SELECTING THE SWEETS: YOUR FRUIT TREE NURSERY

A healthy fruit tree nursery brings years of enjoyment – not to mention a healthy diet. Fruit has been firmly established as some of the most nutritional food – pound for pound – that we can eat. But your fruit tree nursery, if it’s to be successful, must be selected with care. We’d all love to grow bananas and papayas, but fruit trees are territorial. At least to start, it’s a good idea to select trees that are indigenous to your region. However, within that region, its not too difficult to provide the necessary growth conditions demanded by local species.

For example, apples are grown in areas with cool nights in the fall season. Certain Asian and Mediterranean fruits like figs and pomegranates are grown successfully in North America. The following points matter when it comes to deciding which plants you are going to grow in your fruit tree nursery.




A Little Space Can Go A Long Way
With a proper knowledge of spacing, you can see what options are available to you. Closed spacing, dwarfing and grafting techniques, and summer pruning are some of the ways to make possible growing a good number of members in your fruit tree nursery.





Pollination, or, "Do You Come Here Often?"
Though many exotic varieties might be inviting, it is best to go for the local varieties that you see already flourishing in neighboring fruit nurseries. One important reason for this is pollination. If you choose exotic plants, cross-pollination is going to be inhibited on account of lack of a great number of the same plants in the surrounding.

Also remember that the fruit plant you choose should match the type of soil of your fruit tree nursery. For example, peach is damaged in too moist a soil, and apple and pear need drier soils with good drainage.

Be Fruitful And Multiply!
One way to ensure the future of your fruit tree nursery as a productive tree garden is to carefully plan the number of trees being planted. This directly pertains to space available but even with limited space you can get ample amount of fruit. Simply choose varieties that bear fruit for longer times. Different varieties of apples, for example, bear fruit up to eight months a year.

Particularly Productive Pointers…
Planting and growing a tree needs care. While caring for plants, keep their roots damp and protect them from direct sunlight. Keep the graft line clean and free of debris, and also above the ground. If the individual fruits on the plant appear weak, the tree is most probably overburdened. Remove some of the fruit in order to allow greater flow of nutrients to the others.

To prevent the developing of spores on the ground, put ground limestone over the fallen leaves. Try to do the pruning in winter or spring and during dry weather, water once every ten days to two weeks.