Common Types

• Wild blueberry
• Crab apple
• Bramble berry
• Grapes
• Elderberry
• Cranberry
• Mulberry
• Teaberry
• Gooseberry
• Mayapple
• Persimmon
• Paw paw

Harvesting

Forest collection of fruits and berries is a traditional activity for some rural households and provides a nutritious and tasty source of food for the household.

Marketing

Soil and climate favor these fruits and berries which could be cultivated on a larger scale without pesticides or herbicides. Cultivated berries and fruits could be sold fresh, and local skills exist to can, freeze, and produce pies and jams.

Producing Methods

These products are consumed fresh, canned, frozen, and used to make pies and jams.

Opportunity

Cultivation of fruits & berries is a primising opportunity. Most bear within the first two or three years of planting.

Natural Resource

A nut is a seed embryo encased in a hard shell which contains high amounts of protein and fat to nourish the seedling plant in its initial stages of growth. Nuts have been an important source of food for many centuries in Appalachia.

Common Types

• Black walnut
• Pecan

Harvest

Most collection from the forest does not provide large enough quantities to make market sales possible and profitable. Marketed nuts are usually from cultivated trees.

Marketing

Marketed usually in specialized grocery stores, supermarkets, and health food stores.

Production Methods

Nuts can be sold shelled or unshelled. Processing opportunities include cleaning, drying, curing, bleaching, coloring, waxing, slicing, or slivering, roasting, freezing, and salting.

Blanching shelled nuts involves immersing them in scalding water for several minutes to remove the outer skin and make the nut lighter in color.

There are many processing possibilities. Recent consumption shows an increase in demand for raw nuts.

Opportunity

More data is needed on the cost/benefit ratio for environmentally sound cultivation of small family-owned, nut tree plantings.

Common Types

• Boletus
• Chanterelle
• Chicken of the woods
• Hedgehog
• Honey
• Matsuke
• Morel
• Oyster
• Shaggy manes
• Shiitake

Harvest

Mushrooms may be collected wild from the forest for home-use; or may be cultivated for income. Wild collection as a source of income risks depleting the resource. Wild collection requires great experience and skill in mushroom identification because some edible mushrooms are similar to poisonous species.

Log cultivation of mushrooms is being tried in Appalachia. Supplies of plug and sawdust spawn mushrooms are available, including: Shitake, Maitake, oyster and chicken of the woods. Cultivation workshops are also offered.

Production Methods

FRESH mushrooms simply need to be picked and clened. However, mushrooms are highly perishable, so quick and efficient marketing or refrigerated transport are required. Mushrooms can not be stored more than 24 hours at room temperature or one to two weeks at low temperature. (0°C)

CANNING mushrooms prevents spoilage and is a common method of processing.

A majority of the mushroom crop in the United States is processed for soup or FROZEN food products.

DRYING (dehydration) is the fastest growing mushroom market.

Marketing

Mushroom growing or collection as a business is dependent on efficient marketing. Mushroom quality degrades quickly after picking, and spoilage results.

Large crops maturing at one time require quick processing or marketing of a high volume of mushrooms.

Collectors or growers in rural areas must locate and travel to urban markets. Many devote as much time to marketing and transporting mushrooms as to production, and may drive long distances to customers.

Opportunity

Canning and dehydration and market expansion to North America and Europe would increase the opportunities for local growers and collectors to expand a sustainably harvested mushroom business.