Plant now rewards later

[moonraker]

Hello earth Lovers,
Whats the best return for your hard earned cash when it comes to the Garden and the items you plant in it ???
Well for a start and if your thinking of living in your home for many years to come???
Give a thought to the fruit tree's, Apple/Pear/Giant Plum tree etc,
For the price of these sorts of tree's in to days market and the yield you can get when in full bloom (average apple tree 7yrs) your sure to get more of your investment back
The same can be said of the fruit bushes, they do not have as long life span as the tree form of fruits/Nuts etc but not only can you have plenty of fresh fruit for the table "But" you can help pay for the freezer with your own frozen fruits both cooked or just frozen for future meals & the birds will love you for their share (use Nets or the birds will eat you out of house & home)

Yes you can plan for those later days in your life "Now" and the over all cost is very worth while.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

'Best return' can be calculated various ways. For example potatoes are dirt cheap in the shops and take quite a bit of room, if I grew all we use I wouldn't have much room for anything else. On the other hand I will always grow some , just for the taste.

 

[moonraker]

'Best return' can be calculated various ways. For example potatoes are dirt cheap in the shops and take quite a bit of room, if I grew all we use I wouldn't have much room for anything else. On the other hand I will always grow some , just for the taste.

But have you tried growing in containers and using the ground for other things?
Also the old cottage garden planting and sowing such as lettuce in with your flower 's ?
Tomatoes in with Tagetes this flowering plant keeps white fly away from the toms;
Mint if planted in a plant pot with the base removed wont spread like hell and gives a lovely smell to the border,
The list goes on.

 

[MiniOrchardDude]

Fruit trees require a lot of work but are very rewarding. Some people are very lucky to plant a tree and get fruit with no care.

Fruit trees are a long term investment. With proper care you can harvest some varieries within 3 years. For smaller spaces get self pollinating so you can have multiple variety fruit. Plums, pears cherry, peach, nectarines, apples. Peaches and nectarines are mostly self polinating. Stella sweet cherry is self polinating. Few plums and pears are self polinating so be careful in the selection. Also pay close attention to harvest times. Space apart the harvest times for each tree so your not overloaded with fruit for a for couple weeks. You want a constant supply of fruit over your entire growing zone.

To be honest in my opinion if you can do one thing this year focus on your fruiting trees but dont forget other fruiting perrenials. Blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, grapes, kiwiberry, gooseberries to name a few. These have all grown well for me now that they are established.

Hazelnut can be small bushes. Almond trees are basically peach trees so they are smaller than most nut trees.

Do a bit of research on disease resistance fruit trees and high density fruit tree planting.

MOD

 

[moonraker]

Hi MiniOrchardDude,
Good to hear from you, and a good reply,
Fruit like a lot of foods (fresh food) in a lot of countries is costing more every season, So much i have noticed folk are buying more tinned fruits,
I believe this is because the big stores fruit counters have fruit that once its taken home only last a very short time all due to the way the fruits are stored before they end up on the counters for the public to buy them,
And a lot of fresh (so called) has no taste because of the way they are harvested to early & then put into false propagation area's, Take the common tomato they have little taste and even cooked you'll find to have to add puree to get that real taste, Banana 's I wont even talk about,
Nice talking to you MOD

 

[MiniOrchardDude]

Hi MiniOrchardDude,
Good to hear from you, and a good reply,
Fruit like a lot of foods (fresh food) in a lot of countries is costing more every season, So much i have noticed folk are buying more tinned fruits,
I believe this is because the big stores fruit counters have fruit that once its taken home only last a very short time all due to the way the fruits are stored before they end up on the counters for the public to buy them,
And a lot of fresh (so called) has no taste because of the way they are harvested to early & then put into false propagation area's, Take the common tomato they have little taste and even cooked you'll find to have to add puree to get that real taste, Banana 's I wont even talk about,
Nice talking to you MOD

Most fruit grown commercially are varieties that are hard enough for transport and have an appetizing look to them. Some happen to be tasty but not even close to a ripe fruit off a tree. Besides I like my fruit soft so when I bite into it, juice drips down my chin.

MOD