Jim Jackson wrote:
In uk.rec.gardening honeyman wrote:
I have taken on a plot of land 12meters square and intend planting
it
as a small fruit orchard, with apples, pears, plums, cherries and
gooseberries as a surrounding hedging (keeps the 2 legged rats at
bay
;-). What trained forms, cordons, espalliers, or bushes should
yield
the heaviest harvests from this site?

Heaviest yields would be from sutiable varieties grown as bushes -
but
they take the most space up. Cordons take the least space and hence
you can get more varieties. Espaliers are inbetween. However
espaliers and cordons are labour intensive.

Let me get this straight. You want to make a hedge of gooseberries to
stop people pinching your gooseberries. Am I missing something here?

One traditional solution to the two-legged rat problem is Himalayan
Giant brambles. The tail-less rodents can help themselves as much as
they like on their side, but that won't matter. A bit of effort to
keep them within bounds, of course, but probably worth it.

--
Mike.