Fruit growing in the average garden, is probably one of the biggest gardening Taboos! There are several reasons for this. The main one seems to be that growing 'fruit' is difficult and requires a lot of time and knowledge! If those are your main worries that have stopped you from attempting to grow fruit, then your worries are over! Growing fruit in its various forms, requires no more knowledge than growing any other plant successfully.
Fresh Tomatoes
Our definition of fruit, is simply something that can be picked off a plant and eaten - either in its raw state, or by cooking first. We are not going to get into the argument as to whether a Tomato is a fruit or a vegetable!
Tomatoes are dealt with in another section on the site. Generally, fruit is perceived as being 'sweet' whilst vegetables require some preparation - such as cooking to render them tasteful - or edible even! Whatever, there is no doubt that fruit is an important part of our diet and essential for good health.
Apple-Cox's Orange Pippin
Apples and fruit trees can now be grown in containers on the patio - as well as in an orchard. Strawberries -yum yum - can be grown in a hanging basket or a window box even!
Make sure that the kids are involved in the growing of fruit - not just the picking and eating of strawberries!
Anywhere that is light and gets a fair bit of sunshine! Most fruit require sunlight to ripen properly, so dark shaded areas are not the best places. neither are the cold parts of your garden, or the frost pockets. Frost is a destroyer of fruit flowers at most stages after tight bud. Late frosts cause huge problems for commercial fruit growers in some areas of the country.
You can grow a wide range of fruit with a bit of imagination - in a shrub border or bed, in the lawn, in a pot on the patio, a window box or pot on a balcony or even in a hanging basket.
Fence or wall grown fruit will include blackberries, loganberries, trained tree fruit, or even Redcurrants (But not black currants.) Hanging baskets are suited to many varieties of tomato plants. So, it is simply your imagination - and a little bit of help that we will give you - that is needed to get you started.
The list of fruit that you can grow at home is almost endless. There is some type of fruit for any bit of spare space. The main requirement if for full light - possibly sunlight - but some are prolific croppers in light or even heavy shade. Blackberries, Raspberries and Gooseberries are a few that spring to mind. Hey - also the alpine strawberries will do well in light shade!
There is an important section about Apple Tree Diseases.
Soft Fruit will include strawberries, raspberries, black currants, red currants and gooseberries, blackberries and the like.
However small your space, you will probably be able to fit in an apple tree, cherry or pear that has been grown on a special rootstock to keep it dwarf - Fruit Trees In Pots can be grown successfully.
