Thursday, February 04, 2010

10 fruits to grow in the garden



Fruit trees, bushes, crowns and canes are an investment to start with but after 3 to 4 years, cared for, they will provide you with a return each year.

Three trees were gifted to me this year, apricot, greengage and victoria plum.

Here is our selection to provide fruit throughout the year:

1. Rhubarb- purchase them as crowns. These are the very first fruits of the season, make excellent pies, leaves used in mordanting fibre, crowns can be used as a dye.

2. Strawberries - lush, easy to grow in pots or as groundcover ( works well with rhubarb in a pie)

3.Apricot - tree, needs to be planted where the sun shines most day as it is a warm weather tree.

4. Blackcurrants, white currants and red currants : bushes providing berries in July/ August, excellent for jams, jellies and cordials.
5. Cherries - A morello cherry tree can flourish on a north facing wall and provide a good crop provided it is netted when the cherries ripen, otherwise the birds will strip the tree.
6. Gooseberries - a prickly bush, makes good jelly as it is high in pectin.
7. Plums,greengages, damson - eat fresh, can or freeze, jams and jellies.
8. Berries - Raspberries, Tayberries, Loganberries, Blackberries, Mulberrries, Blueberries cultivated and wild.
9. Apples and pears - If you have space you can create a succession of harvests lasting from October to January.
10. Quinces and Medlars-

2 comments:

Stacey said...

What a wonderful assortment of fruits and to be able to grow them all in your own garden! It almost seems magical. Come on spring!

Downshiftingpath said...

Hi Stacey, the snowdrops are out and although it is still winter, there is a sign of spring to come.
Many fruits can be grown in containers as part of the garden and making use of walls and fences can provide a great harvest from a small place.
Thanks for stopping by.