Hello World! Welcome Friends! Imagine if you didn’t need to go to the superstore and you could get all the food you wanted on your land. It sounds like a dream, but it turns out that it could be a reality for many people if they planted fruit trees.
The great thing about fruit trees is that they are robust and require minimal maintenance. Once a tree becomes established, it will last for decades and fruit every year, providing an entire freezer’s worth of produce (and usually much more). You could have free apples, plums, pears, and oranges forever (at least during the right seasons).
But how do you actually grow fruit trees in your garden and enjoy fresh produce all year round? That’s this post’s topic. We explore exactly what you need to do and explain some of the benefits of using your land in this way.
Get to Know Your Climate
The first thing to do, of course, is to get to know your climate. It’s good to understand how, exactly, things are likely to proceed throughout the year, and which tree species are most likely to survive and thrive.
Don’t assume your area has a regular cycle of seasons, just because that’s what you see on the TV. In the US, seasonality in the southern states is different from those in the north.
Also be aware that extreme hot or cold periods can kill some fruit trees, even if they are well-established. You’ll want to ensure maximum and minimum temperatures in your area don’t fall outside of the range your trees can survive.
On this point, it is worth erring on the side of caution. With climatic conditions becoming more extreme, you may want to build in larger, more conservative tolerances, just in case a severe heat wave arrives in your area over the coming summers.
Choose Species That Will Fruit Year-Round
Naturally, temperate-climate fruit trees don’t fruit year-round. Many have a growing season and then stop producing soon after.
The trick to getting fruit trees to yield produce year-round is to select complementary species. The aim is to have at least one or two trees in your garden fruiting at any given point.
Naturally, there are plenty of summer fruiters. These include stone fruits, like cherries, apricots, and plums, as well as citrus if they will grow in your climate.
In the winter, you have less choice, but you might be able to get pomelo or avocado to grow. It might sound strange, but some cultivars will bear fruit in response to cold conditions. A few days of lower temperatures should yield a nice crop.
If your cold periods are longer than, say, a few days, then you’ll need to consider keeping some of these in artificial conditions, which we will discuss below. Getting fruit trees to produce year-round requires a little more work sometimes, especially if you live in a cold area.
Invest In a Greenhouse
Moving sapling fruit trees in and out of greenhouses might seem like a hassle, but it is an excellent way to help them thrive. Some trees, like banana trees, will need to be kept indoors during the winter in northern climes, and require wrapping to prevent frost from forming on their surface.
Large greenhouses aren’t cheap, but they do give you options. The greenhouse should keep tropical trees well above freezing point and prevent any frost from forming on the bark. If the greenhouse itself isn’t sufficient, you may need to install and turn on a heater on the coldest nights, though this isn’t usually necessary.
Put Down a Thick Layer of Mulch
When planting trees, you also want to put down a thick layer of mulch in the fall. This creates a helpful barrier that prevents frost from penetrating to the roots where it could cause the most damage. More heat remains in the ground, protecting the tree and its roots.
With that said, you don’t want to coddle your trees too much. Mildly distressed plants and saplings tend to go on to bear the best fruits over the course of their lives.
If it gets extremely cold at night, consider covering your trees with blankets. Again, the idea might sound strange, but it helps them to maintain more of their heat through the night, minimizing the risk of frost and ice damage.
Putting down a thick layer of mulch also helps plants survive extremely hot weather. Mulching traps moisture below it, keeping the roots moist and reducing the need for watering.
Keep Younger Plants In the Shade
You should also find ways to keep younger plants in the shade for part of the day during the summer. While they should be okay during the morning, they can struggle if left out in the baking heat all day.
Look for areas of your garden that get sun until around midday and then spend the rest of the time in the shade. These are excellent for saplings.
If no such place exists, create one using a fence panel. Only water plants after the sun goes down and before it comes up. This approach provides time for water to sink into the soil and nourish the roots instead of evaporating at the surface.
Train Trees After Fruiting
Once trees fruit, you’ll want to give them a thorough tree service. Trimming and pruning them helps to create a convenient “crown” that lets you access all the fruit in a specific area. Failing to do this causes the trees to become overgrown and fruit to grow haphazardly, often many feet above the ground.
Also, you may want to force trees to grow in a specific shape or pattern, depending on your preferences. Again, pruning them in specific ways helps with them, encouraging them to adopt beautiful shapes that look great in your garden.
Keep the Soil Around Trees Fertile
Lastly, ensure the soil around the base of your trees is fertile. It should be rich in nutrients as this will ultimately determine the quality of the harvest.
Click the links below for any posts you have missed:
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Guide to Choosing a House Cleaning Service for Your Needs
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Toodles,
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