Fruit plants have the advantage over vegetables that they do not have to be replanted every year. They bear fruit for many years and thus ensure a rich harvest.
Anyone who has ever had a fruit tree in their garden knows how easy it is to care for and how productive such plants can be. This not only ensures your own supply, but also that of your neighbors. In addition, the plants are not only practical when it comes to harvesting, they also beautify the garden visually and offer a shady spot in summer.
Because fruit trees and shrubs are planted for many years, when designing a garden you should think about the exact place where the plant will grow. The size and the space requirement are to be aligned with the needs of the crop. Sunny, semi-shady or shady locations determine the subsequent yield and growth of the respective variety.
The size of the garden and your own preference for certain fruit decide which and how many fruit plants can be planted.
Orchards in small gardens
Even people with small gardens or even just terraces don't have to do without fruit plants. There are some fruit bushes that are perfect for growing in containers. These include currants or gooseberries. Even fruit trees can be realized on a small area.
➔ Pillar fruit takes up little space
There are special cultivated forms such as columnar fruit trees. These are adapted in their size and growth form to little space. Originally they were grown as sweet fruit - because the fruit is easy to reach and therefore easy to harvest.
The care of the columnar fruit is not much more complicated than with other fruit trees. With potted plants, however, care must be taken to ensure the necessary water supply. Fertilizing in the spring and a topiary in the summer should also be planned. There are also columnar fruit trees for a wide variety of fruit types (more information on this at Gartenbista).
The columnar fruit trees also have the advantage of finding their place in larger gardens. Here they usually appear in the form of a large fruit hedge as a garden divider or as colorfulMixed fruit supply as an eye-catcher.
Orchards in large gardens
The larger your own garden, the more design options there are when planting your own fruit. From large meadow orchards to themed gardens, there are no limits to your imagination.
With enough space, the opportunity to grow different types of fruit should be used. Various flowering and ripening times then allow for a high-yield harvest almost all year round. The first strawberries can already be harvested in May. The plants themselves should be planted in early autumn of the previous year at the latest.
You can harvest the aromatic red fruits until well into July. In June, gooseberries, early apricot varieties and summer raspberries join them. The main berry season is then in July and August. Raspberries, gooseberries, blueberries and currants and many other types give a rich harvest at this time.
➔ Fruit harvest until autumn
This is followed by stone fruit and pome fruit. Depending on the variety, plums, cherries, apples, pears and apricots can be harvested until October.
When harvesting, the storability of the respective type of fruit should also be taken into account. Apples and pears can be stored very well for a few months. Only fruits that don't have any quirks should be used for this, otherwise they will rot quickly and infect the remaining fruits. They should be stored carefully in open boxes so that air can get to the fruit. The crates are best stored in a dark, cool basement room.
Other types of fruit such as berries, apricots or plums cannot be stored for a longer period of time. Here the fruit is to be processed or preserved directly. Classic preservation options are freezing berries or cooking them down to make jam or mush. However, the direct processing of the delicious fruit in cakes and desserts is particularly popular.
The selection of fruit that can be cultivated for every hobby gardener is increasing all the time. In addition to the classic types of fruit, more and more exotic types from originally warmer climes can also be found. This not only gives the garden a touch of the exotic, but also extends the harvest with many delicacies.
Fruit highlights in the garden
A garden highlight that not everyone has and is also very he althy is the pomegranate tree. It is considered to be very robust, but needs a lot of light and heat. So it has to be in a bucketbe kept so that it can be brought in during the winter.
Since the tree needs a few years before it bears enough fruit, a suitable transport device for the bucket must be provided here. This allows the trees, which can be up to five meters high, to be brought outside in summer. The red fruits are harvested between July and August. Appropriate care for pomegranate trees also ensures a he althy and long-lasting plant.
➔ The fig tree needs a sunny spot
What also not everyone has in their garden is a sprawling fig tree. This can be planted firmly in the garden soil, but needs a sufficiently sunny spot. Here, too, it will take a few years before a larger harvest can be expected.
The harvest time depends on the fig variety and the heat in summer. Some fig trees bear fruit in July and September or October, others only in September and October. The warmer the summer, the sooner the sweet fruits ripen.
This fruit is quite easy to care for. Between March and September it is advisable to give the tree some fertilizer so that it can put more energy into its fruit. Otherwise, it can be brought into shape with a light cut in the spring. However, a radical pruning should be avoided, as this has a negative effect on the number of fruits.