Mini Pomegranate Tree

Fresh fruit for picking, just steps out back door

"I started gardening for fun and for food," says Krop, who works at The Mariners' Museum .

"I believe the flavor of homegrown fruits trumps the flavor of store-bought fruits because I can grow varieties bred for flavor rather than for their ability to be shipped across country or overseas.

"Knowing what goes into my food is another distinct advantage. I can control the types of fertilizers and pesticides I use, and growing fruits organically is not as hard as you might imagine."

To turn his 30-by-70-foot back yard into a mini fruit stand, Krop first removed most of the grass and put down three thick layers of weed-smothering cardboard and several inches of mulch he gets from the city's composting facility. After realizing his back yard becomes a shallow pond after heavy rains, he turned the center portion into raised beds built with 2-by-8-inch untreated lumber. Those beds are used primarily for seasonal crops like peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers during warm weather and greens during cooler times. In October, he plants garlic that he harvests in March.

Figs are his passion, so he cultivates several varieties including Peter's Honey, Celeste, Violette de Bordeaux and Strawberry Verte growing against a white privacy fence that encompasses his yard, or in pots. He maintains them as multi-stemmed shrubs rather than tall trees because it's easier to harvest the fruit and the plants bounce back better after a very cold winter. One of his focal specimens is a Celeste fig espaliered for the second year on the two sides of a backyard storage building. The fig is planted at the corner, and grows horizontally in each direction; Krop selected the strongest shoots about 9 inches apart and encouraged them to grow vertically.

"Figs have lush foliage and are drought tolerant when established," says Krop.

"They will not ripen off the tree, so harvest them at peak ripeness and store them in the fridge. Eat them fresh, wrap them in prosciutto and throw them on the grill, or make fig jam. Fresh figs are a thousand times better than dried figs, so don't be afraid to grow them in your yard."

Raspberries, blackberries, peaches and pomegranates grow along the fence on the opposite side of the yard. Fall Gold, Kiwi Gold and Heritage Red are his favorite raspberries; blackberries include Ouachita, Arapaho and Triple Crown .

Inside Roro's Head: Pomegranate Sugar Lip Scrub

For the ingredients all you need is sugar and Extra virgin olive oil. You can use any fruit to flavor and color your Lip Scrub. I chose pomegranate so I used a teaspoon of fresh juice from a pomegranate from my pomegranate tree. Just mix all 3 ingredients together with a mini spoon and you have the best lip scrub! I keep mine in the shower and extra in the fridge that I keep for a few weeks.

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