The Arboretum at ASU Campus Harvest

The Edible Landscape at Arizona State University

The Tempe campus landscape is a diverse collection of plants from around the world that includes citrus, olive, pecan, sapote, apple, peach, quince, sweet bay and many other harvestable trees and shrubs.

There are two main harvests on campus, the sour oranges in January-March and the dates in September-November.  These two crops help fund the Arboretum Volunteer program, plant signage, new garden construction and the purchase of tools, supplies, annual flowers, shrubs and trees for the Arboretum.

The Campus Harvest program also includes the Arboretum Herb Garden and the Arboretum Community Garden.   SHAB and ASU Grow student organizations help maintain the Herb Garden and put their knowledge of organic gardening to use.  The Herb and Community Gardens are part of the Campus Harvest tour lead by Arboretum volunteers for local school groups and community organizations.

ASU's harvest tradition began in 1991 when all the stately date palms on campus were hand pollinated in the spring, covered with protective bags in the summer and harvested in the fall by the Arboretum at ASU arborists. These delicious dates were a big hit with the faculty and staff and the program grew in popularity.

In order for everyone to have an opportunity to buy a box of the limited supply of campus dates, the ASU Foundation and the Campus Bookstore began a distribution program. It has grown from 650 lbs. in 1991 to a record harvest of 4,500 lbs. of dates in 2000. All campus dates are cleaned, sorted and packed entirely by Arboretum volunteers. Every November the Arboretum volunteers also pack and deliver a special order of holiday date gift boxes for the ASU President and Vice President to give as gifts to ASU benefactors.

Without a doubt the largest campus crop at the Arboretum at Arizona State University is the Seville sour orange. There are 260 Seville sour orange trees on the Tempe campus that produced 6 to 8 tons of fruit each year.

For many years these campus sour oranges were picked by a local citrus broker for shipment to the marmalade industry. When the American demand for sour oranges tapered off, the broker stopped picking our sour oranges.

Contrary to popular belief that they are only ornamental trees, sour oranges are a recipe fruit just like lemons. Juice them for marinades, vinegarettes, fruity drinks and many other recipes! Sour orange juice can be substituted for lemon or lime in just about any recipe.

In 2008, ASU Grounds Services Arboretum staff and volunteers picked over eight thousand pounds of sour oranges and delivered them to the Primate Foundation, Arcadia Citrus Program/Gila River Indian Community and ASU campus kitchens. The campus sour oranges were successfully kept out of the landfill and put back on the table.

Check the volunteer calendar for upcoming Campus Harvest Events

There isn't any main entrance or ticket booth at the Arboretum at ASU,its open from dawn to dusk free of charge. The entire Tempe campus at ASU was officially dedicated as an arboretum by President Lattie Coor on November 20,1990.