Branching Out

Our local supermarket is currently selling dwarf fruit trees for the bargain price of £7 each, two for £10 or three for £14. They are stocking a wide variety of different fruits so we have found room in our garden for another three trees.

We currently have two apple trees, one cooking variety and one eating variety, a plum tree and two cherry trees in the front garden. The apple and plum trees are starting to become established and reliable croppers, we planted these five years ago when we bought our house. The two cherry trees have been planted for a little under two years so have yet to produce anything of a crop. You can’t expect instant results from young fruit trees, they need time to acclimatise to their surroundings and build up a good and healthy root system.

We plan to buy a further cherry tree, a pear tree and a second variety of eating apple from the supermarket. This should give us a further variety of fruit in the coming years but will also provide some extra colour to the garden in spring. During the summer they should also, once established, provide some screening from the car park adjacent our rear garden.

Growing your own fruit and vegetables is incredibly rewarding and doesn’t have to be expensive. Our current fruit trees have cost us a little over £20 and should provide us with free fruit for generations to come. Adding to our urban orchard should ensure that we can produce even more of our own fruit in years to come but will require a little patience on our part to allow the trees to settle into their new surroundings and grow into healthy and happy specimens.