Which Old Fruits To Feed Wildlife in Winter
Nature’s fall bounty can provide a feast of fruits and nuts to feed the wildlife around your rural or suburban home over the winter months. Even urban wildlife – raccoons, squirrels, and mice – will benefit from the surplus from your city garden.
Which old fruits are best to feed the wildlife in your neighborhood? Windfall apples, pears, plums and acorns will provide nourishment to deer, birds and rodents. Earlier in the year, blackberries, raspberries , blackcurrant, and other berry-producing plants will definitely prove to be an irresistible attraction to resident wildlife. County extension services and wildlife groups recommend planting at least one nut producing shrub or tree if you have space. One mature oak can produce up to a thousand acorns a year and can mean the difference between death and survival for some animals. Persimmon fruit is prized by deer, and pear and crabapple trees both produce fruit which keeps well even after falling from the tree. Both deer and smaller mammals will snack happily on mulberry fruit or grapevines.
So the next time you start to toss a half-eaten apple in the trash, take it down to the bottom of your garden to feed a visitor instead.