For the Foamlab garden in Amsterdam we are looking for fruit suitable for permaculture. A collection of unusual or uncultivated fruits:

Dutch places to find uncultivated fruits:

• Rose-hip Rosa Alpina / Rozenbottel
• Sea Buckthorn Hippophae rhamnoides / Duindoorn
• Cornel cherry Cornus mas / Gele Kornoelje
• Crabapple Malus sylvestris / wilde appel

Dutch places to find unusual fruits:

• Black chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa / Appelbes
• Honeysuckle Lonicera caerulea / Honingbes
• Pawpaw Asimina triloba / Roomappel

Dutch place for ecological fruits: [[http://www.batterijen.nl/ tip van Fransje de Waard

English place to find unusual fruits:
[[http://www.pfaf.org/user/default.aspx Plants for a Future

More on fruits in Netherlands and Belgium:

• http://www.houtwal.be/
• http://www.permacultuurnederland.org/planten.php?pid=61

research notes from what I learn at Dirk and Vera's orchard. www.eerlijkenheerlijk.eu

There is increasing pressure on the market for launching new cultivars of apples, pears, prunes, etc. Old cultivars are pushed away by new ones. A new cultivar comes with a contract as the production of new varieties is no longer organised by a state run facility but by companies. These companies only sell large scale production, so from at least a hectare up-wards. The farmer signs a contract in which he promises not to multiply or sell any trees or parts of them to third parties. He is also bound to pick the fruit at a date specified by the company, to sell the fruit only at the auction and he cannot store it at his own facilities. So the farmer is reduced to growing and cannot expand his activities beyond that. Some large farmers have direct connections with supermarkets. They are asked to increase their produce as specified by the supermarket. In this process the farmer becomes completely dependant upon the supermarket which then starts to drop the price.