Homeowners who have planted fruit trees, even dwarf varieties, have learned that they can become very large. Columnar apple trees have all the fruit of a typically sized apple tree but grow straight up, reaching between 8 feet and 10 feet in height and less than 2 feet in width.

“More and more people are becoming interested in growing their own food but don’t have the space,” said Sam Benowitz, owner of Raintree Nursery in Morton, Wash. Columnar apples produce fruit on spurs along the main trunk or on short branches coming out of the main trunk.

“The three main varieties that are available now are Scarlet Sentinel, Golden Sentinel and North Pole, a red apple similar to Red Delicious,” explained Benowitz.

Columnar apple trees thrive in a full sun environment, in either large containers such as cut-down whiskey barrels or directly in the soil. The trees need very little maintenance, aside from watering the soil regularly and fertilizing annually.

Since columnar apples trees are not self-pollinating, you must plant two or more trees. Currently, only columnar apple trees are available. Columnar versions of several other types of fruit trees, including pears and peaches, are being developed.

Apartment dwellers and even people living on boats can have columnar apple trees. For information on purchasing columnar apple trees, visit Raintree Nursery at http://bit.ly/HymY9k.

Although the idea of hybrid fruit has been around for years, new breeds are constantly catching consumers eyes – be it the Pluot (a cross between a plum and an apricot), the Nectaplum (a cross between a nectarine and a plum) or a Peacotum (a blend of the peach, apricot and plum).

Chris Goodman, founder and owner of Zaiger Genetics South Africa, said cherry-plums are one of his company’s newest hybrids.

“It’s taken them years and years and years, but they’ve finally managed to cross a cherry with a plum,” said Goodman. “So you have cherry-plums, which are a product that look like a cherry but has a lot of plum blood in it, and then you have a plum-cherry, which looks like a plum but has a lot of cherry in it.”

Goodman said they use cross-pollination to develop the fruit blends.

“You decide on what pairings you want, so say a plum, and you take pollen from another variety, say an apricot, and you cross the two and you harvest the seed and then you germinate the seed and see what you end up with,” he explained.

The creation of a hybrid fruit is a drawn-out process, with a new combination making it to market once out of every 1,000 attempts, according to breeders and growers. And while consumer interest in hybrids is growing, this remains a niche market, making up just a fraction of the $21 billion in cash receipts fruit farmers earn each year. Goodman predicts demand for hybrids will continue to increase.

“The figures speak for themselves. The hybrid fruits are taking over because they have such superior taste and keeping qualities,” said Goodman. “If we are talking apricots and plums, I would say that hybrid fruits will become the norm,” he predicted.

In addition to corporate hybrid breeders, the university system is working to develop hybrid fruits. The University of Florida’s Institute of Agricultural Science is in the research phase of producing a hybrid called the lemorlime, which is a seedless blend of the lemon, lime and orange.

Highbush blueberries are perennial, long-lived, deciduous, woody shrubs. They belong to the family Ericaceae, which also includes such plants as cranberry, azalea, rhododendron and heather. Like the other ericaceous plants, blueberries thrive in acid soils and do best when pH is between 4 and 5. Cultivars require from 120 to 160 growing degree days to ripen fruit. Blueberry plants flower in spring, with flowers at the tip of canes and the tip of the cluster opening first. They are pollinated by bees.

Blueberries are grown in rows that are cultivated year-round to produce sweet and plump berries. When the berry is a deep blue color, the blueberries are carefully hand picked and rushed to nearby packing houses.

Although some processed blueberries are hand picked, most are mechanically harvested with specially designed harvesters. There are several types, but for the most part the concept is simple: a machine is driven or towed through the field and mechanical rods shake the plants to drop the blueberries into buckets or conveyors. The machines must go through the field at different times as all the fruit does not ripen at the same time. Bins of harvested blueberries are rushed to nearby processing plants where they are dedicated to different market channels.

Visit the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council online for more information: http://www.blueberrycouncil.org/.

Ken Patterson is the owner of Island Grove Farm, one of the oldest blueberry farms in Florida.

Blueberries, once thought of as a northern specialty, have made their way down south. And they are taking the market by storm, filling a niche that northern competitors haven’t been able to penetrate.

There’s been a big shift in the Florida blueberry industry in the past 30 years. Because of warmer temperatures than in mainstay blueberry regions like Michigan and New Jersey, Florida growers can harvest the fruit a lot earlier. By meeting consumer demand in March and April, when northern competitors can’t, Florida growers can help grocers keep blueberries stocked year-round.

Ken Patterson, owner of Island Grove Farm, one of the oldest blueberry farms in Florida, said he’s seen many changes in the industry since he began growing them in the 1980s.

“Florida blueberry growth was steady through the 1990s and early 2000s,” said Patterson, “But in the last 10 years, because of all the health benefits and the void in the market in April and May, they have really increased.”

In 2007, there was a little less than 8 million pounds of blueberries being produced in Florida. Last year that figure rose to 22 million.

While retail blueberries don’t come cheap (the national average price for a pint is $3.98), producing blueberries in Florida doesn’t come cheap, either. The average acre costs about $20,000 to plant.

According to Patterson, Florida soil doesn’t easily lend itself to growing blueberries. Also, since Florida blueberries bloom in January, they are more susceptible to freeze, which can wipe out an entire crop. Further, because of the heat, Florida blueberries need an expensive, sophisticated sprinkler system with a large amount of sustained water.

But, for Patterson it pays off. He’s been allowed to explore other venues for his blueberries, like blueberry wine and organic blueberries, which he thinks is the next biggest trend in the industry.

The figures below include fresh, frozen and processed types of each fruit or vegetable.

391 – Total pounds of vegetables Americans eat per year, on average.

257 – Total pounds of fruit Americans eat per year, on average.

113 – Pounds of potatoes Americans eat per year, on average.

48 – Pounds of apples Americans eat per year, on average.

25 – Pounds of bananas Americans eat per year, on average.

11 – Pounds of romaine/leaf lettuce Americans eat per year, on average.

10 – Pounds of carrots Americans eat per year, on average.

9 – Pounds of broccoli Americans eat per year, on average.

3 – Pounds of cherries Americans eat per year, on average.

Fresh Healthy Vending started in 2010 with a new idea – one that would transform the vending machine industry from the unhealthy reputation it had earned over the years. Now, with more than 1,500 machines placed in various locations around the U.S. and Canada, we have helped to revolutionize the industry, by offering machines stocked with all-healthy food options.

Our machines are found in a wide range of places, including schools, hospitals, office buildings and workout facilities. They are ideal anywhere people want convenient access to healthy drinks or foods on the go. Each machine is filled with healthy snack options including juice drinks, fresh fruits and vegetables, protein and granola bars, yogurt, and baked chips and crackers.

Our “top five” list of types of facilities (in random order) where consumers can find Fresh Healthy Vending machines appear below.

Military bases. Those in uniform are seeking out healthy snack options at Charleston Air Force Base, Camp Pendleton, Little Rock Air Force Base, McGuire Air Force Base, Miramar Marine Base and Fort Campbell Army Base. The Defense Department has made an overall commitment to our dedicated men and women in the service.

Corporations. Major companies and office complexes around the nation also want to honor the health of employees and have sought out Fresh Healthy Vending machines, including Apple, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., Tap Out, Cameco Corporation, Pacific Science Center, Advantage Rent A Car, New Frontier Media, Charles Schwab, Honda, Alcatel-Lucent, J.B. Hunt, Sony, Active Networks, Toni & Guy Salons and Tiffany & Co.

Hospitals. Several major hospitals and health-related companies offer healthy vending to employees, patients and visitors as an option, including Bon Secours Hospital, Pacific Life, GE Healthcare and St. Luke’s Hospital.

Hotels. Travelers seeking healthy on-the-go snacks will find such options at Hyatt Regency and Crowne Plaza Hotels.

Schools. Most notable is our nation’s dedication to curing the obesity epidemic. Following first lady Michelle Obama’s lead and commitment to our nation’s children and their health, schools at just about every level are offering healthy vending machines, including Harvard University, Boston Ballet, Paul Mitchell–The School, University of Southern California and University of California, San Diego and countless middle and high schools around the country.

Visit www.freshvending.com to learn more about securing a machine for your location or Fresh’s innovative initiatives.

Fruit and vegetable growers looking for markets for their products might want to consider The FruitGuys. This privately held family business buys produce directly from farmers, for next-day delivery.

Most FruitGuys customers are businesses seeking to provide healthy snack options at the office for employees. Several fruit box mixes are available for weekly delivery to offices around the U.S. The company also makes home deliveries of mixed fruit and vegetable boxes.

Providing fruit for employees can counteract unhealthy food found in worksite breakrooms or vending machines; keep employee morale high; reduce absenteeism and demonstrate a company’s commitment to health, according to The FruitGuys founder and CEO, Chris Mittelstaedt.

The company has four regional collection hubs. Fruit is gathered from farms in each region, sorted and hand-packed for delivery in sturdy, environmentally friendly paper crates.

“As we grow, we plan to open more hubs,” said Mittelstaedt. “Someday we would like to have a hub in every state. We work with as many local farmers as possible,” he said.

Buyers for the company look for small family farmers who are living on the land, farming 100 or fewer acres.

“We believe in supporting farms of this size,” Mittelstaedt said. “We’re very interested in organics and sustainable agriculture – that’s what drives the company.”

But, Mittelstaedt explained, the company buys fruit from both conventional and organic growers.

“We give customers different choices, both in price and variety of fruit,” he said.

The FruitGuys is always looking for unique crops or “old-school” fruit varieties, such as Arkansas Black or Pink Pearl apples. Pink Pearls are renowned for tart flavor and pink flesh. This variety is somewhat hard to grow and find, but the company offers it as often as possible.

Providing financial support for stewardship projects is one way the company gives back to its growers.

For example, instead of farmers paying each season to have bees trucked in to pollinate their crops, The FruitGuys will pay for a beekeeper to do an installation of hives on the farm. The farmer keeps the bees and the honey for his or her own use, or to sell.

Learn more at http://fruitguys.com.

“Ham first became a spring favorite in the time of the Romans, who buried pork by the sea in the winter to create a salty, cured ham for the spring,” said Colleen Albright, a pork producer from Coldwater, Mich. “America’s pilgrims carried on the tradition of ham in the spring, hand-curing pork in the fall in preparation for the Easter feast. At that time, the fall was the traditional time for hogs to go to market and curing or other preparations were done at that time. Easter would have been the first holiday that the cured ham from the fall would to be ready to eat.”

Ham is not only a tasty tradition, it is also a healthy one. According to the National Pork Board, a 3-ounce serving of pork contains 5 percent of our Daily Value of iron and 11 percent of our DV of potassium and vitamins B12 and B6, known for boosting metabolism.

Albright said the best cured hams are bright pink in color, and although lean is healthier to look for a ham with some marbling. “Marbling is the visible specks of fat within a muscle,” said Albright. “Marbling contributes to pork flavor and, to a lesser extent, to juiciness and tenderness. However, hams with excessive marbling tend to taste greasy. Select hams with a small to modest amount of marbling for optimum flavor.”

She warns that while the least expensive hams have the highest water content, this extra water just makes the ham heavier and doesn’t contribute to flavor or nutrition.

So, what is the reason for the resurgence? Aside from more refined consumer tastes that demand creativity, local chefs are having fun reinterpreting grits. Further, “the grits comeback has been aided in part by corn millers who have made a concerted effort to teach chefs how to cook this Southern specialty,” according to the Kansas City Star. Read more.