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Fruit trees for a small garden
It’s possible to grow your own fruit even in the smallest of gardens now, and with the wide range of trained trees available from cordons and fans to stepovers and columnar forms, and it must be true that you can find a space to grow at least some of your favourite fruit. You won't get the same yield as you would from a larger tree, but you will get the satisfaction of eating your own fruit fresh from the garden, and with spring blossom and fruits through summer and into autumn well-trained small trees can look very decorative in their own right. If you have the time and the inclination you can buy maiden trees - on dwarfing rootstocks - and train them yourself, and certainly there will be a much wider choice of varieties. You will have to wait longer before they start cropping, though. Those who want quicker results will find that ready-trained small trees are available as fans, espaliers and stepovers, as well as suppliers' own named types such as 'Coronet trees, 'Supercolumn' and the strangly named 'Duo Minarette' trained forms. 'Coronets' were introduced to the UK last year after twenty years of development by nurserymen, and are said to be quick to crop, easy to prune and remain small. When mature, the trees should reach no more than 5ft. in height and 3ft. in width, which makes them the ideal size for patio pots or small gardens. These trees are available from some garden centres. Supercolumn's from are also ideal for patio tubs, growing as slender, compact columns reaching up to 7ft. tall. In borders they can be planted 2ft. apart so you could even plant a miniature orchard in a very small space. You certainly get plenty of choices with these trees as all main varieties of apples, pears, plums, gages, damsons and cherries are now available in this form. In addition to the range of Minarette columnar trees, there are Duo-Minarettes', which make single stern trees even more adaptable by combining two varieties of apple, one above the other, on the same stem. They grow to 6-8ft. and they too can be planted as close as 2ft. apart. The two varieties have been selected to pollinate each other, and the combinations currently advertised as available are 'Early Windsor'/'Cox!, 'Egremont Russet/'Cox) and 'Greensleeves'/'Gala. |
Picking Fruit
When harvesting apples and pears, gently cup the ripe fruit in your hand and press the dip at the top to release it. If the fruit does not come away readily, it means it isn’t ripe so don’t force it. Take care not to pull the fruit leaving the stalk behind as it won’t last as long without it. Remove and discard all the bruised and split fruits that are lying around the tree. Apart from tidying up your garden, this will also prevent the swarms of wasps that are attracted by the sweet juices of the decaying fruit. If storing your apples and pears for use over the winter months, make sure they are arranged in layers in a cardboard box, with a gap between each fruit, and stored in a cool, dark, well ventilated place. Air between the fruits and between each layer is vital to prevent the fruit from spoiling by the emission of natural ethylene gas. When picking any ripe, soft fruits, such as plums and peaches, the same procedure for picking apples and pears should be followed. Don’t force fruits that aren’t ready to come, and try not to squeeze the fruits as they are easily bruised. It isn't a good idea to try and store soft fruit for too long. They are much better eaten immediately or used in cooking, or to make jam, chutney, marmalade or even wine.
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Late Apples
Pick late-keeping apples, such as 'Gala', Jupiter' or 'Blenheim Orange' the moment fruits part cleanly from the spur. Store them wrapped in glossy magazine paper in single layers in sterilised trays in a cool, airy and slightly moist, frost-free place. Don't mix early with late varieties or apples with pears. Plums, peaches and nectarines can be trimmed now. Prune back broken shoots to healthy wood, ideally to just above a bud, and paint wounds with a fungicide based on Cresylic acid. Control peach leaf curl by spraying with a copper or Mancozeb fungicide just before leaves fall. Prune blackcurrants by cutting back fruited stems to sturdy, current-year shoots and shortening a third of the older black-barked branches to near ground level. Increase red and white currants from 12-14in. (30-35cm) current-year shoots rooted in a Slit trench lined with sharp sand; remove leaves which might be buried.
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Pruning soft fruit bushes
Blackcurrants and redcurrents may look like the same plant with different coloured berries but when it comes to pruning they need a very different approach. Whereas blackcurrants should be cut down almost to ground level, redcurrants just need the main shoots trimmed. Crops will prosper in later years with correct pruning. However, take heed, and whenever you prune currants, always think before you make the first cut. With blackcurrants the idea is to encourage plenty of vigorous new shoots from ground level, which will fruit over the following two years. Now is the best time to tackle them. With a pair of secateurs, cut out any damaged and weedy looking stems to about 1in. above the ground. Then cut out at ground level about a third of the bush to create an open structure of well-spaced stems. What you want to remove are old, dark coloured stems, plus any that are crossing or clogging up the centre of the bush. Next the redcurrants, which need different treatment. This is because the fruit is produced on short spurs on the older wood. Prune to maintain a permanent framework of mature stems with an open centre. This means, fruit can be reached easily, and air circulates freely which promotes fruit ripening and discourages fungal diseases. Remove about 2in. from the tips of all the main branches and then prune the side shoots on the main framework of stems to one or two buds. Gooseberries are pruned in the same way as redcurrants, taking a few stems from the centre of the bush to maintain a goblet-shaped open framework, and then hard pruning side shoots to short spurs. Tidy strawberries up by cutting off the old foliage with a pair of shears. The old fruited canes of summer fruiting raspberries are cut down along with some of the new cane to leave just four or five per plant. These will fruit next year, then tie them in to supporting wires. Autumn raspberries should be Ieft until February, when the canes are cut down to ground level. |
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