Having such a good reputation as easy-care fruit trees I expected few difficulties growing two plum trees in the farm fruit garden. These made a great start after planting five years ago. One year after planting they were blossoming and later producing an impressive amount of fruit for still small trees – exceeding expectations. Grafting Satsuma To Angelina Both trees were grafted to a second variety giving a good range of ripening times as well as compatible pollinators. Angelina, a European variety, supported a highly productive Satsuma graft that fruited the following summer. It was also necessary to support the grafted Satsuma branch with a sturdy pole as there was a clear risk of breaking under the crop load. Preserving Original Plum With such a good start it came as a surprise to find the whole plant had fallen in a strong wind. On closer inspection this plum had...
Hobby Farm Growing Lessons
My Hobby Farm Persimmons
Battling the elements, my Fuyu persimmon, a non-astringent variety, has made slow gains and now looks like producing several fruits four years after planting. Almost uprooted by severe winds, leaves and branches scorched – this plant has shown it still has the will to live. My Fuyu Persimmon Two metres tall, it finally looks strong enough to hold developing flowers this spring – fruit set has been affected in the past by strong wind and dry soil. After several near-death episodes my Fuyu was given extra irrigations – responding well by producing a handsome lime-green canopy this spring. My Suruga Persimmon Showing a renewed zest for life, a shoot has been grafted to the larger-fruited variety Suruga. This non-astringent variety is able to tolerate hotter conditions making it more suited to the farm. Responding to windy weather, it has not been pruned – the aim being to develop a...
My Hobby Farm Pomegranates
Flowers in the first summer on my pomegranate plant looked promising, giving the impression that a crop would soon follow. However, these early flowers failed to set, falling soon after opening. Four years on, and still no crop, suggests there are some fruiting issues at play. Waiting For My First Pomegranate Fruit Having observed relatively small plants laden with fruit, I suspect certain aspects of climate or soils are lacking on the farm, having an adverse effect on this pomegranate variety – preventing fruit set. Getting larger each year, I am hopeful this spring, my pomegranate will manage to produce at least one fruit, in order to test its flavour and seed hardness. Identifying The Main Challenge Problems with fruit set can be an issue with newer varieties – especially the recently available soft-seeded types. The plant itself has not been bothered by pests, diseases, hot winds or even...
My Hobby Farm Apples
My two apple trees, Pink lady and Fuji, not bothered by relatively heavy farm soil developed quickly giving crops within three years. Now close to their maximum allowed height of 3 metres, a little work pruning during the year is all that is needed to keep these trees tidy. Relatively Trouble Free Expecting issues with codling moth, it has been a surprise to find little damage to fruits. Relatively dry weather has also kept fungal problems to an insignificant level – all resulting in less spraying than expected. Sap sucking insects such as the Apple Dimpling bug have however been the cause of some rough indented fruit – still sweet and tasty, but a little rough looking. Grafting Pink Lady To Royal Gala Apart from rough skin and sunburn to some exposed fruit, my apple crop has been relatively trouble free. Pink lady fruit suffered most from bug attack...
My Hobby Farm Cherries
Having spotted some well developed cherry trees in a local nursery last winter (in 2011) I could not resist giving them a try on the farm. Exceeding two metres in height, their main branches were able to be tied down onto a frame resulting in an instant espalier. Support Frame For Cherry Plant A simple frame made up of iron garden stakes and recycled metal strips was built and looks sturdy enough to support the two cherry plants. In order to prevent branches making contact with hot metal in summer, old shade cloth strips were first wrapped around the metal before being used to secure the cherry branches. Expecting Limited Harvest Self-fertile cherry varieties Stella and Lappin – mid and late season varieties were purchased – maturing around Christmas. It will be nice to see some fruit a few years from now, but I don’t expect a bountiful harvest....
My Hobby Farm Pears
Somewhat indestructible, pears make a good starting point in any temperate fruit garden. But left unattended, old varieties have the capacity to develop into very large fruit trees – dominating their surroundings and producing much of their crop in dangerously high places. Packhams Triumph Grafted With Red Sensation A single pear was planted soon after establishing my fruit garden with the intention of grafting a range of varieties. This pear along with a quince was planted in the most exposed part of the garden in order to give wind protection to other fruit trees during summer. Packhams Triumph, a mid-season variety producing consistently good crops of medium to large pale green fruit was planted in winter and immediately grafted with the bright-skinned variety Red Sensation. Very Light Pruning Tending to be upright growers, pears will eventually develop a weeping habit, but this can be speeded in various ways. Branches...
My Pistachio Nut Hedge
My pistachio hedge gave a taste of things to come by producing a small number of ripe nuts last year – four years after planting. This year there should be more than a handful of tasty nuts provided the female plants are adequately pollinated. Bud Grafting Female Pistachio Nuts With Male The hedge is made up of seven female plants and one male, a dangerous combination as currently all the females depend on one male for pollen. Should the male die there will be some lost years waiting for another male to flower. This situation developed as a result of a receiving a female instead of a male – being difficult to tell if pistachios are male or female when young and dormant – an easy error to make. As a result of this error I have been bud grafting several females with male buds as insurance. Pistachio Nut...
My Grapevines
The first grapevine planted in the farm garden was the popular table grape variety Red Globe. Having big bunches containing large berries with thick skins; there was a good chance that these would survive the elements producing plenty of fruit. I found these berries tend to be bird resistant with little bird attack occurring in the past few seasons – since planting four years ago. Red Globe Grapes On My Hobby Farm As a grafted plant this Red Globe put on strong growth with several bunches produced two years after planting. A crop weighing at least 15 kilos was obtained in the third season. Looking forward to a big crop in the fourth season proved a disappointment. Several weeks of hot humid conditions during late spring resulted in a total crop failure. Very hot winds burnt developing berries resulting in no useful crop. Downy Mildew Grape Disease Making things...
My Early Figs
Growing a fig hedge has been an opportunity to manipulate when the fig crop matures and to keep the fig hedge low. This has been carried out by trialing different pruning times and by changing the level of pruning throughout the year. Several mistakes during past years have now been rectified with promising results. A row of Preston Prolific fig cuttings planted four years ago are now being grown as a windbreak for the garden as well as for early figs. The First Early Crop As soon as the plants break dormancy in spring, the first early crop of figs appear on shoot tips – these fruits mature within a few months, normally by Christmas. After the first crop has developed, a second crop is then formed from the current season’s shoots. This second crop, the most substantial, will mature in early or late autumn depending on the weather....
My Date Palms
Growing date palms has been an ongoing learning experience since purchasing the farm in 2006. Long, sharp spines at the base of fronds can easily penetrate standard garden gloves, footwear and clothing. Safety glasses are a must when working around these plants as unforgiving spines are bound to make contact at some stage. Date Palms’ Spear Roots Date palms have made slow growth due to their inability to penetrate heavy clay subsoil layers on the farm. In their natural environments these palms penetrate deeply into the earth using vertical growing roots called “spears”. Once these spear-roots find a source of water the plant makes rapid growth. Being unable to supply enough water to allow subsoil layers to soften – enabling the spearing roots to penetrate – my palms have stalled showing slow growth. Protecting Young Fronds Some of the original plantings have now been removed and re-potted in order...