Day 68 of 365 Days Of Low Carbon Living: planting ahead for the bounty of home-grown fruit.

Back in February I had this wonderful bounty of plums.

Plums to eat.

Plums to share.

Plums to dry or freeze for later.

Plums to turn into delicious sauce or jam.

How did I get so much home-grown fruit?

By planting a couple of plum trees a few years ago.

They are just some of the more than 20 types of fruit I have planted in my garden.

As it happens, plums come with a couple of bonuses:

• early fruiting – no years and years of waiting. In fact, I learnt the hard way that you have to take a lot of fruit off the branches in the early years or they will snap under the weight of the fruit and/or the possums or other animals with which we share our produce
• easy care – no tightly timed mandatory spraying against disease and pests (unless you happen to have  pear and cherry slug, which thankfully I do not have since I changed my garden many years ago)

What I did to get home-grown fruit

The fun parts:

• deciding what to plant – what we like to eat, of course!
• choosing the varieties – ordering well in advance from local or mail order nurseries improves the chances that you’ll get what you want
• standing back and admiring your handiwork after planting the trees
• eating and sharing fruit you have grown

The parts that might be not quite so much fun – although, then again, they might be:

• choosing varieties that are likely to work in a warming climate with drying soils and increasingly variable and severe weather
• working out where and to plant the tree so as to maximise benefits and minimise problems later- remember to consider how big it will grow, what it’s physical needs are, and that you need room to be able to prune it and to collect its fruit
• waiting to get your tree – many types of deciduous fruit trees are only available in winter
• waiting for the right time to plant the tree – this depends on the type of tree and where you live.
• digging the hole – this fun dirty activity can be difficult if you have very hard or rocky soil or very little room or you lack decent digging implements or ability. Remember to allow plenty of time to dig a nice big, square hole. There’s plenty of advice around online and in person about what each type of plant needs where you live.

In cool climates like Canberra, winter is the cheapest time to buy deciduous fruit trees like plums from local nurseries (if you haven’t already ordered them in advance) and the best time to plant them.  At the end of winter, the choice of plants is likely to be limited yet you can also pick up some bargains if you’re not fussy about choice.

Because I have a small garden, I planted two trees in the hole.

• That allows two different varieties in the space of one tree.
• It also helps make the trees a little smaller, so they are easier to care for and harvest.
• My plum trees fruit at slightly different times, so I also get a longer cropping season.

Why I have home-grown fruit

Some of the reasons I grown my own fruit are:

• I know exactly what chemicals are used on the fruit – in my case, none!
• it comes with zero food miles – so no climate damage or road safety problems from transporting the fruit to my home (sometimes it doesn’t even make it inside!)
• it is harvested by hand – again, no climate damage from fuels
• in many cases I can grow varieties I want – there is more variety available to home growers than to commercial growers, because we have different priorities
• I enjoy the beauty and amenity (e.g. shade, privacy, flowers) provided by the trees, bushes and vines in my garden

The challenge

Aim to grow at least one type of fruit at your home. Limited space is not an issue – remember that there are dwarf varieties that can grow in pots. Seek advice about what is suitable for your area, and when and how to plant it.

Join me!

Any change or challenge is easier if you have company along the way.

So let’s embark on this journey together.

• Read my blog every day for ideas, thoughts and experiences for living a lower carbon lifestyle, more in harmony with nature – while also adapting to the consequences of our damaged climate.
• Subscribe to get posts direct to your inbox.
• Commit to taking action yourself.
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A problem shared is a problem halved. We’re all affected by the changes to our world so we need to be all in on the action!

Till next time…