If you’ve ever picked a fresh piece of fruit from a tree and eaten it, you’ll know what it means to eat real fruit. The taste from a real organic (not chemical sprayed) tree, compared with the taste of fruits from the supermarket, just doesn’t compare. So you’d be forgiven for immediately wanting to learn how to grow organic fruit trees at home – and it’s actually not that hard! Keep reading to discover the how, why, where and when of growing fruit trees organically so that you can pick your own fruit, at home, whenever you choose.
What are Organic Fruit Trees?
The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) defines organic food production as “A production system that is managed…to respond to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity.”
This means it’s not just about not using chemical pesticides and fertilizers. It’s also about maintaining a system of growth that starts from the ground and works its way up. In other words, you work in harmony with nature to get the best growth possible, without harming the environment or risking your own health.
Benefits
- Beautiful tasting fruit
- Fruit that is clean from agrochemicals
- No environmental harm
- Existing in harmony with nature: the soil, the insects and the wildlife
- Extremely healthy for you and your family to eat
- You can sell excess fruit for a profit
- Low maintenance
What To Grow
You become more climate dependent when growing fruit trees, compared with growing many vegetables and container plants. It is a fact that some types of fruits simply won’t grow well in some places, whilst others will thrive. For example, some organic fruit trees that enjoy the UK climate may not necessarily work very well in tropical Queensland in Australia , and vice versa.
So it is up to you to look into what will work well where you live.
Some exciting options include apples, raspberries, blackcurrants, cherries and plums, just to name a few! Imagine being able to go out and pick a piece of fruit when you want – it can and will happen and it’s not difficult to get started once you know what you want to grow.
Where to Grow Your Trees
Fruit trees need sunlight to grow – so choosing a sunny position is your first priority. But they also need some protection from the wind when they are young, so a completely exposed spot generally won’t work well unless you build some wind breaks. Excess wind exposure can cause problems like fruit falling off, damaged growth and others.
Also think about the future height of your organic fruit tree. Some will grow quite tall whilst others will stay shrub-like in size. You also need to think of height and plan accordingly so that in future other nearby trees are not covered in shade from the tall tree. These are all things you must consider, as you can see planning ahead is a must!
Pruning an Organic Fruit Tree
Pruning is an important aspect of fruit tree maintenance as it helps direct the growth direction of the tree, and also assists in fruit growth. People still argue about the best time to prune a tree, and it will again depend upon your location and climate and of course, the type of tree.
Also consider how old the tree is before doing anything. It is possible to injure a young tree accidentally whilst pruning it, so focus on older trees first.
If you prune in the summer time you are detracting energy away from fruit production and this can result in less fruit. So if you are going to prune in summer, do it as soon as you see buds growing, and only remove that season’s newest growth. You don’t want your trees entering the colder months with unhealed cuts, so ensure you do it early enough so you don’t get caught out with a change in seasonal temperature. Ideally you want to be pruning so that there are no branches crossing over one another.
Growing your own organic fruit trees is so exciting. Learn all you can, but don’t let information overload stop you from diving in – get your hands dirty and start planting some trees so you can reap the harvests in no time at all!
