New to all this

[janzbro]

Hi all, just in the middle of a house purchase with about 1 arce of land and looking forward to growing my own fruit and veg and getting some chuks maybe even growing some of our own firewood (willow?) - so many plans and not even moved in yet LOL

Thinking of having a few fruit trees, but living in the northeast on highish ground it quite an open and wind prone plot, what fruit would survive / thrive?
Will defo plant a couple of varities of apples, 1 pear, but else would thrive / survive.

[taff]

no idea to be honest, but you could look into creating a micro-climate through planting.
Have a look for a book called gaia's garden. Should give you some idea of the principles involved.

[Two_Sheds]

growing some of our own firewood (willow?)

That's a great idea. Willow's really quick growing: Grow Your own Wood Fuel and Firewood kits

[FB.]

I would say that it would be worth giving all kinds of fruits a try.

Before you start, though, I strongly recommend testing your soil with a kit.
I also suggest digging down through the topsoil until you find out what lies a spade's depth or two underneath. Sand/gravel? Rock? Clay? Chalk? The answer could have dramatic effects on what will grow well and what won't - and how you'd be best to proceed with preparing thr ground.
An hour of soil investigation before you start will save you from years of misery from plants which simply aren't suited to your soil type. Even though certain fruits aren't usually suited to certain soils or climates, there are usually a few rare varieties which can cope - but you'll need to seek them out.
Taking apples as an example: M25 and M26 seem to cope quite well with chalk/high pH, as does the pear rootstock "Pyrodwarf". MM111 tends to cope quite well with shallow soil or a high water table/heavy soil, but also copes well with droughts and extremes of temperature.
Blueberries and cranberries grow well on heavy acid soil. Currants cope quite well on alkaline soil.

I understand that the "Ben" series of blackcurrants are Scottish-bred and sometimes find South-England conditions too mild, so don't always grow as well down here.
Also gooseberries or blackberries are tough. Some thornless varieties are available, although the flavour isn't as good.
Strawberries (including alpines) and rhubarb are usually fairly hardy and their lower growth habit makes it easier to shield them with a fence or hedge.
Raspberries might be OK if supported or sheltered. Autumn fruiters have stronger canes which often don't need support.


Take care with your choice of apple trees - the common varieties in the shops are unlikely to be tough enough to survive in less-than-ideal conditions without the need for spraying or other care. Many shop apples actually require a hot sunny climate and a long growing season (such as Australia, Spain or Italy; the hot climate means that they can ripen apples more quickly than we can, so they get the best prices for "new season").

Pears might be a problem - they naturally come from a hot sunny and fairly dry climate. They generally hate cold, wet and windy - and so will the bees which might not bother to visit the blossoms (pears flower earlier than apples, so the weather isn't generally as good, so fewer pollinating insects flying).

In windy areas, plums may suffer considerable branch breakage when carrying a fruit crop. Good pruning could help stiffen them up.

I'd suggest considering some of the rarer Scottish local apple varieties, which will be well-suited to the climate.
Triploid apples are generally vigorous growers and often somewhat more disease-resistant than their diploid couterparts, but may find that extra vigour to be of benefit when conditions aren't ideal. Pollination needs careful consideration with triploids though.
Quite a few triploids also have quite stocky growth, which is likely to be stronger when under wind stress. The ancient triploid apple "Blenheim Orange" was renowned for making trees with incredibly hard wood and strong structural branches.

Where conditions are difficult, if in doubt, choose a stronger rootstock. Again, like triploids, extra vigour will help the tree to survive better. MM111 (vigorous) or M26 (semi-dwarf) would be top of my list for a more difficult area. Pear rootstock choice is more limited, with Quince being similar to M26, while Pyrodwarf and Pyrus will be closer to MM111.
I wouldn't bother with M27,M9, MM106 or M25 apple rootstocks as I have doubts about their hardiness in cold areas or disease resistance in wet areas. Some of my M25's will hold leaves until January - which would be a disaster in cold areas as the not-hardened-off wood could be frost damaged, may suffer dieback and may later succumb to fungal wood-rotting diseases such as canker.

[rustylady]

Welcome to the Vine. First question is where are you? It helps if you add your location to your profile, and your location can make quite a lot of difference to the advice given. If it's an exposed plot, then I would suggest creating a shelter belt of trees/hedges/willow.