BACKYARD FRUIT TREES ARE BEAUT!
CAREFUL SELECTION MEANS GREATER SUCCESS
A CHANCE meeting this week with Michael, a retired fellow TAFE teacher, highlighted the fact that many gardeners would like to have some form of guide to growing deciduous and evergreen fruit trees in our region.
Whilst areas such as the Granite Belt are “blessed” with a great fruit-producing climate that still provides fairly clear-cut seasons enjoying cold winters and warm summers, our higher local winter temperatures means that many varieties that produce well around Stanthorpe will struggle to set a reasonable fruit crop in our warm temperate region.
This week we’ll repeat an earlier article on fruit trees for the suburban backyard producer, and really concentrate on the deciduous stone and pome fruits next week.
No doubt, one of the great joys of having a productive garden is the daily ritual of harvest.
From late spring to early autumn, when days are at their longest, most Suburban Backyard Producers (SBPs) happily perform this ritual in the first few hours after dawn, when the air is cool, and the plants are pumped and primed in preparedness for a day’s production (and presumably you too!).
Wouldn’t it be great if, through careful selection of fruit types and varieties, we could be harvesting fruit from our garden all year round?
With this in mind, I thought it’s be helpful to compile a list of fruit types and varieties suitable for growing in our region and the seasons in which they are productive.
This can then be utilised as an aid to planning a year-round fruity harvest from your garden. Remember these harvest times are only a guide, as your area’s climate (and garden microclimate) may cause them to vary.
Let’s be alphabetical and start with... Apples.
If you’re fortunate to live in the Granite Belt area, your cool-climate apples (Red and Golden Delicious, Fuji, Royal Gala, Sundowner) are generally ready for harvest around February to April.
If you are growing apples elsewhere, you should choose low-chill varieties.
Anna (Dec-Jan), Tropic Beauty and Tropic Sweet (Nov-Jan), my favourite, Pink Lady (Mar-Apr), and Dorset Golden (Oct-Jan) are all ones to try in the warmer areas.
Try to find all these varieties on dwarfing rootstock, as they’ll take up less room in the garden and will do fine in large pots as well.
As with all apples, make sure you have a pollinating variety nearby (even if they’re “self-pollinating”)
Avocados are a tropical fruit so they’ll be more at home in the warmer parts of our region.
Best varieties for a home garden in our temperate region are the “dwarf ” avocados (they’ll still grow to 4m), Pinkerton (harvest Jun-Aug) and Wurtz (Sept-Feb).
The best for cooler areas is Bacon (May-Jul). Many of the commercial varieties such as Hass (Sept-Jan), Sheppard (Feb-Apr), and Fuerte (May-Oct) are large trees requiring very deep, quality soil. Try the dwarf varieties in large pots.
Berry fruits are worth trying in our region. Blueberries need good drainage and an acid soil or potting mix (pH about 5.5).
I’d recommend pot culture as it’s a bit easier to control growing conditions for these antioxidant-rich berries.
For our warm temperate areas try Biloxi (harvest Sept-Dec), Blueberry Burst (Jul-Oct), Gulf Coast (Sept-Dec) and Misty (Sept-Dec).
You may need to throw a net over the bushes to keep pesky birds at bay. Cane berries are widely available from your local garden centre, and via mail order as well.
Try Loganberries (Nov-Jan), as well as some low-chill raspberry varieties such as Autumn Bliss (harvest in ...Autumn!), Chilliwak (love that name! Jan-Feb), Heritage (Feb-Apr) and the thornless Smoothy (Feb-Apr).
Most citrus trees are now sold on dwarfing rootstock, so you can grow a wide range in your backyard, whether potted or in the ground.
Oranges are arguably the most popular of backyard fruit trees.
Washington Navels (harvest May-Sept) and Valencias (Sept-Dec) are commonly sold varieties.
Mandarins are great if you have kids, as they’re ready to pick, peel and scoff. Best varieties are Imperial (Apr-Jul), the loose-skinned Emperor (Jul), Hickson (Jul) and Murcott (Aug-Sept).
If you love lemons, most varieties crop all year round. In colder regions try Lisbon (all year), and in warmer areas plant Eureka (all year), the sweeter Meyer (all year, but predominantly Jun-Jul), and the low acid Lemonade (all year).
Tahitian limes will bear in winter in a temperate climate and are ever-bearing in tropical climates. Finger limes or Microcitrus will fruit most of the year, with peak harvest from February to September.
I shouldn’t omit strawberries from the list. There are two types of strawberries, summer-fruiting and ever-bearing.
Best summer strawberries are the medium-sized Cambridge Rival, Sweetheart and the large-fruited Chandler. These will bear from October to January.
Temptation is the best of the ever-bearing varieties.
Next week we’ll be looking at a comprehensive list of deciduous fruit trees for our region.