Growing Fruit Trees

Nature continues to amaze me, the biological alchemy that converts a bag of manure into a bowl of delicious fruit. Ingredients: fruit tree, water, sun and a wee bit of TLC. I’ve been living in Banjup and dabbling with fruit trees for the last 20 years. I say dabbling because I don’t know any latin names for plants and haven’t read lots of horticultural books, but I have produced literally tonnes of fruit. If you’re new to fruit trees, I’d suggest starting with a lemon or lime tree, the citrus love the sandy soil in Jandakot and Banjup. Get them from the nurseries, grafted onto rootstock they grow faster and produce an abundance of fruit. Just water regularly/deeply and if the leaves start to turn a bit yellow, then they need a bit of fertiliser. From there to oranges, mandarin and grapefruit, then novelties of buddha’s hand (great finely sliced on fish), kumquat and the joys of home-made marmalade (a serious step up in sugar consumption but yum!). Don’t forget the kaffir lime, not for the fruit, but fresh chopped leaves in a thai curry, oh yes.

Feeling more adventurous? The stone fruit seem to do great in our sandy soil too. Having thinner skins than citrus, it’s the fruit fly’s meal of choice, but cover the tree with a fine meshed fruit fly net once the bees have finished pollinating and it won’t be long before you’re out in the garden with fresh fruit dribbling down your chin. Talking of messy eating, did I forget mulberries? Too easy. They seem to thrive on water alone (perhaps add a bit of fertiliser to get them going). Purple tongue here we come, although if you can’t face the stains, white mulberries have a light vanilla taste with max sugar high. Apples and pears, another fruit fly fave but the birds put up a bit of competition too, they like to take a bite out of each and every unripen fruit, just to check, bless them. So netting required.

What else, avocado, loving it, persimmon, guava (pineapple ones, cut up into cakes/crumbles, truly scrumptious), irish strawberry (hmmm, edible but you wouldn’t rave), cherries (not cold enough in winter), mangoes (too cold in winter, but I keep trying), banana (too cold and like iron rich soil, so I quit that), passion fruit (died and rootstock took off throughout the bush, 2 years of painting with roundup, never again), loquats (too easy category, just water, abundant fruit), longan (small tree right now, but love the few fruit it makes). Figs, again too easy, but watch out for bird poo spreading the seeds about your block. Olives, grows great, fruit need a bit of work before you can eat them (olive oil, you’ll need a lot!).

I went nuts too, but less successfully (the local birds clearly don’t have nut allergies). Almonds, macadamia, hazelnut and pistachio. Pecan and walnut, tried but they died.

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I encourage you to give it a go, it’s not hard. At least you know what you’re eating and they’re not pasted in pesticides.