Chapter 7

THE MODULES: FRUIT

WHY IT’S GOOD TO GROW FRUIT

There is nothing like spying a ripe fruit as you wander through the garden, and munching it there and then. Fully ripe and warmed by the sun, freshly-picked fruit is so much more delicious than chilled, under-ripe, anaemic supermarket offerings.

Fruit is also less work than vegetables. Once planted, the bushes or trees will keep producing year on year. The pruning can be off-putting, but it’s really not complicated and quite difficult to go drastically wrong. Even if it does, you’re very unlikely to kill the plant, and it will probably still produce fruit for you next year. Buying fruit trees and bushes is more initial outlay than for vegetable seeds, and is a longer-term commitment (apart from strawberries), but by adding modules gradually you can stagger the expenditure.

Fruit trees and bushes are also good for wildlife, as they flower quite early in the season and their woody structure gives shelter to insects over winter. Of course, the birds will also love your fruit, but some simple netting at the critical ripening time will protect your harvest.

Choosing varieties

The choice of varieties of fruit is smaller than that of vegetables in the garden centres, but online retailers can offer a wider range. Some fruits need pairing with specific plants to ensure good pollination, while others are not fussy. It is specified in each module where you need to be careful what you choose.

CULTIVATION

Soil preparation

Prepare the soil as normal (see Chapter 4). Shrubs and trees will need plenty of space for their roots to spread so make sure your soil, if it’s compacted, is properly dug over.

Planting times and pot sizes

Planting shrubs and trees is best done in early autumn, if possible, as it will give your plants time to establish before they have to start flowering and fruiting in the spring and summer.

Strawberries are generally supplied growing in pots or large module trays, and these should be planted out in autumn or early spring. You may be able to get rooted runners from a friend or a plant stall in autumn.

Rhubarb crowns are best planted when they are dormant in autumn to mid- winter, but try to plant when the soil is warm and not too wet.

Staking and netting

Young fruit trees, whether they are trained as cordons or stepovers, will need staking to prevent them getting damaged in windy weather (see p. 161).

Netting your soft-fruit crops is not necessary – you could use bird-scarers – but if you don’t want to see your harvest decimated it is advisable. Large-scale cages are expensive, but some hazel or bamboo canes, some netting and string will also do the job, and you can remove them once the fruit is harvested (see p. 162).

Pruning

Pruning your fruit trees and bushes is not something to be scared of. The modules use the most straightforward trained forms: the cordon, stepover and bush. In essence you are cutting back the branches to restrict the tree’s growth to a size and form you want, and to encourage the plant to make flowers and fruit, not lots of leaves. Pruning takes place in summer and/or winter. See the module details for when you should be pruning your plants and what form they are grown in.

How you prune your fruit trees and bushes does depend on how old they are, though, and while the basics are outlined in each module, there is not space to do the topic justice. See Further Reading for sources of information such as online advice.

Thinning

In a good year for pollination, the fruit of apples, pears and plums can get overcrowded on the branch. To get good-sized fruits (rather than a cluster of under- sized ones), thin your developing fruits in early July, making sure you have finished by mid-July. The tree may do most of the work for you in June, shedding a number of baby fruits, a process known as the June drop. Choose one fruit (the best one) per cluster to leave on apples and pears, removing the rest. On plums, keep the best fruit, leaving one or two every 10cm or so.

HARVESTING FRUIT

Currants and berries

These are the easiest to tell when they are ripe – they change colour and are soft to the squeeze. Other indications are fruit dropping to the ground, and the birds/squirrels trying to eat them. Depending on your varieties, this could be anywhere between June and September.

Gooseberries can be picked unripe for cooking with, but if you want to eat them raw, wait until they are ripe or they will be incredibly sour. Pull them carefully off the branches. Red- and blackcurrants are attached to the stem on a little string or stalk: it’s easiest to snap off the whole string where it joins the main stem and then tidy them up later.

Likewise, snap off a bit of the strawberry stem rather than pulling the fruit off the hull – it will keep better, and it avoids rot developing on the remaining hull that might spread to unharvested fruit. Conversely, raspberries are ripe when they can be easily pulled off the hull.

Apples, pears and plums

Plums turn colour and are soft when squeezed when they are ripe in July or August. Lift the fruit carefully upwards and its stalk should separate easily from the tree branch.

Apples and pears will also lift off easily from the branch when ripe. As this can be any time from August to November, check the label of the trees you buy. If you have to pull at the fruit to get it off the branch, it isn’t ripe. You’ll also start seeing windfalls as an indication.

Rhubarb

Rhubarb should not be harvested for the first year after planting to allow the crown to establish: by pulling the stalks and leaves off you are removing its ability to photosynthesise. The following year, don’t take more than a third of the stems. From the third year onwards you can either harvest relatively heavily in the early part of the year as the first stems come up, or pull a few regularly from spring to late summer. Stalks are ready to harvest when they are 23–30cm long and pull away easily from the crown: hold the stalk near the base and give it a gentle tug. Don’t cut it if it won’t come away naturally. The leaves are not edible.

You can also force established rhubarb (year three onwards) for very pink, tender stems in early spring. Cover the crown in mid-winter with a layer of straw or dry leaves (clear away old stems first), then cover with an upturned pot, bucket or traditional terracotta forcing jar. Exclude all light by covering any holes in the bottom of the pot. Blanched stems can be harvested two or three weeks ahead of the usual picking time – wait until they have reached the top of the pot/bucket before pulling them as above. Once done, forcing cannot be repeated on the same crown the following year, as the plant needs time to recover.