If you’ve been bored like me during quarantine, you’ve tried regrowing scallions, leeks, and even celery to varying degrees of success. But I never even thought to try growing my own fruit at home! If you have always wanted to grow your own fruit, then you have come to the right place we’ve got three fruits you can easily grow from home.
Apples
If you have space for a tree in your garden, then we think an apple tree would be a great addition if you are a newbie, as apple trees don’t demand much attention making them one of the easiest fruit trees to grow, and we have got some tips to get you started.
When planting your tree in your garden, find a sunny spot away from frost pockets and dig a hole roughly three times the diameter of the root and no deeper than the root length. We recommend buying a young tree that’s ready for planting rather than trying to sow the pip from scratch. Once you have planted your tree, water it through dry spells and when the fruit starts to swell.
If there are a few apples on the ground around the tree, that is a good sign that the apples are ready to harvest. To pick an apple from the tree cup it and lift softly with a gentle twist, the apple should break away easily with the stalk, if that doesn’t happen the apples are not ready for picking.
Strawberries
You should plant your strawberry bush in early spring, by first digging in garden compost and applying general fertilizer. Don’t plant the roots too deep as this will cause rotting. Once planted give them liquid potash feed every 7 – 14 days. When the strawberries are bright red, you can start to pick them. A top tip is to pick them at the warmest part of the day as this is when they are at their most tasty. Now you’ve grown your strawberries why not make some strawberry jam.
Jalapenos
You might be thinking we’ve made a mistake by adding jalapenos to the list, but we can assure you we haven’t. Jalapenos are a forgotten fruit, so we thought we’d give them the recognition they deserve. Out of all the peppers jalapenos are the modest favoured. You can start by growing your jalapenos indoors by sowing the seeds in small containers with holes in the bottom. Mix some organic compost into the soil and keep damp. Place in front of a window that allows plenty of sunlight. Once the reach is roughly 2 inches tall, replant your jalapenos into a bigger pot. Once the plants are strong enough, you can transfer them to an outside space. From now it should take approximately three months for the jalapenos to make an entrance. Ideally, you should keep the plants in temperatures between 75 – 85 degrees Fahrenheit. You can choose to harvest your jalapenos when they are green ot red. There are many ways to eat your jalapenos and we think the pickled jalapenos recipe from Boulder Locavore is excellent.
For more ideas on how to eat your new homegrown fruit, check out Easy Ways to Eat More Fruits and Veggies.
