Season of mellow fruitfulness

Modern apple, pear and plum trees take up less space, bear an abundance of fruit and are relatively easy for you to look after

Growing fruit of some kind is possible and takes relatively little effort compared to vegetable growing. Old apple, pear and plum trees that no longer crop very much may be kept just for their decorative value, notably blossom in spring time. Modern trees are much smaller, take up less space, and are relatively easy to look after. There is a wide range of fruits that can be grown in most gardens: apples, pears and plums; gooseberries, black currants, red and white currants; raspberries, loganberries, tayberries and blackberries; strawberries and blueberries. Cherries and greengages are possible too but considerably more difficult. Peaches and grapes can be grown in a greenhouse, but are not successful outdoors, except on a warm wall with polythene sheeting draped over them.

All fruit crops need a good fruitgrowing soil and site. The ideal soil is a deep, fertile, free-draining, acid brown earth loam. Moving away from the ideal, to heavy ground or very light soil, the chances of regular good crops are reduced. Heavy land gives vigorous growth with reduced flowering and fruiting and more disease. Wet land and peaty bog are generally disastrous for fruit, but large planting mounds might improve results.

Avoid frost pockets on low-lying ground — a slight slope to drain away cold air on a frosty night will improve results. All fruit crops do best in full open sunlight. Fruit crops need good shelter for improved air temperatures with some air movement to dry the foliage after rain and lessen disease. Too much shelter can favour diseases. The best fruit-growing soils and conditions are east of a line from Cork to Derry. Good weed control is essential. Plant either bareroot or from pots but no deeper than the soil mark on the stem, or the compost level in the pot.

Apples are still by far the most popular fruit and easiest to grow. On a good site, a good crop can be expected in nine or ten years out of ten. The best early fruiting variety is ‘Discovery’. ‘ Lor d Lambourne’ ‘Red Devil’, ‘Topaz’ and ‘Winston’ are good varieties with disease resistance. They ripen in the order given. ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ is the best cooking variety, keeps well, but it can be

The ideal soil is deep, fertile, acid brown loam

affected by apple scab and canker, especially on heavy ground.. Apple trees grown on M26 rootstock, which is semi-dwarfing, make a tree of good size, not too big.

Pears are less tolerant of poor growing conditions, and drainage must be good. The three usual varieties are ‘Conference’, ‘Williams Bon Chretien’ and ‘Doyenne du Comice’, the first two are quite reliable about cropping, giving pears most years, the third is a pollinator for both and the best quality of the lot. In good localities, expect pears seven or eight years out of ten. Plums are more hit and miss than either apples, which flower after pears, and pears which flower after plums. By flowering early, there is a greater chance of being hit by frost, which is why plums are not as reliable, and even more so in inland areas and north-facing slopes. The best plum variety is ‘Victoria’, most reliable and good flavour too, but unfortunately prone to silver-leaf disease, especially if it breaks branches with too heavy a crop.

Black currants are reliable except in areas where late frosts are common. ‘Ben Lomond’ is a variety widely offered, reliable with good yields because it is late-flowering. ‘Red Lake’ is a common red currant variety, though often just sold as red currant. ‘White Versailles’ is the usual white currant variety. The best gooseberry is ‘Invicta’ because it is resistant to mildew. ‘Glen Clova’, ‘Malling Jewel’ and ‘Leo’ are good raspberry varieties, cropping in order, with ‘Autumn Bliss’ and yellow-fruited ‘Fallgold’, good autumn-fruiting kinds. Tayberry is excellent and loganberry too, an older hybrid berry, both sold under

those names. Of the strawberries, ‘Elsanta’ is an excellent variety of very good flavour and the older ‘Cambridge Favourite’ is still around. The best blueberry variety is ‘Blue Crop’ but needs acid soil and protection from birds. Fruit plants can be planted right away. All except strawberries need annual pruning – and even they need an annual tidy-up after fruiting. Try to keep the centre of apple, pear and plum trees open. Remove some older shoots each year, on plums after fruiting and on apples and pears in winter. Shorten other shoots to about half. Shorten leafy growth in summer if the trees are vigorous. Gooseberries and red currants are pruned back to five or six permanent branches. Blackcurrants and blueberries should have some old shoots removed close to ground level each year. Raspberries and tayberries should have all of the old fruited shoots removed after fruiting.