The production of fruit in the backyard can be just as rewarding as vegetable culture . Fruit trees are different however in that they are perennials , producing fruit for 20 , 30 or 40 years so they require care over a longer period . They also , as is the habit of most living things , get bigger with the passing of time so make sure where you put them is where you
want them.
The average suburban block does not allow a lot of room so you must be sure to pick the right species and varieties to get the most out of your area. Most fruit trees should also be grown in the back yard where you can keep an eye on them and nobody pinches your fruit , this will be especially important in troubled times . You could grow more obscure trees that people might not recognise as food such as Figs , Feijoas , Olives , Elderberries or Pomegranates in your front yard , this would increase your production area.
The limits of space prevent a detailed discussion of all possible fruits here , and only the more common ones will be discussed . There are some excellent texts on fruit growing for the home gardener however and these make a worthwhile addition to any library.
The lead time between planting a fruit tree and obtaining a sizable is quite long unfortunately - somewhere between 3 and 5 years . So the sooner you have your mini orchard set up the sooner you will be able to sit down to a dessert of fresh , homegrown fruit.
SITE SELECTION AND SOIL PREPARATION
There will probably not be much choice when siting your fruit trees in a back yard, the prime growing area will probably be already taken by the vegie patch. If at all possible avoid planting fruit trees near the vegie patch as they tend to be a drain on soil nutrients out to the drip line. If you must plant near the vegie patch use the southern side and avoid the northern side of the vegie patch. Otherwise the vegies will be shaded more and more as the tree grows with the subsequent loss in production.
In my experience the trees can be sited just about anywhere avoiding the area shaded by the northern fence. This area can tend to stay too wet, particularly in winter and cause the trees problems with wet feet. This also brings up the problem of drainage. When deciding where to put your trees pick the best drained area you can because no fruit tree does well under water - logged conditions. Do not make the mistake of digging the hole for your tree into solid clay and then making sure the soil you put back in is sandy and well drained. It is just like planting a tree into a pot with no drainage
holes, the clay holds the water in the hole and the tree dies.
Drainage can however be improved. If your land has a slope, digging agricultural drains using black corrugated agricultural pipe down to the lowest point will drain the rest of your land well. Then run it into your neighbours back yard and watch him wonder where all the water is coming from!(only joking) the other way is to build up the area into which the trees are to be planted using bricks, sleepers, treated pine logs or stones. The tree can then be surrounded with well drained soil and it will be above the worst of it. The raised area may need to be increased in size as the tree grows.
Now assuming you have your drainage right it is also important to have the pH right. This is now acid or alkaline your soil is. Citrus trees prefer alkaline soils, stone fruit prefer neutral soils but a bit acid or alkaline is not a problem and pome fruit (apples and pears) prefer neutral to slightly acid. PH can be worked out using a colour test kit or pH meter both available from nurseries or farm suppliers. In my experience the colour test kit gives a more accurate reading. Your soils are unlikely to be too alkaline as Australia tends toward acid soils, but if the previous owner used too much lime and the pH is too high an addition of dusting sulphur dug in will lower the pH. To raise the pH either agricultural lime or dolomite should be dug in. Do this well before you intent to plant as the reaction takes time, allow 3-6 months if possible.
TYPES AND VARIETIES
CITRUS
Citrus trees are adaptable to most Australian cities and they produce prolifically with a minimum of effort so they are well worth growing. Where drainage is a problem "trifoliata" is the rootstock of choice as it is more tolerant of damp conditions. They also tend to be better in coastal locations where most of our cities are.
LEMON - Lisbon for cooler areas
- Villa Franca for warm regions.
ORANGE - Valencia - fruit matures during summer - October on , but can be left on the tree until march or April Washington Navels - mature during winter - May June but can be left on the tree another 2-3 months.
MANDARIN - Unshiu or Seedless Satsuma - this is the earliest mandarin maturing late April to May. The tree is small, suiting the home garden.
-Imperial is an early variety
-Emperor is a mid season variety
-Kara is a late variety , developing its best flavour in October.
GRAPE FRUIT - Marsh seedless is the most common variety which ripens in May.
- Wheeny - is an Australian variety which matures from October on.
STONE FRUIT
Stone fruit require a certain number of hours chilling to produce fruit so are suitable only in cool to colder areas. Some low chill varieties have extended the areas where stone fruit can be grown but they still remain an essentially cool climate crop.
PEACHES - Orion - A very early low chill variety.
- Anzac - An early variety .
- Coronet - Midseason variety with medium to low chilling
requirements.
- Fragar - A late maturing variety with medium chilling requirement.
- Glenalton -A late variety, low chill.
- Tatura Sunset-A very late variety
NECTARINES - FLA 6-3 - An early low chill variety
- Sunglo - A midseason variety
- Goldmine- A late low chill variety
APRICOT - Caselin - A very early variety
- Early Oullins - An early variety
- Blenheim - Mid season variety
- Tilton - A late season variety, for cooler areas.
- Hunter - Very late variety
PLUMS - Wilson Early - A very early variety which is self fruitful.
- Santa Rosa - An early variety requiring cross pollination.
- Burbank - A mid season variety that requires cross pollination
- Shipper - A late variety requiring cross pollination.
- Satsuma - A mid season blood plum that is self fruitful.
POME FRUIT
Like stone fruit, pome fruit require a cold winter to fruit well although, again, low chill varieties are being developed. "Northern Spy" is the most common apple rootstock and has good drought resistance. For pears a quince rootstock is desirable as the size of the tree is smaller.
APPLES - Gravenstein - An early variety that tolerates wide range in climate.
- Jonathan - A mid season variety that tolerates a wide climate range.
- Golden Delicious - A mid to late season variety.
- Granny Smith - A late season variety suitable to warm districts.
- Lady Williams - A very late variety that requires along growing
season.
PEARS - Bartlett, duchess - an early variety
- Packhams triumph - this is a mid season variety and is the main export
variety.
- Lemon begamot - a mid season variety grown in S.A.
- Winter nelis - a late variety ideal for the home garden.
MANAGEMENT
CITRUS
As mentioned previously citrus trees do not require a lot of looking after to crop well. They have shallow roots and so benefit from a mulch in much the same way vegetables do, particularly where summers are hot and dry. The level of mulch should not be over the graft or join between rootstock and scion or fungal disease can cause problems.
Citrus trees do require nitrogen so the addition of compost or rotted chicken manure can work wonders. Judicious application of liquid manure or diluted urine is also recommended, and the application of nitrogen should be made in early summer to give best results. There is no need to prune citrus trees except to remove any dead wood. They will benefit from thinning out the fruit, you will have less fruit but the remainder will be bigger and of better quality. Some citrus, particularly mandarins, can go into biennial bearing (a heavy crop one year with little or none the next) if left unthinned. The crop can also be too heavy for the tree and cause limbs to break especially in the early years. When the tree is young it is better to remove all or almost all of the fruit soon after it sets. This allow the young tree to put more effort into getting established rather than producing fruit.
Citrus trees are self fruitful and do not require cross pollinators so you can choose varieties as you like them. Citrus trees are also not bothered by fruit fly (except grape fruit) but are subject to attack from scales and aphids. Scales are controlled by spraying white oil in December to February depending on type of scale and extent of infestation. Aphids are easily controlled by a jet of water from the hose, the pressure method (squashing them between your fingers) or pyrethrum spray. In my experience however once aphid numbers build up the numbers of ladybirds (a major predator) also build up and biological control is achieved.
The main citrus diseases are fungal in nature eg melanose; sooty mold; black spot; and septoria spot. These are controlled by application of bordeaux spray.
STONE FRUIT
Stone fruit do require more care and attention than do citrus, and they have a major problem in that they are subject to fruit fly. The only organic way to deal with fruit fly is to use traps eg Dak pots or a protein hydrolysate / malathion bait which is splashed on to the tree. This method of control is not 100% effective especially in wet weather. The only other way is to use a systemic insecticide which is absorbed into the tree and is transported to all parts including the fruit (eg Fenthion). Such systemics, apart from being a health problem , would not be available after a crash so
you should think carefully if stone fruit are for you. There is also a legal requirement to control fruit fly.
The fertilizer requirements of stone fruit can be fulfilled by using a chicken manure and/or compost mulch. A spring or autumn application of extra nitrogen eg as diluted urine or liquid manure can increase yields. Some stone fruit are self fruitful ie they do not need a different variety with which to cross pollinate so they can bear fruit, peaches and nectarines fit into this category. Almonds require a pollinator and plums can be self fruit or self sterile depending on the variety. All deciduous fruit trees require pruning to get the most out of them. There are different systems for pruning, but for the back yard the best system is the palmette. In this system the trees are pruned to give a two dimensional appearance with the long axis pointing north and south to ensure both sides of the tree get enough sunlight. This system allows the trees to be grown very close to a fence or house and if the trees are planted closely together a continuous hedge may be formed.
POME FRUIT
Pome fruit also require more attention than citrus. They are by and large self sterile, so to have one tree is useless unless a neighbour has a pollinator by sheer luck. Thus you must carefully work out which varieties you wish to grow together to ensure fruit production. One way around this problem is to buy a tree with branch of a pollinating variety grafted on. These tend to be expensive however and difficult to find although they are available. The fertilizer requirement can also be fulfilled for pome fruits by the use of compost or manure as a mulch. They can suffer from lack of potash (potassium) particularly on well drained sandy soils. The addition of wood ash to the mulch can assist in correcting this deficiency.
Pome fruit can be subject to fruit-fly and so have similar problems to stone fruit. They are also subject to codling moth, dimpling bug and woolly aphis. The last mentioned is controlled by the use of resistant root stocks. Fungus diseases can also be a problem but most can be controlled using Bordeaux mixture as a spray or paste and lime sulphur spray.
