All spots in the 2025 Backyard Fruit Growers Project have been filled. Applications will reopen fall 2025 for the 2026 program.

 

The Backyard Fruit Growers, a project of the Berea Urban Farm, provides fruit trees and berry bushes along with education and training on planting and care to Berea households. Since its inception in 2015, this project has distributed hundreds of trees, shrubs and pollinator-friendly perennial flowers at no- or low-cost with the goal of enhancing local food security and community health and nutrition.

 

For the next installment of the Backyard Fruit Growers, the BUF is partnering with Peaceful Heritage Nursery, Stanford KY, to provide Berea households with high-quality fruit trees, berry bushes, and cane fruits for planting in Spring 2025.

 

We can only accept 25 households into the program this year.

 

The project will provide approved households with free fruit trees, berry bushes, and cane fruits from Peaceful Heritage. This year we have limited choices to Peaceful Heritage’s top 10 fruit plant species for Berea’s conditions. You choose one of the 10 species, and the number of plants you receive is listed next to the species name.

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A participating household selects one of the 10 species, and which variety of the species they prefer from those available at https://peacefulheritage.com/​

  1) Asian Pear, 1 plant

  2) Blackberry, 10-plant bundle

  3) Red Raspberry, 10-plant bundle

  4) Black Raspberry, 10-plant bundle

  5) Honeyberry, 3 plants

  6) Mulberry, 2 plants, Must be a USDA zone 6 mulberry only.

  7) Pawpaw, 1 plant, Ultra Select Seedling only, no grafted trees.

  8) Gooseberry, 3 plants

  9) Currant, 3 plants

10) Aronia, 3 plants

 

​Notes

• Any variety shown on the website may be selected. Ignore the “Sold Out” notices.

• You choose only one variety for your species. For example, if you choose honeyberry, you will receive 3 plants, but they must all be the same variety.

• Peaceful Heritage may make substitutions for varieties out of stock.

• The website is for information only. You tell the Berea Urban Farm your selection and we place a combined order. Do not place your own order on the website.

• You will pick up your plants next spring, at the Berea Urban Farm, probably in April. We will notify you when a date is set.

 

**To receive free plants from the Backyard Fruit Growers Project, someone from your household must attend a workshop on successfully planting and growing the 10 species:

 

Monday, December 2

6:30 to 7:30pm

Madison County Library – Berea

319 Chestnut Street, Berea KY