Selection of Site for Fruit Growing

Coppice Road Allotments Association

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7 May, 2012

A General Guide to Fruit Growing

Introduction
There is a wealth of choice of types and varieties of fruit that can be grown in the temperate climes of the UK, though certain of the more 'exotic' varieties may require special treatment or particularly 'mild' regions to be fully successful.

Although there are many classifications of fruit, it is most commonly distinguished into 'soft fruit', or 'summer fruit', and tree fruit, or 'top fruit'.
Soft fruits are comprised of strawberries, the currants, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries (including hybrid berries). They are distinguished from fruit trees or top fruit, such as apples and pears, in that they mainly grow on fairly low-growing bushes or 'canes' and are ready to harvest from the middle of summer to early autumn. Unlike apples and pears, they are highly perishable, and cannot be stored for any length of time, other than by bottling or more commonly nowadays, by freezing. They can also be kept as sweet preserves, such as jam or jelly. Soft fruit, or summer fruit, provides a convenient way to grow fresh succulent fruit in a small area, a patio tub, a corner of the garden, or on an allotment plot.

Tree fruit requires a longer term investment, and usually, though not always, more space. Tree fruit comprises 'pome fruit', such as apples and pears, and 'stone' fruit, such as plums, damsons, cherries, apricots and peaches. Pome fruits, particularly apples, may be stored, under suitable conditions, for many months, while stone fruits are best eaten fresh though they too may be preserved by bottling, freezing, or as jams and jellies.

Among the more exotic fruits which require rather more 'specialised' treatment or growing conditions are grapes, kiwi fruit, passion fruit, blueberries, cranberries, lingon, goji and citrus fruits. These will not be discussed in detail here.

General Principles
Fruit growing is easy! It is also dead easy to make a ‘pig’s ear’ of it! It helps if you have a 'sensitivity' for fruit and its needs. If you get the basics right at the start, you will be successful. If you ignore the basics you’re just wasting space and effort! Growing fruit is a long-term project. Get the ‘basics’ wrong and the ill-effects are also long term.

Fruit bushes and plants have a limited life, so don’t hang on to them when they are past their best, replace with fresh stock, either bought-in, or even healthy stock that you have propagated yourself. The following is the approximate life span of the most common fruits: -

Strawberries - 3-5 years

Raspberries - 8-10 years
Blackcurrants -10-12 years
Gooseberries -12-15 years

Top Fruit – many decades

Some plants may achieve a greater age than those given, others may die earlier. The life span will be adversely affected by any one, or more, of the following factors: -

* Attack by pests and diseases, and lack of prompt treatment.
* Competition from weeds, especially perennial weeds like Couch Grass
* Poor soil drainage (waterlogging), poor soil rootability (compaction)
* Simple bad husbandry and neglect!

Carry out the following steps carefully, and don’t be tempted to ‘skip’ or ‘skimp’ any: -

Choose your site - most land or sites will grow fruit but some aspects are better than others. Wherever possible choose a position where that type of fruit has not been grown previously, it could be contaminated with pests and diseases which will attack your young, newly planted bushes or trees when they are at their most vulnerable. Instead of getting away to a good start, they will be handicapped, and fail to thrive.
The most popular areas for commercial fruit growing, particularly top fruit, are in the southern half of the UK (The south east, south west and midlands), but there are commercial orchards in Cheshire and Yorkshire, and raspberries are grown commercially in Scotland.

The reasons southern areas are favoured are because:-

1. they tend to be warmer

2. they have more sunshine hours
3. they have lower annual rainfall levels, which favour dessert fruits and reduced disease levels.
4. There is some very good growing land with deep free-draining fertile soils.

However, for amateur production, fruit can be grown much further north, extending into Scotland

The best and earliest sites face south or southwest - the soil warms quickly in spring and crops grow and mature quickly in response. The warm sun helps ripen fruit earlier and gives maximum sweetness. They are ‘early sites’.

Easterly facing sites can give problems from cold easterly winds, particularly in early spring when growth and flowers are developing - some damage and loss of blossom can often result.

North facing aspects see less sunshine and so the soil remains cold or cooler for longer. This delays crop growth and retards ripening and the crop is also exposed to cold northerly winds. They are ‘late sites’.

West facing sites are shaded in the morning and sunny later in the day. The soil readily warms up in spring and promotes early growth. The early shade gives some protection for blossom after overnight frosts.

Keep the above in mind when choosing a site, but also take into consideration that nearby buildings, hedges and trees may cast too much shade. Aim to get maximum sunlight on your crop

Beware of Frost Pockets - if your site is in a hollow, or on a slope and the lower boundary enclosed by a hedge or fence, then cold freezing air may collect there and damage your crop flowers. Either, make a way out, for the cold air to escape, or erect a barrier uphill to divert it away from your crop plants or bushes.

The altitude of the site also has an affect upon its suitability, most commercial sites would be planted below the 400ft. (130m) contour line. Top fruit will grow at higher altitude, but the results become increasingly variable the higher the growing site. This because of a cooler, shorter growing season, more exposure to winds, giving rise to damage, fewer pollinating insects, causing poorer quality fruit and lower yields.

Check the soil - Waterlogged, wet and poorly drained soils are bad for most crops, especially for fruit. So if it is really heavy wet clay, look for another site, but if it is just badly drained, see if it can be drained or the crop grown on raised beds or mounds. Plums are generally better able to withstand slightly heavier wetter soils than apples.
The ideal soil is a deep free-draining loamy soil with a good depth (2ft, 60cm), but most soils can grow fruit successfully, with improvement, providing they drain freely. Sticky clay soils could be used as a last resort, but only for culinary fruit, cider apples and perry pears.
Commercial growers will take soil samples and send them away for analysis. The soil will be assessed for Potassium, Phosphate, Magnesium contents and pH (acidity/alkalinity) The amateur will usually make do with a pH test and add some fertiliser anyway, although the RHS will carry out tests for amateur growers for modest fee. The ideal pH would be 6.5 but a range from pH 5.5 to pH 6.8 would be tolerated, except for blueberry and cranberry which require a very acid soil. The soil pH may be adjusted to be less acid by the addition of lime, but lime should not be put where ericaceous varieties such as blueberries or cranberries are to be grown.

Prepare the soil - do not skimp this, be thorough, your fruit bushes or trees are going to be in this soil for many years and your future crops will be severely reduced if the soil isn’t in the best condition you can provide. You will already have checked out the pH of the soil and whether it is free draining or not. The next phase is to control weeds, especially perennial weeds such as: - couch grass, creeping buttercup, thistles, dandelions, docks, perennial nettle, bindweed, willow herb etc. Controlling weeds means eradicating them, totally! Your bushes are going to be immovable for years and failure to eradicate couch grass or bindweed, for example, before planting, will become almost impossible after planting, as they will grow through the roots of your fruit bush. Weeds not only compete for space, light, water and nutrients, but they also act as reservoirs and havens for pests and diseases such as aphids and fungal diseases, ready to infect your fruit over and over again. So get rid!

The best, and most effective, way of disposing of persistent weeds is to spray with a translocated herbicide such as glyphosate (Round-Up, Tumbleweed) which is absorbed by the leaves, is then translocated to the roots, where it interferes with the uptake and metabolism of nutrients, so that the plant ‘starves’ to death. Depending on the reserves already in the root, the herbicide will take anything up to eight weeks to take effect, so be prepared to wait a while before giving a second application. Be sure to spray on a still day so that there is no spray drift to affect other plants and always use in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. This herbicide does not poison the soil, and contrary to popular myth does not poison frogs and toads, who will probably have ‘hopped it’ anyway, with all the activity going on!

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