Finding The Space To Grow Fruit

How many times have you seen the prices of fresh produce and wished that you could just grow your own fresh fruits instead? It would be nice, but not everyone has the space available to grow a fruit garden in their yard or home... or do they? While any kind of gardening is a space intensive project, not having a huge area you can devote to your garden shouldn't prevent you from growing fruit at all. You just have to think creatively, plan out your space, and make some smart choices and before you know it you'll be biting into some fresh, juicy fruit for dessert!

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The first thing you need to do when planning out your limited space is to look at exactly how much you can or want to spare for your fruit, along with what kind of fruits you'd like to grow. Thinking logically of course, even a small fruit tree is going to take up a LOT more space than a patch of strawberries so you have to be prepared to work with what you have. When planning space many people often look outwards when in fact thinking upwards can do just as well. Try using poles or cages to give plants something to grow on that won't take up as much space as growing the plant out over more garden space. Hanging planters work well, too!

Speaking of planters, container gardening is a great way to get fruits growing in a smaller space. You can keep your plants exactly where you want them and, with proper care, make sure that they won't grow over or out of control. Planters can be anything as fancy as decorative ones you might find at a home improvement or gardening store, or as simple as a pot, barrel, can, or other space-appropriate container that your fruit plant will grow and thrive in.

Last but not least, don't feel like you have to grow a ton of fruit; you're not growing to stock a store, just your own fridge. Pick out which fruits you're interested in growing and do the math on how much space just those fruits growing will be taking up. If you end up under your limit and want to grow more, then great! If you end up over, simply plan on either scaling back how much you want to plant, or maybe cut back and even grow fruits in cycles, depending on what kind of fruit it is and how permanent the plants are.

The last thing that you should ever feel when you're planning your garden is that you won't be able to just because of limited space. Fruits are delicious, healthy, whole foods, and having them fresh off of the branch or vine is the best way to enjoy them. If you have the time, money, and are willing to put forth the effort to maintain your fruit garden, your space should be no obstacle to the sweet taste of victory!

Video - 3 Fruit Trees for Container Gardens

If you don't have enough land to have a real orchard, it can be a lot of fun and very rewarding to grow fruits, nuts, and berries in pots.This short video explains a few tips and three great varieties for growing in a "container orchard". By using dwarf varieties and grafting, you can grow your own fruit even in a small space. Some nuts will do fine in pots as well, figs are also great, and blueberries can work well as potted plants, although you will want to grow several as they will need to cross-pollinate with each other. You can also move the pots indoors in the winter if you live in a cold climate and are growing less hardy varieties.

3 fruit trees for small space yards and patios
You can grow a variety of fruit trees in your small yard if you buy the right kind of trees and plant them in containers! Garden expert Shirley Bovshow intro...


Dwarf Fruit Trees for Container Gardens:
   

Adding Large Potted Plants to Your Garden

Big pots can make an impressive statement in any garden, particularly if they have big healthy plants in them. Many small trees and shrubs will grow well in big pots provided they have sufficient room for their roots.

The bigger the pot you buy the better - within reason for the size of the plant you intend having in the pot and also provided your budget can stretch that far. This will ensure your plant won't outgrow the pot too soon or sometimes even at all.

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you will need to remove and re-pot the plant/tree as it grows bigger, you should take special care in selecting a pot that is shaped in such a manner that the contents will be able to be removed without having to break the pot. Tapered pots will make this easier whereas pots that are wider in the middle than the top can present problems if the roots have spread out.

Don't fill the pot to the top with potting mix, as this won't leave any room for effective watering.

To ensure their good health you should always buy the best quality outdoor potting mix. You should also feed your potted plant or tree with some slow release organic fertilizer two or three times a year to ensure it is getting good nutrition.

Plants in pots can easily dry out and not get enough moisture so it is also a wise move to give them some water storage crystals or incorporate some other water-holding organic elements into the soil. This will help to maintain the moisture content in the soil. Regardless, if the pot is in the sun it will need more water, depending on the type of plant you have in the pot.

Darker colored pots will also attract more heat and this can affect the growth of your plant so you need to consider where the pot will be to ensure there is sufficient sunlight and also enough easy access to water for it to survive.

Video - Growing Dwarf Fruit Trees In Containers

Here is another great one from Patti, The Garden Girl. If you think of fruit trees as something you can't grow because you don't have enough space, think again! Patti shows how she plants dwarf fruit trees in containers on her patio. It may still take a few years for them to start fruiting, but you really can grow some nice fruit even in a small space.

One thing that she doesn't cover in this video (although she does in another video), is that you must remember to drill plenty of drainage holes in the bottom of the container before filling and planting - otherwise your tree (or any other plant) will drown, so be sure to do this whenever you are planting anything in containers, if they don't already come with holes in the bottom.

Container Gardening: Bare Root Cherry Tree
Patti, the Garden Girl, puts dwarf fruit trees into her patio container garden. Check out my Container Drainage Video for more info. Subscribe to Patt's free magazine! Click here visitor.constantcontact.com Check out Patti's websites www.gardengirltv...


Grow Your Own Dwarf Fruit Trees: