Do you want to add some fruit to your garden but want to start off the easy way? No problem, I have created this quick guide to some of the easiest fruits you can grow in your garden right here in the UK.
Many people can be put off growing fruits at home and instead tend to stick to vegetables. I hope to change this and show you some really easy, but still tasty, fruit that can be grown in your garden.
1. Strawberries
Probably one of the easiest and most popular fruits to grow at home. Strawberries can easily be grown in hanging baskets, pots, or in the ground.
Plant strawberry plants in autumn or late spring in free-draining soil. Plant strawberry runners every 45cm in rows spaced at 75cm (30″) apart if growing in the ground.
Spread out their roots and place them in the soil at a level where the crown of the plant is just above the surface. Avoid planting the crowns too deep as this may end up causing the plant to rot and die.
If growing in the ground, straw is commonly placed under the fruit when the strawberries are growing. This keeps the fruit clean and can also reduce pest problems.
Alternatively, you can grow strawberries in hanging baskets or pots. Hanging baskets are probably one of the easiest ways to grow strawberries as it stops the slugs from getting to them.
Slugs can be a major pain when growing strawberries in the ground.
2. Blueberries
Everyone loves the taste of a nice and juicy blueberry, but not everyone knows how easy they are to grow.
Blueberries grow on small bushes, which can be grown in the ground or in pots, making them perfect for patio growing.
It takes a few years for new bushes to provide a harvest, but you can buy already mature bushes.
Just make sure you use acidic compost for your blueberries and try to get more than one bush to help with pollination. Other than that, they are not too difficult to grow and will provide fruit for a long, long time.
3. Raspberries
Raspberries are very easy to grow they grow like weeds spreading and popping up in new spots.
They will grow pretty much anywhere but I like to keep them away from other fruit and veg and grow them in their area because of how much they like to spread.
They can be grown in containers but are much happier in beds. You can get a few different varieties and grow them together, which will vastly extend the growing season.
I like to mulch around the canes with bark to help suppress weeds.
You will need a frame for raspberries to grow up. Use a trellis or build something yourself with stakes and wire. Raspberries can grow up to a height of 1.5m.
4. Apples
When you think of growing apples, you probably think of huge trees that require yearly pruning or training into an espalier with years of skill and effort.
But that doesn’t have to always be the case.
ou can now get apple trees that have been grafted onto dwarf rootstock. This stunts their growth, meaning they can be grown in pots on the patio or in beds without worrying about them getting out of hand.
5. Cherries
Like the apple trees above you can also get cherry trees grafted onto dwarf rootstocks which won’t grow to ridiculous heights.
6. Pears
Again this is the same idea as the patio apples and patio cherries above.
A pear tree can be grafted onto a dwarf rootstock so that its growth is stunted, this makes it perfect for growing in containers as well as in the ground.