iconic regional vegetable of the twentieth century.\" It originates from a very diverse landrace okra population grown by Thomas Davis in Lancaster, South Carolina. One line was selected by Clemson University first for its spinelessness, and selected towards the traits of the previous most popular okra, Perkin’s long pod, until its traits stabilized.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOriginally, okra is likely from West Africa, though some claim Ethiopia or South Asia as the origin. Many report that enslaved Africans hid okra seeds in their hair on the forced journey across the Atlantic. Certainly, this crop is a taste of home for people of the African Diaspora, and consequently, a taste of home for people of the Southern US in general.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDays to maturity:\u003c\/strong\u003e 50-65\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeeds per pack:\u003c\/strong\u003e 50-60\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGermination rate:\u003c\/strong\u003e 79% on 09\/16\/2025\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003ePlanting \/ harvesting notes\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSow seeds of this heat-loving plant indoors 2-3 weeks before transplanting, which should happen several weeks after the last frost, or when soil temperatures stay above 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Soak seeds overnight for quicker germination, and plant 3\/4\" deep. Space 18\" in rows 12-18\" apart. Beds should be at least 3' apart as plants tend to bush out widely. Okra likes fertile, well-drained soil with added compost.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eSeed keeping notes\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOkra is insect pollinated. Isolate different okra varieties by at least 1\/8th of a mile (or up to 1\/2 mile if you are truly concerned about seed purity) to avoid unwanted cross pollination. Allow pods to grow large and turn brown and woody (your neighbors may look at you funny). When you can hear the seeds rattle, harvest the pod and allow it to dry further on trays in the sun in a dry place. Remove seeds and use breath, wind, or fans to remove bits of chaff.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Philadelphia Orchard Project","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":21478262046800,"sku":"OKRA-004","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2406\/3467\/products\/IMG_7576.JPG?v=1639431407"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2406\/3467\/collections\/POP_logo.jpg?v=1613077015","url":"https:\/\/trueloveseeds.sbs\/collections\/philadelphia-orchard-project.oembed","provider":"Truelove Seeds","version":"1.0","type":"link"}