Container Growing Fruits

[seanbadger]

Hi Everyone,

I'm considering growing some fruits in the garden in containers. Aldi have got their usual cheap fruits for sale this week and are selling Blackberry, Redcurrant, Gooseberry, Raspberry, Tayberry, Blackcurrant (3 plants for £2.49).

I know you can grow most thing sin containers but can these all be done (i assume not blackberries) and has anyone got any tips?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice you can give

Sean

[Bigmallly]

Hi Sean, due to lack of space, apart from rhubarb, all of my fruit bushes are in pots & did ok last year.

[WrexTheDragon]

Get the bigest pots you can find and use John Innes compost number 3. Blackberries grow well in post, but do like a good dose of manure each year.

[solway cropper]

Agree with Wrex...use big containers and put a healthy dollop of well rotted manure/compost in the bottom and feed them well. You will need to make sure they don't dry out in summer as they require a lot of water at the fruit producing stage. Not easy if you go away for a fortnight's holiday!!

[Snadger]

I've just dug out my last apple tree I had in a pot because I didn't have a decent crop last year purely because I let it dry out ONCE throughout the summer.
Potted stuff needs watering every day when its sunny.!

[northepaul]

I have a majority of my fruit in pots - blueberries, apple some strawbs, and a gage. I like the fact that I can move them around, so I can protect them from the frosts, or put them in sunshine if needs be. They also (in relation to trees) can be controlled better. Just have to remember to re-pot (which can be expensive) and water well, and feed in the summer.

[WrexTheDragon]

I like to put bark chippings on the top of my pots to retain water, but still need watering.

[FB.]

I've just dug out my last apple tree I had in a pot because I didn't have a decent crop last year purely because I let it dry out ONCE throughout the summer.
Potted stuff needs watering every day when its sunny.!

I've often wondered about putting potted plants into a carrier bag, or a small sack, to try to prevent drying-out.

Out of interest, which rootstock is your apple?
Rootstock M27 is recommended for pots, but is very prone to water stress.

M26 is stronger and less stress-prone. It will tolerate a bit more neglect, disease and less feeding. It will also need more pruning than M27.

It seems as if rootstock M9 puts fruiting at the top of its priorities and is much less likely to lose its fruits during drought. But this devotion to its fruit can mean that if the stress is really severe, it will kill itself to get the fruit matured.

The stronger rootstocks (MM106, MM111, M25) seem much faster to produce the fine roots that absorb water. I've often wondered about using the stronger rootstocks, in pots, with reduced watering and in poorer soil. The stronger rootstocks are very quick to soak-up water and nutrients, whereas the weaker rootstocks are very slow to absorb from the soil.

In coming years, I'm planning to try growing MM111 and M25, with a vigorous variety, as cordons, in some poor soil - just to prove a point.
I have a young Bramley's Seedling on M25 (yes - you read that right; M25) that I plan to try to keep as a cordon - for the comedy value.

After all; more vigorous rootstocks are recommended for poor/dry/shallow soils, so why not use a stronger stock in a pot, with less feeding and less watering?

[basketcase]

What about Quinces? I'm determined, if I can, to grow one in a pot on the veranda fanned out against the wall (which is West(ish) facing).

Is this feasible?

[WrexTheDragon]

Quinces are very easy to grow.

Training them can be a problem if you do not have the time? Mine like to grow as a bush.

I would give it a bit more sun? It depends on the size of the fence.

[Flobalob]

I grow Cape Gooseberries in pots with a lot of sucess.

[crazii_c]

ive got a small garden so Im restricted to using containers for most of my produce. last year i grew strawberrys in a large container with good results. this year ive just bought a compact blueberry bush for my new container and im also attempting growing a Cape Gooseberry 'Pineapple' from seed. Like what most people have said, the trick is to not let them dry out.

[basketcase]

Quinces are very easy to grow.

Training them can be a problem if you do not have the time? Mine like to grow as a bush.

I would give it a bit more sun? It depends on the size of the fence.

Thanks for the info, Wrex.

I don't have a fence - I'm in a first floor flat with a veranda, so it's fairly sheltered and doesn't suffer too much from frost. The wall I'm planning on faces (roughly) West, possibly angled a little to the south. There are wrought iron railings, rather than a fence, so the whole area is light.

As for training; don't they just tie onto wires in the wall? Or am I being too simplistic here? (Wouldn't surprise me!)

[WrexTheDragon]

Quince tend to flower from the growing tip, all though they grow as a bush, you could grow them along wires.

I have two quince's growing in the garden, the first is a fairly small bush about 2 foot high and 2 foot square. The second one is like a small apple tree about 5 foot heigh and 3 foot square.

I would just check first what variety you want to grow. If it was me, I might go with blueberries on the varanda.

[basketcase]

[QUOTE=WrexTheDragon;604089]Quince tend to flower from the growing tip, all though they grow as a bush, you could grow them along wires.

I have two quince's growing in the garden, the first is a fairly small bush about 2 foot high and 2 foot square. The second one is like a small apple tree about 5 foot heigh and 3 foot square.

I would just check first what variety you want to grow. If it was me, I might go with blueberries on the varanda.[/QUOTE]

I was going to stick 2 or 3 pots of blueberries on there as well! (it's an area of about 13' x 4' or 5', so this isn't quite as ambitious as it sounds! )

Thanks for the info.

As for the variety. Any suggestions? I'm a rank beginner at this - as you may have guessed!