You Can Grow Your Own Fruits & Nuts
Don’t be intimidated by fruits and nuts. You can grow your own. Growing your own fruits and nuts is economical, ecological and (basically) easy.
It’s also delicious – you’ll see that most fruits you grow are sweeter, meatier and just better than what you get at the supermarket. Oh, and did I mention cheaper?
If you’ve gone to buy blueberries or strawberries
for pies, muffins or other goodies you know what “sticker-shock” means. And if you’ve ever tried to find gooseberries
or currants
, well forget it. They’re just not available unless you go to a specialty store…and then you get hit with an astronomically price.
Apples, pears, apricots, cherries, lemons, limes, oranges…any type of fruit you desire, you can grow.
The fact is that with a little planning, fruits and nuts don’t have to be so exotic…you can grow your own!
So what do you need to think about when it comes to planting fruits and nut bearing plants and trees?
For starters, you’ll need a regular maintenance schedule of pruning, fertilizing, water and pest control.
Things to keep in mind:
Wild life likes fresh fruit just as much as you do and netting your fruit trees maybe necessary to keep deer, birds and other wildlife away.
Pollination is essential to fruit production. Most fruits are pollinated by insects, with bees and wasps being the most common pollinators.
Where you live will determine what type of fruit you will be able to grow outside. Inside you can have dwarf fruit trees such as dwarf lemon, lime or oranges growing in large pots. They add a wonderful fragrance to the air in your home! Put them out on the porch in summer and warmer weather, but be sure to take these delicate plants inside when it gets cold.
Fruit growing essentials:
- Space - Each plant needs enough room to ensure they get enough exposure to sunlight. How far apart you plant your fruits depends on they type of fruit and how big they’ll eventually grow.
Click to see our useful chart for planting fruit trees or here to see our chart for planting nut trees.
Bush fruits can be spaced about six feet apart, except for strawberries which can do with one foot spacing and red raspberries which need just two foot spacing.
Blueberries and currants make beautiful hedge plants, so plant them as close as four feet apart for a continuous row.
- Sunlight – Fruit needs plenty of sun, whether it ripens on a branch or bramble.
- Soil – Almost all the fruits do best in a slightly acidic soil, somewhere between a pH of 5.5 and 6.5. The exception is blueberries, which prefer a soil of even greater acidity (pH between 4.0 and 5.0).
- Drainage – Whatever fruit you plan to grow, adequate drainage is important. When scouting the backyard for a suitable site, avoid low-lying areas that collect water or are slow to drain in the spring.
- Pollination – Most fruit trees have both male and female organs in the same flower, but not all are self-pollinating (fertilized by their own pollen). The best bet is to have more than a single variety within 100 feet, so bees can travel between and cross-pollination can take place. Small fruits, except for blueberries, can be fertilized by their own pollen.
For even more information about growing fruit and nuts, visit our page About Growing Fruit & Nuts.
Browse our affiliates that sell fruit and nut trees