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Our
lecturer Mr P Collett was a mine of information re 'Fruit
for the Small Garden'.
Most fruits accept most soils which are neither extremely
acid or alkaline, and compost for drainage always helps, as
they do not like sitting in water. Soft fruits, such
as currants one envisages as bushes, but it 'aint necessarily
so'. They may be trained as fans, cordons or standards,
as can fruit trees and they may be grown in beds, pots and
even some in grow bags or against north facing walls.
Given light, air a free root run and potash, most are incredibly
good natured. It does help if you have selected immune varieties
of cultivars from your catalogue.
Pruning is vital. Each plant must be tackled according
to its individual requirements or you may remove the years
growth on which the fruit will form. Fruit trees, including
pears, which appreciate shelter, are all grown grafted onto
appropriate root stocks and it is essential to choose
the right one for your garden. Weak root stocks need
cosseting but do produce smaller trees. Unlike soft
fruits most of the above are not self fertile, so it is important
to discover which types bloom when so that pollination is
possible between them.
Gosh! There was just so much. Buy a book
and check.
Our meeting the 12th November is the AGM followed
by a talk from Mr McGibbon on Surrey Heathlands
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