Green Fingers: A question of growing some fruit
With fruit, we grow our own because it is organic and no chemical sprays have been used in the production cycle.
We are still eating our late maturing apples, which were picked and placed in crates in our plastic structure, where it was in ideal conditions being cool, moist and frost free. Some people advocate storing in a dry shed but then the fruit shrivels up unless put into poly bags and sealed.
Not that long ago very few fruit and vegetables were available out of season and the selection during the winter months was very basic, something that is still in the memory of those growing up around the 1970’s.
For example, eating apples were available from mid-August with the variety ‘Beauty of Bath’ and continued until the New Year with late-keeping varieties, such as ‘Cox’s Orange Pippen’.
Apples outside that period were dry and spongy with little taste and therefore having some of your own were jealously looked after and savoured over a period of time.
Now of course, seasonality of perishable food has little meaning, as it is possible to have what you like almost all the year round.
Therefore, the need to grow your own vegetables or fruit, if you wanted something different, has largely disappeared. But the dynamics have changed within our understanding of where and how our food is produced and we now want to eat more healthy food.
With fruit, we grow our own because it is organic and no chemical sprays have been used in the production cycle.
Ireland is generally known for producing good quality food but it is not foolproof and can be improved much further. The advice given that strawberries should be washed before eaten appears pretty lame as that will only remove dust particles and not the chemicals used in the production cycle.
In this busy world it is quite difficult if not impossible to eat healthy food all the time, and the advice we are told is to avoid too many processed and readymade foods.
Many of us do not have the time or space to grow our own food, though the allotment movement is a possibility and is gaining ground around the country and offers an alternative hobby interest with the benefit of producing some delicious crops.
It is not necessary that food crops be produced in a special designated area, as it is quite possible to integrate food crops within your general garden.
An apple tree will give you beautiful flowers and then later some fruit, and herbs such as sage, bay leaf, rosemary, thyme and fennel look good almost anywhere, while mixed salads and similar can be sown in bare patches and pots of peas grown in a wigwam look good on the patio area.
It would make sense to reduce certain types of foods and then increase those that are known to be beneficial but I do not know the scientific figures to back up such a move and how much of this would be a token or gesture.
What I do know is that growing some of your own food is a fun occupation with the advantage of having something that is totally natural and free from additives.
Heavy pruning and reshaping of large trees and shrubs can be started and continued for about eight weeks. The trick is to avoid plants becoming too congested with tangled growth and also you do not want a plant to outgrow its allotted space.
If you have any queries or comments you are welcome to share them with me on 051-384273 or orchardstowngardencentre@hotmail.com and if of general interest I will include it is a future article.
