Aside from digging up your own potatoes, picking apples and other fruit from your garden has to be one of the most satisfying things you can do, and unlike potatoes, you can instantly enjoy your harvest: berries on your muesli, biting into a ripe plum, or enjoying a stick of Rhubarb with a spoonful of sugar. Growing fruit is easy, demands only a little maintenance each year and the rewards are sweet. If you have a small garden, there are lots of ways to enjoy fruit growing which are detailed in another leaflet, but if you have a more space to grow fruit and want a bigger harvest, then read on.
Apples and Pears. These are the easiest tree fruits to grow, and thanks to the various rootstocks available that affect the growth rate, can be grown both as huge fast growing trees or dwarves, and many sizes in-between. This also allows them to be grown in different shapes than just a tree: Espaliers have their stems grown along horizontal wires – this restricts the amount of space they take up and makes for easy harvesting. Most apple and pear varieties will need a pollinating partner to produce fruit, i.e. an apple ‘James Grieve’ will need a different apple tree not too far away that will be flowering at around the same time. When choosing several trees, pick varieties that fruit at different times so you can enjoy fruit from August to November. If you only want one apple and one pear, self-fertile varieties are available, although fertilisation works better with 2 or more. Pruning is done in winter - we’re here to help with any pollination or pruning questions, just ask.
Stone fruit. Cherries, Plums, Peaches and Apricots all come in to this group, and much of the above applies to them too. The rootstock chosen again will decide the vigour of your tree, and most varieties will need a pollinating partner, although there are many more self-fertile types available. Pruning is done in spring or summer, rather than Winter, and Fan training is more suitable than Espalier. Peaches, Nectarines and Apricots all need a sheltered but sunny space to fruit well, though Plums and Cherries are not so fussy, and Morello (culinary) cherries will happily grow as a fan on a difficult north facing wall.
Berries. Raspberries, Blackberries and hybrid berries (e.g. Tayberrys, Loganberries) are both grown against wires strained between posts, to give support to the canes or vines. Raspberry plants are grown 45 cm apart along the wires, and the canes are secured with twine. Blackberries and hybrid berries however are vigorous, and you will only need one plant per 2M section of wires, tying in the flexible vines as they grow. All types are pruned after fruiting time, cutting the spent stems off at ground level, leaving space to tie next year’s fruiting canes or vines in to their final position. Both blackberries and Raspberries are well known and widely grown, but Hybrid berries such as Tayberry can produce a heavy crop, having a tart, raspberry like flavour, which is great for cooking or eating fresh, making them a good choice for fruit gardens
Bush fruit. Gooseberries, Blackcurrants and Redcurrants all come from shrub-like plants, that are trained into open-centred, goblet shaped bushes. They are pruned every year to keep them in the desired shape. All fruit around midsummer, and after a period of establishment, in large quantities. When selecting Gooseberry varieties to plant, go for a thornless type, as it makes much easier harvesting compared to the sharp thorned varieties. Red, white and black-currants all carry their fruit in little bunches, called strigs. They are all quite easy to grow and take little maintenance.
