Slow fruit yields early pickings

SLOW Food Australia’s Slow fruit campaign to map and photograph heritage fruit and nut trees at risk of loss has yielded some early pickings within 48 hours of being launched. An email from Slow Food Southern Forests – in the deep south-west of Western Australia – reveals that a long-established farming family has responded today to our Picking slow fruit campaign via convivium leader Sophie Zalokar, advising that the current generation has just taken cuttings from a fig planted on an old summer grazing lease in the 1870s. The tree is still fruiting. Also from nearby Manjimup – one of Western Australia’s historic orchard districts – Slow Food Southern Forests’ member Steff Carstairs says she has recently acquired some heritage apple cuttings and propagated these to ensure longevity. ABC Radio Mount Gambier in South Australia will air an interview about Picking slow fruit on Wed 04 Nov at about 10:30am local time. Major eastern Australian newspapers The Age, Melbourne, and The Sydney Morning Herald have flagged interest in stories about the campaign.

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• Picking slow fruit