Growing Fruit

Backgrounder

Compost for fruit trees
Fruit trees grow best in deep, fertile, well-drained soils. Most fruit trees need to be fed with additional nutrients when they are growing. In poor soils it is good to provide nutrients from time to time beginning at planting. In deep, fertile soils, this is only necessary when the fruit tree has produced several crops. The tree needs lots of nutrients, so well rotted organic matter such as manure or compost, should be applied. Manure is a very useful fertilizer, especially poultry manure. However poultry manure should be mixed with other manure such as such as pig or cattle manure, or with compost. Poultry manure has too much nitrogen in it to be used alone.

When and how should you apply manure or compost to fruit trees? Apply manure and compost when there is not very much rain. Heavy rainfall could wash away some of the nutrients in the fertilizer you just added to the soil. When putting manure or compost around a growing fruit tree, spread it evenly under the tree, only as far out as the branches extend. Do not put too much manure or compost close to the trunk. The nutrients in it must get to the roots which are farther out from the trunk. Lightly scratch the manure or compost into the soil. Be very careful not to damage the little roots that spread out just under the surface of the soil.

Compost is good around the growing fruit tree because it also acts as a mulch. If you put it on the ground around your trees each year, it will keep the soil moist and also keep down weed growth. Mulching also brings earthworms into your soil. As the worms feed, they improve the soil.

So always remember to feed your fruit trees with nutrients which are readily available in manure and compost to make them grow larger, better quality fruits. They may also produce more fruit. Sometimes fruit trees produce too many fruits, so many in fact, that they will be too close together and none of them will grow very big. When this happens, you should “thin” the fruits on these trees.

Thinning fruits
To thin fruit trees means to remove some of the fruits when they are young. When you do this, those that are left will grow bigger and better. You will probably be able to sell them for a much higher price in the market. When you thin out the fruits on your trees, you are also able to throw away any that have been damaged by insects or disease. Because of this, the fruits that you finally harvest will be better. Some trees that would normally have a big crop one season will produce a much smaller crop next time. If you thin out the extra fruits from a tree like this early enough, the crop is likely to be good again next season as well. Doing this, you will be getting a more regular crop each year.

When and how should thinning be carried out? Thinning should be done as early in the season as possible, after the first natural shedding when the fruits have formed. You can see whether or not the crop will be too heavy on the branches and shoots, and how many to remove so that the remaining fruits have enough room to develop properly. Remove all fruits that are diseased or damaged in any way or fruit that is lopsided or small. Be careful not to loosen fruits remaining on the branches.

Harvesting fruits
Many fruits have delicate skins, especially when ripe. They should be handled with care at all times in order to avoid damage. If they are not handled carefully, they may be damaged in ways that you might not notice right away.

They can be damaged by dropping the fruit on the ground or into a container against other fruit. Other ways are by cutting the fruit with fingernails during picking, or by squeezing the fruit. Germs, fungus, or insects that spoil the fruit often get into it through bruises or even small breaks in the skin.

Make sure that the fruit is picked at the right time. Citrus fruit may be picked before it is ripe, but most other kinds of fruit will shrivel if they are not ripe enough when picked. Also, they will not develop their full flavour. If fruit is too ripe however, it may rot before it can be used. It is important to know how ripe the fruit you are growing should be when it is harvested. This will help you to reduce loss at the time of selling your fruit in the market.