Gardeners often plant vegetables so that they can grow their own food, but what about fruit? Fruit is delicious. Fresh fruit is even better. When it’s picked straight from your own garden it tastes amazing, but the care and seasons of these plants can be finicky, especially if you want fresh fruit for more than a couple of weeks.
Here is how to have fresh fruit all summer long!
Disclaimer: This works best for Canadian summers.
Start with Strawberries
Strawberries can bear fruit as early as June as long as you care for them properly and grow a June-bearing variety of strawberry plants. Plant your strawberries as soon as the risk of frost is over for your location in the spring. This usually occurs around May.
“Strawberry plants require 6-10 hours a day of direct sunlight, so choose your planting site accordingly.” - Almanac
Strawberries are one of the easiest fruits to grow. They are perfect for beginners.
Next Comes Raspberries
Raspberries are delicious, but they can be super expensive at the grocery store. When grown yourself, they’re free and ten times tastier.
Raspberries typically bear fruit at the end of July but depending on the weather that year you can sometimes get a small harvest at the end of June or the beginning of July. They also require less care than some other plants as they grow in a bush instead of as a small plant that needs protection from rabbits and weeds.
“Keep in mind that raspberries don’t like wind, so pick a location that doesn’t get gusty or put them near a windbreak. You also want to keep plants away from wild berries.” - Morning Chores
Blackberries generally follow the same guidelines as raspberries but bear fruit slightly later.
Followed by Blueberries
Blueberries bear fruit right after raspberry season, but sometimes they start during raspberry season and go all the way into September. Grown in a bush, just like raspberries, this makes them easier to care for.
“Blueberry fruits, which are borne in clusters, ripen at different times. This could mean having to regularly pick the same bush over the ripening period.” - BBC
How About Some Grapes?
Grapes are in season August through to September. These fruits grow on vines and will, therefore, need to be planted beside something they can climb such as a fence.
“Support growing vines—in the first year a simple stake is enough to support the plant. When the plant grows bigger (second year)—it will require a serious trellis, and needs to be trained on a trellis.” - Elena's Garden
Melons and Apples
Melons and apples are the kinds of fruits that take lots of space to grow, but unlike a lot of smaller fruits like berries, these are going to be ready to harvest at the end of the summer and a month or two into the fall.
“Cantaloupe and honeydew melons thrive in warm soil. Don’t plant until the ground temperature is above 70 degrees F, which typically occurs about the time peonies bloom in northern zones.” - Bonnie Plants
Each plant has specific requirements needed to care for it, but here are some general guidelines that come in handy for any fruit or vegetable garden.
It’s amazing to be able to grow and eat your own fruit. Homegrown fruit always tastes so much better than what’s sold at the grocery store because you control how it’s grown. Which makes enjoying the fruits of your labour that much sweeter.
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