Growing fruit is rather like owning a sports car. So many of us should have bought one earlier to enjoy it for longer!
Growing fruit trees does require a little patience, but fruit growing is so much easier than many folk realise, and the rewards are huge. We have become accustomed to buying fruit in the supermarket that has been forced with fertiliser and picked before fully ripe. Home grown fruit, grown naturally and picked when ripe is a delight, packed with flavour and so good for you. There is a trend among garden celebrities to promote growing ‘heritage’ varieties. I think this is a mistake. Many old varieties do have good taste, but not all and many are susceptible to plant diseases, and the crops can be rather erratic. So here are a few of my favourites.
Apple ‘Red Falstaff’ is a good choice. It’s crisp and juicy with excellent flavour. It crops heavily and reliably fairly late in the season and will keep for a number of weeks in good condition.
Blackcurrants are loaded with goodness, not only vitamin C but also antioxidants and anthocyanins. Blackcurrant ‘Ben Hope’ is a cracking new variety with all the health giving advantages combined with heavy cropping on disease resistant easy to grow bushes.
Until recently growing blackberries has been a dangerous labour of love. Good fruit, vicious thorns. New varieties such as ‘Navaho’ can be grown upright, are virtually thornless and have enormous berries making the whole experience a far more enticing prospect.
Until fairly recently growing cherries meant at least two trees to ensure pollination, and the trees were tall due to lack of dwarfing rootstocks, and you
had to wait maybe 5 years to get a crop. These days Cherry ‘Sweetheart’ is self-pollinating and when grafted onto Gisela 5 rootstock only grows to about 3 x 3 metres. At last domestic cherry growing is not only possible, it is really worth while.
Having chosen your fruit trees & bushes do take care with planting and use plenty of organic matter incorporated into the soil and ensure the roots don’t dry out, – a good can of water once a week should do the trick.
If you would like help with any fruit matters do contact us via the web site, by phone or even better pop in and see us.
