MidFEx members are crazy about the best tasting, most flavorful fruits that grow well here in the Chicagoland area. We are also interested in growing special, superior and unusual fruits regardless of their appearance or commercial appeal. This includes little known varieties of apples, peaches, pears, plums, grapes and nuts; and more unusual fruits such as the pawpaw, mulberry, persimmon, fig, juneberry, Asian pear, and hardy kiwi. Club members locate, graft, propagate, test, grow and swap these superior fruiting plants, and then get together and share their knowledge.
Join the club and learn about what types of fruit grow well in the Midwest and learn how to grow these fruits in your own yard. You can read more about the club HERE.
Take a look at our Pawpaw page. This unique fruit is easy to grow, tastes great, and is good for your health. You can read all about what our club members grow under the Growing Fruit menu.
Harvest Festival
This annual October event is our big show! Club members put on an impressive display of their fruit including Asian Pears, Quince, Hardy Kiwis, Pawpaw, Figs, Plums, and Persimmons and answer questions. The event at Chicago Botanic Garden features our annual apple and cider sale and we procure the finest locally grown apples and fresh cider as well as a variety of fruit butters and jams. To see what Harvest Festival is all about click HERE.
Grafting Workshop
Would you like to learn how to create your own fruit trees? Would you like to create a tree that grows more than one variety of fruit? Well, now you can. MidFEx will teach you how to graft fruit trees at our annual March event at Chicago Botanic Garden. Grafting is a method of combining compatible plants to form a new plant. Read all about our grafting workshops HERE.
Bob Kurle’s Fruit & Nut List
Founding club member Bob Kurle produced the recommended fruit & nut list of the best varieties suited to the Chicagoland area as a result of discussion at a MidFEx picnic to give us a start, and so other growers in the area could add information from their experiences.