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Organic And Sustainable Methods Of Growing Fruit Trees And Bushes

Sustainable organic gardening tips for Growing Fruit Trees. Learn about planting and caring for fruit trees, and how to grow fruit trees and bushes like raspberries, blueberries or strawberries.

Do you love fruit and berries like I do? They are definitely a highlight in the garden! The flavours and quality of your home grown fruit is just so much superior to the supermarket produce and more important it is nutrient dense. Enough of a reason for me to grow as much of it as possible! And organic fruits and berries are very expensive to buy so why not grow them at home.

Planting fruit trees is also a great long term investment of your time, money and space. A fruit tree can yield for many decades with little care and effort needed once established. Fruit bushes like red currants or raspberries can also produce for many many years. That's much easier and a lot less work than growing vegetables!! They also provide shelter, food and habitat for beneficial creatures like birds or insects.

Fruit trees and bushes can be integrated into any garden even if the area is quite small. Most fruit trees are grafted onto what's called a rootstock. The 'strength' of that rootstock is what determines the size of the tree. Some modern dwarf varieties of apple trees for example can be grown in containers because they are so small. Look for the ones that have different varieties grafted onto them so you can harvest different types of apples from the same tree.

Chokeberry - An Underused But Attractive Edible Fruit Bush

Aronia Berry is a great addition to gardens or permaculture food forests. Apart from being an attractive shrub Chokeberries are great for cooking jams, jellies or wine making.

Check it out here!

Natural Berry Hedge

Here are 10 fruiting shrubs that will yield edible berries, nuts and other products. They also encourage beneficial wildlife that will help to reduce pests and diseases in the garden.

Learn more here!

How To Grow Fruit Trees

Fruit trees are best planted in an open sunny position
The soil should be free draining with good depth
The size of the fully grown tree determines how much space you will have to give to your tree
Fruit trees grow best if grass is kept away around them. You can either keep a thick layer of mulch around the base or plant companion plants like comfrey, mint, lupins, daffodils or smaller fruit bushes around the trees. Green manure is also a good option.

Plum Victoria in flower

Planting Fruit Trees Quick Guide

Dig a hole about twice the size of the rootball
Loosen up the soil in the bottom of the hole
Mix some soil with some well rotten compost
Fill the hole with a couple of shovels full of the above mixture
Place the rootball into the planting hole so that the tree is at the same soil level as before
Refill the soil mixture around the rootball without leaving any pockets
Firm in well
Water in well with plenty of water to wash the soil onto the roots
Stake the tree if necessary

Caring For Fruit Trees

Keep the tree well watered during dry spells until they are well established
Prune tree as necessary
Provide organic fertilizer only if necessary during spring and early summer. Nitrogen fixing plants like lupins can help to provide some of the Nitrogen needed. Comfrey, a dynamic nutrient accumulator, also provides a lot of minerals to the trees and attracts a lot of beneficial insects.
Use rockdust and/or seaweed to add additional minerals and trace elements to the soil.

….harvest and enjoy your crop!

The Homestead Gardener Magazine

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