Fruit flavors

By Ginger Hogan
Special to the Coastal Point

For the average gardener, fruit trees tend to require too much space to be practical. But there are several small fruits that are perfect for the backyard gardener. Blueberries, brambles — such as blackberries and raspberries, strawberries and figs are all good options for home grown treats.

All of these fruits require similar conditions: full sun, good draining, reasonably fertile soil with a somewhat acid pH. Choose your site and prepare your soil carefully because with most of these plants, you’re making a long-term commitment. Check your soil pH and amend it to the correct range; 6.0-6.5 is ideal. Add compost or dehydrated cow manure to add organic material and improve aeration. Avoid planting raspberries or blackberries where plants in the tomato family, such as tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, or eggplants, have been grown, since these plants can harbor diseases that bramble fruits are susceptible to.

Blueberries and blackberries are planted individually six to eight feet apart. Being a cowardly, and somewhat lazy, gardener myself, these are two of my favorites because a) they have no thorns, and b) you don’t have to bend over to pick them. Blueberries require two varieties for best pollination, but blackberries are self-fruitful. After they’re established, they need only routine water and fertilizer, along with a yearly thinning of the oldest stems.

Raspberries require a little more work but are worth the effort. They need a simple trellis to support the canes and keep them upright when they start bearing fruit. Set the plants in rows and place a stake at either end of the row. Run two wires from stake to stake at three and five feet high and tie the canes to the wires with soft string. Raspberries can produce on old wood or new wood, depending on the type, so check with your supplier to make sure which type you are buying. The two types are pruned differently. The most common variety, Heritage, is a repeat bearing red that you simply cut to the ground each year in late winter. Ask your supplier for instructions for other varieties. Strawberry plants tend to be somewhat short-lived but with a little effort a backyard bed can be self-renewing. Set the plants in wide rows, spacing plants fifteen to eighteen inches apart. You can keep your strawberry patch bearing indefinitely by letting the mother plants (the first plants you set out) bear fruit and send out runners for two years. Then pull the older plants out, leaving the daughter plants produced by the runners. If you continue to do this, you’ll never have any plants more than two years in the garden, and you’ll always have new, vigorous plants staring up.

Another great fruit for the backyard garden, but frequently overlooked, is the fig. This plant can be either a large shrub or a small tree, but unlike other fruit trees, it doesn’t require a complicated spray schedule. You can plant a single tree, since they don’t require two for pollination, and with their large, lobed leaves, they’re really quite ornamental. They are also surprisingly salt-tolerant, withstanding even ocean front conditions and still producing good crops.

As your fruits approach maturity, you may have to give them some protection from the birds and those gluttonous squirrels. Lightweight black plastic netting draped over the plants or spread over the berry patch can help deter these garden thieves. Be sure to get it in place before they start to ripen because the squirrels are not above stealing them early.

So here’s a call to all you gardeners with a sweet tooth. If the idea of pies from just picked berries, or raspberries that didn’t rot in transit, or strawberries allowed to fully ripen, appeal to you, make a commitment now. It’s going to be a sweet season!