The thing about fruit plants is that they are perennial and will grow and yield some fruit every year even if you badly neglect them. This is unlike vegetable plants, which are annual and you have to start off afresh every year.
So what tends to happen is that the vegetables grab my attention and I think, I'll just get these seeds sown and then I will sort out the fruit. And before I know what has happened, the vegetables are sown and the fruit is cropping and I run from sowing season into harvesting season without taking a breath. More to the point, I move on without weeding, pruning and training the fruit as I intended. This is all very silly, given how much I love picking fruit and turning it into delicious desserts and jam.
But now we are in lockdown and I have the time to properly sort out the fruit and still get all the vegetable seeds sown in a reasonable timeframe. Now is a great time to prune apple and pear trees, which is handy because mine were in need of that just to get some of the branches out of my face or from poking me in the bum!
The raspberry bed was in a real state too, having ended up with brambles growing in amongst them. Brambles are a real pain because it roots again wherever they touch the ground and the roots can quickly get quite deep. They are, of course, very spikey so pulling them out is very tricky without damaging yourself. It is, however, awful to be happily picking raspberries and to stick your handy onto sharp thorns so it was definitely a job that needed doing.
Over the next few days, there is more work to be done in the other fruit beds. Weeding, more brambles to remove, pruning, removing old plants and so on but I am hopeful for a particulary good harvest this year with all this extra attention.
So, which fruit can you grow at home and is there time to start this year?
Strawberries - if you grow no other fruit, you should have a go at growing strawberries. They are small, low growing plants that don't take up much space and can even be grown in containers. They are quick to get established and will give some fruit in the first year and will be at their best in the second year. Every year they will send out runners, which are new plants so you can quickly expand your strawberry beds if you wish. There is still time to get strawberries started this year. Keep them weed-free and when the fruit develops it is a good idea to put them into plastic bottles with the base cut off - this will help to keep them clean from mud splash, keep the slugs off and stop birds from pecking at them.
Raspberries - these can be purchased as "canes", which you can plant straight into the ground. It is a good idea to grow them along a fence or put in some form of support to just keep them tidy but this is not essential. There is still time to buy these online and get them established this year and you may get a small yield of fruit.
Currants - these can be grown as bushes and come as blackcurrants, redcurrants and whitecurrants. You only really need one bush to provide you with more of that currant than you probably need! Once planted, they need very little attention and will crop happily year after year. There is still time to buy these online for April delivery.
Goosberries - these are another easy to grow bush. Most varieties are green but you can also buy them as red dessert varieties, which are slightly sweeter but lower yielding. They are all very spikey plants, making harvesting the fruit something of a painful chore. Also, a lot of people don't like to eat gooseberries. So, this is an important point for all fruit varieties, if you don't think you want to actually eat the fruit, don't grow it. There is still time to order these online for planting in April.
Blackberries - given that brambles grow so well in places that you don't even want them and that you can go for a wander to the nearest hedgerow to pick blackberries in autumn, you might question whether it is worth taking up space in your garden growing blackberries. However, cultivated types of blackberries yield bigger, more flavoursome fruit and are generally thornless. There are even varieties these days suitable for growing in containers and hanging baskets. These are also available for purchase for planting in April.
Hybrid Berries - in addition to the standard berries above, you can also buy a whole range of berries that are crosses between one or more of the standard berries. They include tayberries, loganberries, jostaberries, boysenberries and chuckleberries. These all make very nice jam, if you are in to that kind of thing like me, but other than that I can't particularly recommend growing any of these over growing any other kind of soft fruit.
Blueberries and Cranberries - both of these benefit from growing in ericaceous compost because the plants like an acid soil. So, if you don't naturally have an acid soil (most places don't) then you would need to grow these plants in pots. Blueberries are particularly attractive plants so look nice in the garden but I have yet to grow a yield of blueberries bigger than one batch of blueberry muffins. My only attempt at growing cranberries failed altogether but you may have better luck.
Tree fruit - common trees available to buy online are apples, pears, plums, cherries and gages. These are all still available to buy this year but don't expect more than a handful of fruit from a tree in its first planting year. You may also be tempted to try peach or apricot trees but these are particularly tricky unless you have a nice warm, south-facing wall you can grow it next to.
Most tree fruit varieties these days are available in dwarf/patio sized trees that can be grown in containers. These are handy in small spaces but will obviously give a lower yield than full sized trees grown in the ground. Once established, fruit trees are delightful, giving beautiful blossom in the spring, fruit in the summer and autumn colour so they are nice things to have in your garden if you have space.
Citrus fruit - these are especially tricky and we don't really have the climate for them so unless you have a heated greenhouse or a large, bright conservatory, I'd say don't bother. I have tried repeatedly without success and much disappointment and I have always said that when I win the lottery I will get myself an orangery and grow citrus fruit but until then I won't be trying again.
Rhubarb - not technically a fruit but grown and eaten as such, this is very easy to grow and is the first one to harvest in the spring. Again, if you don't enjoy eating it, don't grow it, but if you do then it is worth growing. You can still buy crowns online at the moment and get them planted this year. It would be ideal to leave it alone to grow this year to get established then start harvesting next year.
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