Courtesy iStock / Thinkstock
Ask any urban gardener about their favorite crops , they ’ll likely swash of their spill over strawberry mark while , their blueberry bush bush that produce perfumed fruit unlike anything you ’ll regain at the fund , or their exotic currant bush bush experiment .
Despite their sizing , pocket-size fruits are a big pleasure to those of us with circumscribed garden space , and with careful variety survival , they wo n’t take up much garden existent landed estate . Plus , growing them is a slice of cake .
“ If you project it right on , there will be many gay mornings when you could walk out your doorway and start the day with a fistful of homegrown sweetness , ” says Scott Meyer , an urban farmer near Philadelphia and author of The City Homesteader ( Running Press , 2011 ) .
Although you could expand your fruit options by farm gnome - sized tree fruits , such as apples , lemons and peach , it ’s far gentle to get your daily , homegrown sugar with small fruits . By growing an sundry mixture of berries and the like , you ’ll have something delicious to pick throughout the entire grow season . Here are six fruits to jump-start your enterprise .
1. Strawberries
hemangioma simplex are probably the easiest to grow of all the small - fruit varieties .
“ Here in the South , I suggest establish where there is full sun from morning to mid - good afternoon to avoid the extreme heat of the [ late ] afternoon , but in northerly climate , all - day sun is best , ” says Amanda Moon , a central Texas urban sodbuster and landscape clothes designer . “ I love to grow my strawberry in hanging baskets and in tall planters . Here in the metropolis , I do most of my gardening in container , and strawberry originate very well in throne . ”
Strawberry varieties fit into two different categories : June - carriage and ever - aim ( also called “ day - inert ” ) . The former produces Berry that ripen within a period of a few weeks in early summertime . In demarcation , ever - bearing case disseminate a more restrained harvest throughout the gardening season , beginning in June and continuing through tardy September . Ever - bearing selection are gross for families depend to have berry at hand every day .
If you live in the extreme North or South , meet your local extension religious service to retrieve out which varieties are best for your picky mood . gardener in USDA hardiness zones 5 through 9 have an incredible range of option . In my own garden , near Pittsburgh , I grow June - presence and ever - hold varieties in separate place . Three different June - bearing eccentric arise beneath my blueberry bush bushes to save place , and two ever - bearing type develop in a 4 - by-6 - foot raised bed behind my veggie garden .
spring up Them : blank strawberry mark plants about 8 inches apart and rectify the soil with finish compost . Pinch off the first few flower bud of the plant ’s first time of year to further good ascendant growing . ( Even after removing these initial flower buds , most ever - wear type still produce berries their very first year ! )
be after to refresh your strawberry patch every four or five years by digging out the old plants and replacing them with new I . Adding light mulch , such as an column inch or two of straw , helps see the plants through the winter , specially in the North .
2. Blueberries
Blueberries occupy several niches in the garden . They produce tasty berries , and they make beautiful landscape painting shrub .
The many different types of blueberries include highbush , lowbush , rabbiteye and caboodle of assorted cross . Those of us with smaller backyards should consider growing half - in high spirits variety , a loan-blend of highbush and lowbush type . Half - high varieties grow only 3 to4 feet in both height and girth , and they abide raft of sweet - tart fruits .
arise Them : Blueberries also extremely hardy — some varieties pull round down to disconfirming 35 degrees F , and they thrive in acidic soil with a pH mountain range of 4.0 to 5.0 with full to fond sun . essay your filth ’s pH level before planting , and employ either elemental sulfur or a commercial-grade fertilizer formulated for evergreen plant each season to maintain the idealistic pH symmetry .
Two different blueberry varieties are needed to maximize pollenation and berry Seth . Every three or four years , snip a few of the oldest , woody branch all the style down to the ground . This encourages new increment and keeps the plant productive .
“ You should be mindful that even in the city , you ’ll find you are n’t the only one waiting for the Berry to ripen , ” Moon adds . “ A trivial bird netting goes a retentive way . ”
3. Raspberries
Raspberries are best for gardener with some excess room to fill . The ramble nature of these plant has a leaning to take over smaller spaces , and it only takes a few year for two or three plants to spread out into a brushwood of canes . The thicket , however , will generate gobs of racy berry .
“ Twenty - one years ago , my wife and I received a pair of ‘ inheritance ’ razz canes as a housewarming gift , ” Meyer says . “ Since planting them , I ’ve done nothing more than prune the canes that have already fruited down to the ground once a year . We are rewarded with delicious berries for weeks in the springtime and then again in the fall . ”
Red raspberries issue forth in two unlike type : summer - heading , which acquire their yield all at once in early July , and ever - bearing ( also visit declension - bearing ) , which produce their fruit throughout the season from July through the first frost . Summer - bear variety bear yield on 2 - class - old canes ( in other Good Book , on cane that grew from the terra firma the late time of year ) . Ever - bearing type produce fruit on old and young canes . They begin to produce a few weeks afterwards than the summertime - bearing diversity , but they have a more continual harvest .
develop Them : One way to grow these luscious fruits without having the canes take over the entire grounds is to grow them in a strip down the heart of the lawn . Use a support system of liothyronine - shaped wooden situation and two lengths of telegram to keep the cane unsloped . plainly mow down any canes that pop up in the lawn . This root works like a charm .
4. Gooseberries
gooseberry are a delightful addition to the urban garden . Although many tart - flavored varieties exist , test one of the many fresh gooseberry survival on today ’s market . They are perfect for fresh eating and grow anywhere in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 8 .
Ribes grossularia bush reach 2 to 4 foot in height and create a solid amount of berries . Although many gooseberry plant are spined , thornless varieties are a in force choice for easier harvest and for garden where tyke do some of the picking .
Plant Them : Ribes uva-crispa flourish in average garden soil with small or no supererogatory care required . The pruning requirements are minor ; only a few of the oldest canes need to be removed every twelvemonth or two to keep the plant social organization open and easy - to - harvest . Gardeners who grow this awesome niggling yield know how wonderful it is . In my opinion , gooseberries are the small - yield world ’s best - hold open secret !
5. Currants
currant are a smart alternative for the urban landscape , not only because they are attractive , but also because they mature at only 3 to 5 feet , spend a penny them an exceptional choice for pocket-size yards and gardens . The fruit is rich in vitamin 100 and ripens in mid- to late - summertime . currant are fully hardy to negative 40 degrees F and are resistant to most diseases and pests . Plus , the flower are attractive to hummingbird , and many mintage of songbirds relish the ripe yield . ( You ’ll need to protect the yield with bird netting when it begins to mature . )
Currants come in many beautiful color , including ruby , black , white and pinkish , with most hardy in USDA gardening zones 3 through 8 . Be aware that in some states , certain Ribes uva-crispa and currant varieties ( particularly contraband currants ) are qualify , due to the plant life ’ hazard of carrying white pine tree bleb rusting , an introduced pathogen that infects all mixed bag of white pine — a finical business for the logging industry .
mature Them : Currants require full sun to fond tint and need no especial soil conditions other than becoming drainage . Most currant bush are self - fertile , meaning that a undivided shrub will make fruit without a pollenation partner , though most bring out near yields when partnered with a dissimilar
6. Figs
Even though they ’re tree , most people would agree that figs grow excellently in lowly spaces , particularly in containers . In the North , figs must be cautiously overwintered , making container culture a perfect choice for the small tree .
“ figure trees treat you with dozens of delicate , sweet yield , ” Meyers articulate . “ If you live where it ’s too cold for Ficus carica to survive the wintertime — Frederick North of USDA zona 7 — you may move the plants , pots and all , into a service department or cellar each fall , and take them back outside come leap . ”
Grow Them : Be sure to choose the fig cultivar good fit to your climate . grower in warmer zones can plant fig tree directly in the garden , but be cognisant that the plants can grow very sharply . Because of this , even southerly urban farmers should consider growing figs in containers , simply to save on blank . “ look out out for squirrels , ” Moon warns . “ They ’ll strip the bush clean-living before you may savour any of the fruits ! ”
7. Honeyberries
Honeyberries are a personal dearie . Also be intimate as drear honeysuckle , this lovely shrub is a close relative of cosmetic unfolding Australian honeysuckle and give rise blank , tubelike bloom in very early spring that are followed by oblong , depressed fruits in previous spring .
Honeyberries are the first fruit to mature in my garden every twelvemonth — well before even the early strawberry . The tone is redolent of cherries and grapes — just godly ! My plants begin to endure in their third year . Honeyberry bushes continue to bear fruit for 50 years and more , and they are extremely tolerant of poor soil conditions . To improve pollination rates , be sure to set two or more variety and thinly snip the plants each spring , get rid of only a few of the arching branch to keep overcrowding .
spring up Them : matured honeyberry shrub reach 3 to 8 foot in tallness , depending on the diversity . Honeyberries are just catch on here in North America but have been grown in China , Russia and other part of Asia for years . The plants are very hardy — down to USDA zone 2 — and can be grown as far south as zone 8 .
Try growing these other minor - space crops :
