5 responses |
JoshK starts with ... Hello. My wife would like some fruit trees. Space is limited but there is a large area for spare car parking that is filled in with wood chips. I was considering having 3 large pots for dwarf fruit trees. The space is 2.6m x 9m. I have read other articles that suggest it is possible to have 2 - 3 dwarf plants of a similar type in the same pot... Citrus with citrus, stone fruit can share a pot etc. I have never done this before so any advice - even the most basic - would be helpful. What volume pots would I need? What soil should I use or is this more related to the plants that are going into the pots rather than a generic soil for pots? | About the Author JoshK richmond 8th April 2014 1:51pm #UserID: 9773 Posts: 2 View All JoshK's Edible Fruit Trees |
||||||
MaryT says... Hi Josh K, I have over forty fruit trees in the space that you have so I'm sure you'll have no problem with three :) but do get as large a pot as you can afford. Half wine barrels perhaps but at least 60cm round; the bigger the better. If you want a decent harvest then don't put more than one tree into each pot. Get more pots! I am near the Harbour so we don't have frost but it gets mighty hot and cold in Richmond so I can't advise you re choice of trees. You can order soil by the cubic metre (or half) which would work out to be about a third of buying by the bag. Get some bags of cow manure and some sand to enrich and lighten the soil, mix in slow release fertilizers/blood and bone to suit and maybe some water retaining pellets of some sort. You can find recipes for potting mix on this site in another thread. Cover with mulch away from trunk. Unless you are getting trees with specific needs, general potting mix will do. Do yourself a favour and visit the Secret Garden in Richmond - it's a non-profit outfit on College Drive, University of Western Sydney. Open Tuesday to Saturday 9am - 5pm; they will be able to give you local advice. Bring your kids if any as they have farmyard animals as well. Fabulous chooks (you can buy chicks), a big black pig and a gorgeous goat. Also sheep, ducks, guinea pigs. Plants are sold at wholesale prices. "From Windsor Road turn into Bourke Street Richmond, continue straight and go through the Uni white gate onto College Drive. At the white security hut turn immediately right onto a dirt road. Secret Garden is on your right at the end. Turn hard right into the Free Parking area." P.S. I got the website address from their brochure but when I tried it, a warning appears so I have deleted it from this thread. I visited the place recently so there's no problem there. Their telephone number is 0414 784 460. | About the Author MaryT Sydney 8th April 2014 3:34pm #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reply |
| Remember to
LIKE this Answer(0)
LIKE this Question (0)
Original Post was last edited: 8th April 2014 3:31pm | |||||||
| About the Author JoshK richmond 8th April 2014 4:14pm #UserID: 9773 Posts: 2 View All JoshK's Edible Fruit Trees |
|||||||
MaryT says... JoshK, first - how big is this 'pot' of yours that would hold 2 to 3 plants - by 'plants' surely you do not mean trees? The mind boggles. Trees have roots, so it's not just a matter of keeping the stems away from each other. Jamming 2 - 3 trees, however tiny, into a pot would stunt their growth and they would quickly become root bound. It would also be a nightmare to re-pot them. Sometimes more than one trees can be planted into the one big hole in the ground but I do not believe it would work well in a pot without compromising the health of the trees. In the picture is my quince tree that is in a 60cm diameter (top) pot just to illustrate my point. Imagine more than one of those in a pot.
| About the Author MaryT Sydney 8th April 2014 5:59pm #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
||||||
Julie says... Josh, and anyone else gardening in a small space, it's worth watching this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKhi1B2GCRg This is part 1 -there are further videos. Michele has 160 trees, plus various shrubs and vines, veggie beds and four ponds on 1/2 acre. Quite a few are grown in pots. It's quite surprising to see how close together she grows the plants, but they all look healthy and give them something edible all year round. It really is a 'food forest'. You may not have 1/2 acre, but you can still use the principles seen here. | About the Author Julie Roleystone WA 8th April 2014 7:22pm #UserID: 154 Posts: 1842 View All Julie's Edible Fruit Trees |
||||||
Reply |
| Remember to
LIKE this Answer(0)
LIKE this Question (0)
Original Post was last edited: 8th April 2014 7:23pm | |||||||
Brain says... Like Mary T, I too grow many dwarf (and some non-dwarf) trees in pots. I too would agree with Mary T not to plant multiple trees in one pot. I.e. if you want 9 trees, then have 9 pots. It is more manageable this way for repotting and maintenance, which is quite frequent as growing trees in pots has some additional challenges. Alternatively, go for the multiple grafts. For example, you can get double citrus (lemon and orange) on one rootstock, ditto with some of the stone fruits (i.e apples). So that way, you have one root system and different varieties of fruit. | About the Author Brain Brisbane 8th April 2014 9:26pm #UserID: 6289 Posts: 638 View All Brain's Edible Fruit Trees |
||||||
