4 ms·

Unattended apple trees can create rotting apples on the ground, certainly. Those are admittedly not pretty, but in Central Russia (and, presumably, in Estonia,

Unattended apple trees can create rotting apples on the ground, certainly. Those are admittedly not pretty, but in Central Russia (and, presumably, in Estonia, which is not that far off climate- and fauna-wise) they’re just one more layer of soil by spring. Do hotter temperatures or different wildlife make them a bigger problem in the US somehow?

ok_dad 2y ago
Probably a situation with stuck up neighbors most of the time. If you’ve heard of the homeowners association problem in the USA, this could be the cause. Having rotting fruit is fine for the soil and everything, but the stick up the butt neighbors or HOA probably would complain or ban the practice. US Americans are pretty separated from nature in their big suburbs.
- hotspot_one 2y ago
  hornets
- __MatrixMan__ 2y ago
  I don't get it. If I wanted somebody to tell me what choices to make with how I lived, I'd have just continued living with my parents.
  - reaperman 2y ago
    Indeed. But it is difficult to find a house near work that is not already part of an HOA.
    - ethbr1 2y ago
      It depends on the state. Some seem to love them (coughFloridacough) and others dislike them. Afaik, most of them are vestigial instruments left over from master planned development financing, that gave the developers X years of voting control in order to recoup some part of their investment.
    - kjkjadksj 2y ago
      Easy just live in a neighborhood built before 1970. Odds are if you work in a city these are available in spades in a reasonable distance to work. Nicer homes and neighborhoods than the newer plastic siding stuff thats come since too.
    - koziserek 2y ago
      maybe we need a map
  - zo1 2y ago
    HOA's can actually work really well, they just seemed to have taken a horrible turn somewhere in the USA. "HOA"s in South Africa are called "Sectional Titles", and they're pretty reasonable. They allow for (if you ask me) more efficient use of common resources (garden services, security, etc). Do they have politics, drama and the occasional Karen? Of course, but every grouping of individuals has that as it's just human nature.
    - __MatrixMan__ 2y ago
      I'd be ok with something like that, but I think I'd need neighbors who were interested in having common resources in the first place. Where we've got it wrong is that only thing we have in common is a shared interest in how the market perceives us, and since markets are batshit crazy, we end up doing crazy things like maintaining a lawn in a drought just for the aesthetics of it. If there were actually something we had in common, like I dunno a lathe or something, there would be something with practical considerations around which to anchor HOA policy. (bias note: I don't live in an HOA, but my friends seem to hate it an I'm offended by the lack of character/sense in the HOA-governed neighborhoods that surround mine.)
- ClumsyPilot 2y ago
  > If you’ve heard of the homeowners association problem in the USA From what I heard, their level of tyranny would give most dictators a worthy challenge.
Suppafly 2y ago
Rotting fruit also quickly attract bees and wasps and larger problems like raccoons.
Lutger 2y ago
It is more likely to be seen as messy, just aesthetics. Another big reason for chopping down fruit trees in urban areas is they mess up cars that are parked under them.
- hulitu 2y ago
  People shall not park if they don't like it.
seszett 2y ago
Here in Antwerp there's a long street (the Markgravelei) lined with cornelian cherries (Cornus mas). I think most people around here don't know that they're edible and anyway that fruit is somewhat of a hassle to pick and prepare, but anyway once they're ripe they fall on the sidewalk and on cars, staining everything red, making the sidewalks slippery and leaving seeds behind. And there's no wild life to speak of, maybe some rats but not many, and birds don't seem to eat the fallen fruit. Wasps do, but it's not a positive point. There's no soil (except a ~1m² square around each tree) because it's just a street in the city so although I don't find them a bother and I can pick a fruit from time to time while walking, I can well understand why people who live in this street would complain about it. I can't understand what went through the mind of people who chose to plant these trees here. I think it's almost as bad as if those were mulberry trees (relative to staining power). But it's just a remark on how fruit trees can be annoying to some people, for my part I used to live in another city where I was able to pick blackberries and raspberries on my way to work or to the supermarket, sometimes pears, and it was great. And in autumn I pick chestnuts here. Not too often because of PFAS pollution.
- carlob 2y ago
  There is a mulberry tree right next to a bus station where I live. Between the people waiting for the bus and birds I almost never manage to eat the fruit and there is none on the ground.
  - nsp 2y ago
    mulberries are also incredibly fragile, they disintegrate into little packets of effectively dark dye very quickly
vineyardmike 2y ago
> Do hotter temperatures or different wildlife make them a bigger problem in the US somehow? In many places, people worry about bugs and rats eating them, and the ones that don't get eaten start to rot and grow moldy. Generally just things people don't like in a dense city. Any rotting fruit that falls on the ground will attract many animals and bugs. Lots of flies and wasps, as well as bigger animals like rats or raccoons. Depends on the city for the specific animal, but seems like there are plenty of animals in big cities (at least here in the US) - NYC famously has rats, for example.

ok_dad 2y ago

Probably a situation with stuck up neighbors most of the time. If you’ve heard of the homeowners association problem in the USA, this could be the cause. Having rotting fruit is fine for the soil and everything, but the stick up the butt neighbors or HOA probably would complain or ban the practice. US Americans are pretty separated from nature in their big suburbs.

hotspot_one 2y ago
hornets
__MatrixMan__ 2y ago
I don't get it. If I wanted somebody to tell me what choices to make with how I lived, I'd have just continued living with my parents.
- reaperman 2y ago
  Indeed. But it is difficult to find a house near work that is not already part of an HOA.
  - ethbr1 2y ago
    It depends on the state. Some seem to love them (coughFloridacough) and others dislike them. Afaik, most of them are vestigial instruments left over from master planned development financing, that gave the developers X years of voting control in order to recoup some part of their investment.
  - kjkjadksj 2y ago
    Easy just live in a neighborhood built before 1970. Odds are if you work in a city these are available in spades in a reasonable distance to work. Nicer homes and neighborhoods than the newer plastic siding stuff thats come since too.
  - koziserek 2y ago
    maybe we need a map
- zo1 2y ago
  HOA's can actually work really well, they just seemed to have taken a horrible turn somewhere in the USA. "HOA"s in South Africa are called "Sectional Titles", and they're pretty reasonable. They allow for (if you ask me) more efficient use of common resources (garden services, security, etc). Do they have politics, drama and the occasional Karen? Of course, but every grouping of individuals has that as it's just human nature.
  - __MatrixMan__ 2y ago
    I'd be ok with something like that, but I think I'd need neighbors who were interested in having common resources in the first place. Where we've got it wrong is that only thing we have in common is a shared interest in how the market perceives us, and since markets are batshit crazy, we end up doing crazy things like maintaining a lawn in a drought just for the aesthetics of it. If there were actually something we had in common, like I dunno a lathe or something, there would be something with practical considerations around which to anchor HOA policy. (bias note: I don't live in an HOA, but my friends seem to hate it an I'm offended by the lack of character/sense in the HOA-governed neighborhoods that surround mine.)
ClumsyPilot 2y ago
> If you’ve heard of the homeowners association problem in the USA From what I heard, their level of tyranny would give most dictators a worthy challenge.

Suppafly 2y ago

Rotting fruit also quickly attract bees and wasps and larger problems like raccoons.

Lutger 2y ago

It is more likely to be seen as messy, just aesthetics. Another big reason for chopping down fruit trees in urban areas is they mess up cars that are parked under them.

hulitu 2y ago
People shall not park if they don't like it.

seszett 2y ago

Here in Antwerp there's a long street (the Markgravelei) lined with cornelian cherries (Cornus mas). I think most people around here don't know that they're edible and anyway that fruit is somewhat of a hassle to pick and prepare, but anyway once they're ripe they fall on the sidewalk and on cars, staining everything red, making the sidewalks slippery and leaving seeds behind. And there's no wild life to speak of, maybe some rats but not many, and birds don't seem to eat the fallen fruit. Wasps do, but it's not a positive point. There's no soil (except a ~1m² square around each tree) because it's just a street in the city so although I don't find them a bother and I can pick a fruit from time to time while walking, I can well understand why people who live in this street would complain about it. I can't understand what went through the mind of people who chose to plant these trees here. I think it's almost as bad as if those were mulberry trees (relative to staining power). But it's just a remark on how fruit trees can be annoying to some people, for my part I used to live in another city where I was able to pick blackberries and raspberries on my way to work or to the supermarket, sometimes pears, and it was great. And in autumn I pick chestnuts here. Not too often because of PFAS pollution.

carlob 2y ago
There is a mulberry tree right next to a bus station where I live. Between the people waiting for the bus and birds I almost never manage to eat the fruit and there is none on the ground.
- nsp 2y ago
  mulberries are also incredibly fragile, they disintegrate into little packets of effectively dark dye very quickly

vineyardmike 2y ago

> Do hotter temperatures or different wildlife make them a bigger problem in the US somehow? In many places, people worry about bugs and rats eating them, and the ones that don't get eaten start to rot and grow moldy. Generally just things people don't like in a dense city. Any rotting fruit that falls on the ground will attract many animals and bugs. Lots of flies and wasps, as well as bigger animals like rats or raccoons. Depends on the city for the specific animal, but seems like there are plenty of animals in big cities (at least here in the US) - NYC famously has rats, for example.