Hi

I'm looking for plants for east & west facing walls in a sheltered
garden in the south east. Must produce food, must be perennials, low
maintenance required as they may get ignored at times, and the more
the yield the better. Available space per planting position is around
6-7' high, varying from 2-15' wide, 1.5 feet deep. Fruit would be
first choice, other options are a perhaps. There are walnuts in the
area, so they'll have to survive the possible walnut toxicity.

Any suggestions?


thank you
NT

"NT" wrote


I'm looking for plants for east & west facing walls in a sheltered
garden in the south east. Must produce food, must be perennials, low
maintenance required as they may get ignored at times, and the more
the yield the better. Available space per planting position is around
6-7' high, varying from 2-15' wide, 1.5 feet deep. Fruit would be
first choice, other options are a perhaps. There are walnuts in the
area, so they'll have to survive the possible walnut toxicity.

Any suggestions?

I think you would do better to contact one of the well known fruit plant
nurseries to discuss your requirements.
At 7ft tall you would may have a problem with restricting any fruit tree to
that height as even on very dwarfing rootstock most would eventually grow
too high unless severely pruned. Fan trained early fruiters like apricots,
peaches etc should do well on a West facing wall, provided they got sun for
the rest of the day, as they would be protected from the early sun which
burns the flowers after any frost. Speak to the National Fruit Collection
people at Brogdale, I've found them very helpful in the past.

-- Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

On 12/08/2011 23:18, in article
, "NT"
wrote:


I'm looking for plants for east & west facing walls in a sheltered
garden in the south east. Must produce food, must be perennials, low
maintenance required as they may get ignored at times, and the more
the yield the better. Available space per planting position is around
6-7' high, varying from 2-15' wide, 1.5 feet deep. Fruit would be
first choice, other options are a perhaps. There are walnuts in the
area, so they'll have to survive the possible walnut toxicity.

Any suggestions?

You could look at some of the raspberry-blackberry hybrid berries - things
like loganberries, tayberries, sunberries. They seem to be disease-free,
they crop heavily, and the fruit are good fresh or frozen. Once a year you
need to cut out all the canes that have fruited (which can be done any time
from just after fruiting through to the end of winter), and during the year
tie in new canes that are growing (for the sake of tidiness, not because
it's crucial to cropping, so again it doesn't matter if you ignore it). The
once a year pruning is easier if you tie in fruiting canes horizontally or
at an angle, and the new canes in a vertical bundle, to be separated and
tied in properly after you've cut out all the canes which have fruited.

Try underplanting stuff with alpine strawberries - tedious to pick, but
masses of flavour and largely unbothered by slugs - another really good low
maintenance fruit producer.

On 12/08/2011 23:18, NT wrote:
Hi

I'm looking for plants for east& west facing walls in a sheltered
garden in the south east. Must produce food, must be perennials, low
maintenance required as they may get ignored at times, and the more
the yield the better. Available space per planting position is around
6-7' high, varying from 2-15' wide, 1.5 feet deep. Fruit would be
first choice, other options are a perhaps. There are walnuts in the
area, so they'll have to survive the possible walnut toxicity.

Any suggestions?


thank you
NT
I have a fan trained Victoria plum on an east facing fence. Planted
about 12 years ago on a dwarfing rootstock it occupies a 15-18 foot span
(but you can train it to suit). It does need pruning to contraol growth
but in the last 4 or 5 years has produced at least 30-40lbs of fruit per
year.

I am in Fareham, Hampshire

Malcolm

[quote=Malcolm;932894]On 12/08/2011 23:18, NT wrote:[color=blue][i]


Can I put in a vote for redcurrants on the east wall.

They can be roughly fan trained or carefully cordon trained. Either way they are very productive and briefly ornamental.

On 13/08/2011 08:08, Bob Hobden wrote:
"NT" wrote

I'm looking for plants for east & west facing walls in a sheltered
garden in the south east. Must produce food, must be perennials, low
maintenance required as they may get ignored at times, and the more
the yield the better. Available space per planting position is around
6-7' high, varying from 2-15' wide, 1.5 feet deep. Fruit would be
first choice, other options are a perhaps. There are walnuts in the
area, so they'll have to survive the possible walnut toxicity.

Any suggestions?


I think you would do better to contact one of the well known fruit plant
nurseries to discuss your requirements.
At 7ft tall you would may have a problem with restricting any fruit tree
to that height as even on very dwarfing rootstock most would eventually
grow too high unless severely pruned. Fan trained early fruiters like
apricots, peaches etc should do well on a West facing wall, provided
they got sun for the rest of the day, as they would be protected from
the early sun which burns the flowers after any frost. Speak to the
National Fruit Collection people at Brogdale, I've found them very
helpful in the past.

-- Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK



I would have thought, Bob, that espalier-trained apples against a wall
would suit the OP, so height would be much less of a problem. They
would have a smallish footprint at the back of the border, allowing
other crops to be grown in front.

I have a Victoria Plum trained on a SW-facing fence. It is so much
easier to support and pick the crop. My only problem is that the fruits
are picked by squirrels, often before I get a look in. If the OP could
use nets, he/she would probably have more success. I can't, because I
have ornamentals in front of the plum and a net would interfere with
their care. At the planning stage (which is where the OP is), it's much
easier to build in fixings for netting.

With netting in place, even grapes would be an option.

We have a loquat tree which fruits for us. It makes a broad spreading
tree, though, with large evergreen leaves so this would tend to steal
both light and water from the other crops. It may be good for a
separate site.

Other ideas for fruit a rhubarb, blackcurrants, gooseberries,
raspberries. Strawberries would be good for ground level.



--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

On Aug 12, 11:18*pm, NT wrote:
Hi

I'm looking for plants for east & west facing walls in a sheltered
garden in the south east. Must produce food, must be perennials, low
maintenance required as they may get ignored at times, and the more
the yield the better. Available space per planting position is around
6-7' high, varying from 2-15' wide, 1.5 feet deep. Fruit would be
first choice, other options are a perhaps. There are walnuts in the
area, so they'll have to survive the possible walnut toxicity.

Any suggestions?

thank you
NT

Thanks for all the suggestions I'm sitting here drooling and
completely unable to make a decision.

I think plums & blackcurrants, and maybe some hybrid berries and
strawberries. Are full size strawbs also usable for the understorey?
Slugs are a problem here.

cheers

NT

On 16/08/2011 01:56, in article
, "NT"
wrote:

I think plums & blackcurrants, and maybe some hybrid berries and
strawberries. Are full size strawbs also usable for the understorey?
Slugs are a problem here.

They're useable, but a magnet for slugs, and you were looking for
low-maintenance.

On Aug 16, 8:08*am, Kay wrote:
On 16/08/2011 01:56, in article
, "NT"

wrote:
I think plums & blackcurrants, and maybe some hybrid berries and
strawberries. Are full size strawbs also usable for the understorey?
Slugs are a problem here.

They're useable, but a magnet for slugs, and you were looking for
low-maintenance.

OK thanks. I don't know what to use for ground cover then, alpine
strawbs don't really appeal. I've grown them in the past.


NT

NT wrote:
OK thanks. I don't know what to use for ground cover then, alpine
strawbs don't really appeal. I've grown them in the past.

I've also found alpine strawberries susceptible to vine weevil

On 16/08/2011 14:39, NT wrote:
On Aug 16, 8:08 am, wrote:
On 16/08/2011 01:56, in article
, "NT"

wrote:
I think plums& blackcurrants, and maybe some hybrid berries and
strawberries. Are full size strawbs also usable for the understorey?
Slugs are a problem here.

They're useable, but a magnet for slugs, and you were looking for
low-maintenance.

OK thanks. I don't know what to use for ground cover then, alpine
strawbs don't really appeal. I've grown them in the past.


NT


It's not a fruit, I know, but might courgettes suit the understorey instead?

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

Spider wrote:
OK thanks. I don't know what to use for ground cover then, alpine
strawbs don't really appeal. I've grown them in the past.

It's not a fruit, I know, but might courgettes suit the understorey instead?

Erm. I think it is a fruit, actually.

On Aug 17, 10:56*pm, Spider wrote:
On 16/08/2011 14:39, NT wrote:
On Aug 16, 8:08 am, *wrote:
On 16/08/2011 01:56, in article
, "NT"
*wrote:


I think plums& *blackcurrants, and maybe some hybrid berries and
strawberries. Are full size strawbs also usable for the understorey?
Slugs are a problem here.

They're useable, but a magnet for slugs, and you were looking for
low-maintenance.

OK thanks. I don't know what to use for ground cover then, alpine
strawbs don't really appeal. I've grown them in the past.

NT

It's not a fruit, I know, but might courgettes suit the understorey instead?

When I've grown them before, they're almost as big as the redcurrants.
Is it really possible to plant one under the other, and still get good
results?


NT

On 17/08/2011 23:57, wrote:
wrote:
OK thanks. I don't know what to use for ground cover then, alpine
strawbs don't really appeal. I've grown them in the past.

It's not a fruit, I know, but might courgettes suit the understorey instead?

Erm. I think it is a fruit, actually.


Technically, indeed it is, but not in it's accepted useage

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

On 20/08/2011 16:40, NT wrote:
On Aug 17, 10:56 pm, wrote:
On 16/08/2011 14:39, NT wrote:
On Aug 16, 8:08 am, wrote:
On 16/08/2011 01:56, in article
, "NT"
wrote:


I think plums& blackcurrants, and maybe some hybrid berries and
strawberries. Are full size strawbs also usable for the understorey?
Slugs are a problem here.

They're useable, but a magnet for slugs, and you were looking for
low-maintenance.

OK thanks. I don't know what to use for ground cover then, alpine
strawbs don't really appeal. I've grown them in the past.

NT

It's not a fruit, I know, but might courgettes suit the understorey instead?

When I've grown them before, they're almost as big as the redcurrants.
Is it really possible to plant one under the other, and still get good
results?


NT

In truth, I haven't tried, but if there's enough light and if you feed
and water well, I would have thought so. I'd certainly try it if I had
the appropriate site, although it would be blackcurrants for me.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay