Gardening in England & Fruit

Hi all its Gill,

Hope you are all well. I can't believe another week has gone by already!

At this time of the year there is so much to do, especially dead heading if you want a succession of flowers through to the autumn. Also (my favourite thing) gathering seeds ready to scatter next year. I always think I am getting something for nothing hehe.

We had our first pickings of runner beans tonight for dinner and they were succulent. I said before that I would tell you the outcome of my `trials` as to white or orange flowered runners. So far the orange ones have far more beans on them.

This year looks to be a bumper year for fruit (I bet that doesn't reflect on the shop prices though). My neighbour has several apple, and pear trees and one damson. They are heavily laden which is nice because they allow me to go in and pick what I like.

I pick up the windfalls and chop them up for my chickens, they love them. I have a tiny victoria plum whose boughs are almost touching the ground from the weight of the fruit. There are also loads and loads of hazelnuts this year - one of my favourites. If you buy from local farms the fruit seems to be a lot cheaper than Tescos, but then again that's not surprising!

Don't tell me that you don't have enough room to grow your own runners because unless you are in a flat, you do. Mine this year are in three tubs with canes making them into a wigwam shape on the patio. Actually my friend Irene has a small balcony with her flat and it is absolutely full. There are herbs, trailing tomatoes and strawberries in baskets, and loads of flowers too. She has feeders everywhere for the birds, and she seems to get more variety of them than I do.

Going back to fruit trees, yes they can be expensive but last year Wilkinsons was selling plum, peach, cherry, apple and pear for £5 each and they were about 6 foot tall. Whether they have them this year I don't know. Most garden centres sell them for around £25.00 each. Last year from one of the cheapy shops I bought a gooseberry plant for £1.25, that little plant had several gooseberries on it this year.

Seeds are expensive when you consider how many you get from one plant, so why not go along to Campo girls seed swap site, great idea and free. I always ask for seeds for Xmas but never specify which ones, that way you get lots of little surprises. I give lots at Xmas too especially for the men, because I find them hard to buy for.

One of my favourite stories I am going to share with you. My Dad bless him passed away at a youngish age 27 years ago. When he was 3 years old and lived in Notting Hill back in 1922 he had several brothers and sisters so they were not what you would call affluent hehe, the opposite actually. My Nan always put the rent money on the side every week waiting for the man to collect it. One day he came and it was gone! Everybody looked frantically for it but to no avail. I dont know if my Dad was looking guilty but they asked him if he had taken it for ages, then bribing him with a freshly ironed shirt. He took them to the front garden where he unburied it and placed it in Nans hand. Asked why he had done that he said that he was growing a money tree!!!!!! How lovely is that, awwww.

I will love you and leave you with that, happy gardening. Gill x

Gardening - The fruits of labour

One of the most divine rewards of gardening is picking and eating fresh, home grown fruit straight from the tree. Watching your own fruit mature, looking forward to eating a particular orange or gorging on strawberries are pleasures only available to the dedicated and patient gardener; growing fruit trees is a long lasting, initmate affair.

For the average sized garden there are many fruits and nut trees to suit. Although the fruit tree tends to be low, nut trees, on the other hand, can grow into beautiful shade trees - the walnut tree is a perfect example of this.

Many discussions about fruit trees going on at The Gardening Forum Spain come join in the fun and share your images!

Choosing your tree
There are two main factors when considering buying your trees, location and soil type. Try, if possible, to avoid planting in really exposed areas, as the wind will pull off the flowers and the tree will never fruit. Planting a mimi orchard creates a micro-climate, which generally greatly extends the variety of fruit a garden can accommodate.

Buying your tree
Choose a local supplier as they are likely to have suitable cultivars for your climate; you could try nispero (Achras zapota - the other CampoGirl has one of these growing), apple, pear, guayavo, fig, plums or almond on heavier land or citrus fruits, kaki, membrillo, mulberry, nispero, walnut, where the soil is sandier and lighter.

If you have limited space and an orchard is not quite possible, make espaliers from apples, plums and pears against a wall or fence. Wire the desired branches against the wall in the form you want and then prune the remaining branches each autumn. Continue to remove the vertical water shoots as they appear. In time, the tree will get stronger, and the chosen branches will thicken and bear fruit on the spurs, and the tree will no longer require support, you could also try growing this up a trellis - giving extra support.

Grafting is another way of maximising variety and yield from the garden. Keep like with like - oranges and lemons or limes; stoned fruits together, apples and pears etc. The only trouble you may find is one graft dominates the others and doesn't allow an even development.

For a conversation point you could put 3 trees in the same hole and let them grow together, this is prone to chaotic growth but promotes a long fruiting season.

So, enjoy the fruits of your gardening labour and lets get busy!