Fruit-cage and Orchard

f- are about growing the many Fruits we can choose for fruit-cage and orchard

Climbing & clambering vines (Grape, Kiwi, hardy passion, akebia)

To all intents and purposes there’s only one perennial vine for a kitchen garden, a grape-vine. All the rest pale into rightful insignificance by comparison. The kiwi and it’s relatives are fair croppers but the others are only of academic interest. Which is a shame as vine crops are convenient in small gardens where they can be trained up, and or affixed to perimeters, to catch most sun.

Perennial berries (Black, Rasp, Logan, Tay and Goose)

Associated by name and preferred conditions these berries are reliable croppers of versatile strongly flavoured fruits for dessert and culinary use. They’re best under netting or in a cage as the fruits are so soon stolen by birds and worse, in some seasons by the less easily stoppable wasps. They all prefer moist, loamy, Ph neutral to slightly acid, leaf mould rich soil and benefit from thick mulches. (Though with a gooseberry on a single stem keep the mulch from touching this to prevent rooting or rotting.)

Apricots-not as difficult as you think

There are many fruits that taste considerably better off the tree than their equivalent shop bought. Most commercial fruits are picked too young, and after shipping, storage and display can only be a poor substitute for what they could have been. But a fresh home grown apricot rises above such mere distinction, the texture as well as the taste becomes sublime. You have not lived till you have eaten a sun warmed apricot fresh plucked from the branch. The sweet, tart and aromatic flesh can be so gorgeous you barely believe it is the same fruit as the supermarkets sell.

Apples

Almost every garden most of will ever have known, at least those other than the very smallest, will probably have had an old apple tree or even several in it. These will have cropped for decades with no or little attention and so often get overlooked except when a few fruits are taken for use. Again most of us, given some space, will plant a few apple trees, but often with little consideration as to their variety and later usefulness.

Acid lovers and cane fruits- Blueberries, cranberries, lingonberries, currants

The majority of soft fruits love moist rich soil, preferably well mulched with leaf mould, and many are acid lovers actually disliking lime in the soil. Though some such as the currants thrive on almost any soils and can be grown almost anywhere others are more specific. Unless you really have moist acid soil conditions then you will need to grow the true Ericaceous fruits in containers. However if you do have lime free soil, and preferably a stream or pond, then these are the crops for you.

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