We've been eating a lot of strawberries and currants from the vegetable garden lately, and apples and pears will follow soon. In our chicken run, we have two low-stem fruit trees : an apple tree and a pear tree . Perfect, since my vegetable garden isn't very big. Growing fruit isn't actually as difficult as you might think. How exactly do you do it? In this article, I'll explain everything. Planting a fruit tree will be child's play. Growing fruit doesn't just ensure a good harvest. In spring, you can enjoy the beautiful blooms and the bees buzzing from one blossom to the next. Here we go!

Anyone can grow fruit. You don't need a huge vegetable garden. The most important thing is to choose a fruit tree that fits your garden. There are five different types of fruit trees available. To get an idea of ​​how big your fruit tree will grow, look at the terms patio tree, columnar tree, low-stem, half-stem, and high-stem. These terms refer to the type of rootstock used for grafting. Just like grapes, fruit trees are grafted at the nursery because it's known that ungrafted fruit trees often root less well, resulting in weaker growth and lower yields. Just like us, you naturally want strong fruit trees that bear kilos of fruit. That's why we only offer grafted fruit trees in our webshop. I'll now explain exactly what the terms patio tree, columnar tree, low-stem, half-stem, and high-stem mean.

Mini plum tree

Patio trees are also called ballerina or mini fruit trees. This is because, guess what?, they stay very small. They grow to about 1.5 meters tall. Perfect for growing in pots (for example, on your patio or balcony) and require little maintenance. Keep them small by pruning occasionally. This tree may be small, but the fruit grows to the same size as a standard fruit tree. Do make sure you give your fruit trees enough water. If your tree has been dry, it will drop its fruit first. What a shame! If you choose to plant your fruit tree in the ground, water it mainly in the summer or on hot days during the year of planting. Later, I'll share tips on how and where to plant a tree.

Columnar apple trees grow vertically and produce few side branches

A columnar tree is a fruit tree that grows vertically and produces very few side branches. Therefore, a columnar tree takes up very little space. It's ideal for growing fruit in smaller areas or in (40-liter) pots. Because a columnar tree produces few to no side branches, pruning is unnecessary. Do you have an empty spot next to your garden shed? This type of fruit tree is ideal for making the most of small spaces.

Low-stemmed Conference pear tree

Low-stemmed means the tree is grafted onto a slow-growing rootstock, allowing the trees to bear fruit faster and grow smaller. The advantages of this are that they're suitable for smaller (vegetable) gardens and allow you to grow more varieties in the same space. A low-stemmed fruit tree grows to about 2.5 to 4 meters tall, so leave 2.5 to 4 meters between each low-stemmed tree. This is convenient because it allows you to harvest easily, safely, and without a long ladder. Low-stemmed fruit trees don't take up much space. Ideal for anyone (myself included ? ) who finds their vegetable garden too small for everything they want to grow. Low-stemmed fruit trees live for about 3 to 40 years. We offer a wide variety of fruit trees in our online store. Be sure to take a look; there are some really nice varieties. Choose the fruit you like. Just because these fruit trees are low-stemmed doesn't mean you'll have a smaller harvest. You can expect a harvest of between 5 and 20 kg of fruit. Ideal for growing lots of fruit even though you may have a small vegetable garden.

Half-standard fruit trees, like low-standard fruit trees, are grafted onto a slow-growing rootstock. Half-standard fruit trees grow to about 5 meters tall, so you should also allow 5 meters of planting space between them. This type of fruit tree requires a bit more space than low-standard fruit trees. A half-standard fruit tree can easily yield 50 kg of fruit. They can live for 60 to 100 years.

Standard fruit trees are, as their name suggests, the tallest variety. They can reach 7 to 8 meters tall. The recommended planting distance is again based on the estimated height: 7 to 8 meters. You'll need a fairly large garden (or orchard) for these fruit trees. The rootstock of a standard fruit tree is at least 1.7 meters tall, so we don't offer this type of fruit tree.

And now for the real work. After figuring out which type of fruit trees are suitable for your vegetable garden and choosing the fruit variety(s) you'll grow, you'll plant them. I'll explain the best way to do that.

When planting fruit trees, you need to consider the future a bit more than when planning your vegetable garden. Most vegetables only last one or two seasons in your vegetable garden, while most fruit trees can live 30, 40, and even 100 years. The lifespan of fruit trees also depends somewhat on care and size. The older a tree can get, the larger it will become.

What about cross-pollination? Cross-pollination of fruit trees occurs during flowering, when pollen is transferred from the male part of the flower to the female part. This transfer of pollen from one fruit tree to another is called cross-pollination. Therefore, it's a good idea to plant two different types of apple trees, for example, so that insects can find enough blossoms and transfer the pollen from one tree to the other. Cross-pollination can only occur between the same type of fruit tree; for example, a pear tree cannot pollinate a cherry tree. We offer a number of classic and specialty varieties for each type of fruit tree. For example, we have 17 apple varieties available in our webshop :)

Classic apple varieties (left to right): Jonagold, Elstar, Rode Boskoop, Braeburn, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious.

Special apple tree varieties (left to right): Red Love Lubera, Sparkling Lubera, Bramley's Seedling, Cox's Orange Pippin, Discovery, Gala, Gloster, Gravenstein, Ingrid Marie, James Grieve, Summerred.

The fruit trees we offer in our webshop are delivered in pots. They have already established a root system, so you can plant them virtually year-round. The best planting time is autumn. It's not as hot then, there's still some rain, and the fruit trees still have plenty of time to establish roots . This way, they can enter the winter with a strong root system and sprout their first shoots in spring, perhaps bearing their first fruit a few months later. But be careful! Never plant fruit trees during frost. Sometimes fruit trees are also offered bare-root. We at Moestuinweetjes don't do that. For the simple reason that the roots would quickly dry out in transit, giving your tree a bad start.

Soil preparation for planting fruit trees in open ground