Topic: Smallish fruit bushes..... and nuts... and greenhouse exotica?

[chriscross1966]

Are there some fairly compact growing blackcurrants, something from th eraspberry-to-bramble family and aqnything I can grow on a south facing wall in a decent sized tub (100 litres) that won't smother my shed.... or peaches or a sweet almond?.... Id like to grow some fruit but my childhood memories of loganberries etc are of imposing thorny jungles and you could have lost a decently sized primitive civilization in the currant patch.... 

Also are there any hazelnut bushes that crop in a few years on fairly compact bushes.... the garden I'm getting has a couple of bits of fence where I could put a hazelnet or cob or similar .... can you grow walnuts in a big tub?... also...

Has anyone grown coffee or proper pepper (ie black peppercorns) in their greenhouse.... I know it's a bit Victorian stovehouse territory but I fancy the laugh/big pose of telling folks that I grew the pepper in the grinder.....


chrisc

[manicscousers]

Eric on our site has a thornless blackberry, huge fruit and a lovely taste, he just cuts it back to where he wants it , you could fan train a peach or nectarine on your south facing wall, you can get them to plant in a tub.
we went to instores on monday, they have a coffee growing kit in there, don't remember a peppercorn kit, I got a peanut kit, may as well try something unusual  ;D

[tonybloke]

your south facing wall could probably do with a fig! ;)

[chriscross1966]

your south facing wall could probably do with a fig! ;)

Not really my favourite fruit.... I was thinking about a grape..... I've got a bit of fence that's south facing (grape adn net it against birds) plus a couple of sheds and the house all with south facing sections but I was worred about roots.... maybe one for figs, one for peaches adn one for sweet almonds.... are there self-fertile varieties?..... THere's a bit of north wall too but that's getting a morello ;D

I've seen the coffee kits, ....has anyone grown one?.... I wonder if I just tried to grow a few peppercorns.....

Maybe I could put the bramble in the front garden, there's nothign useful there ATM..... I'm planning on replacing the fencing around the "public" side of the corner plot its on (as opposed to the "neighbour side" with a blackthorn hedge grown in a 3-4 foot tall brick-built planter.... by having it drop away an extra 2-3 feet on the inside I create an instant ho-ho (like a haha but deeper)  and a back edge to my raised beds..... plus a couple of feet depth of blackthorn might as well be barbed wire in terms of security.....

(they say an Englishman's home is his castle..... I'd like mine to have arrowslits, crenellations and a moat.......

chrisc

[jennym]

Blackcurrant 'Ben Sarek' doesn't get too big. Mine get to about 3ft.
There's a thornless loganberry called either L654 or LY654 thats fine, I've had one years.
Also, peach 'Red Haven' performed ok for me without a partner, so the self fertile label was true - its in a pot, only had it a few years and it had fruit last year.
For cobnuts, really best to have 2 types to make sure of getting lots of nuts and you can prune them hard back if they get too big, they regrow fine. Varieties I grow are 'Lamberts Filbert' and 'Cosford'.
Have grown figs in pots for ages too, one of which is sunk into soil next to shed. Varieties 'Brown Turkey' and 'Brunswick'.
Be careful of the blackthorn. It's a so and so to get out once it gets into the soil, and you will have to keep it clipped or it will start to encroach sideways. Why not consider a thorny blackberry in this position - if you are using a large size brick planter it would do the security job and give more useful fruit. You could let the fence remain then too. Or if you're not bothered about fruit then pyracantha is very suitable, grows quickly, wildlife love it.

[Baccy Man]

For black/white/green pepper (Piper Nigrum) You would have a higher chance of germination if you bought seed as a lot of imported peppercorns are treated with growth inhibitors, the seeds don't come up that often in the Uk seeds of italy sometimes have them but there are numerous suppliers in the US who have them year round. If you use peppercorns from your larder then make sure they are white ones as they are the only ones made from ripe berries which may stand a chance of germinating. It's more of a conservatory plant rather than something to grow in the greenhouse though.
Pink/red pepper (Schinus Terebinthifolius) is hardy & very easy to grow although it ends up being a 25' tree.
You can also grow szechuan pepper (Zanthoxylum Simulans) it is the seedpod rather than the seed itself which is eaten but again it grows into a 25' tree.


Coffee can take ages to germinate I have 4 varieties they took between 2 weeks & 6 months to germinate. I keep them trained as bushes in 20 litre pots indoors most of the year & outside but in the shade as they don't seem to like the sun for the summer. It takes 3-4 years before you get any coffee beans from them. I wouldn't say the coffee is exceptional but it's better than some of the cheaper ground coffee you get. Altitude is supposed to play a big part in the flavour the further above sea level you are the better the coffee.
Catura coffee is the only variety that tolerates direct sunlight all other varieties must be grown in diffused light. Coffee is easy to process the coffee beans need to be fermented first if you want a decent tasting cup see this site for details http://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/homegrowing.htm

[chriscross1966]

Many thanks Baccy and Jenny.... Reason for Blackthorn is the bed will be a planter of sorts so getting it out in the future not too hard, plus I'm seriously lazy when it comes to finding sloes so I might well plant a bullace in the front garden to grow as a small tree....

DOn't know if I've got the space for two figs, any idea as to self-fertility?....

Much thanks for the peach variety, I'll give that one a go.

Many thanks for the pepper and coffee advice too... diffused likght nto a problem, it can go in/under shading plants in the GH in the summer and a north but warm windowsill in the winter.....

chrisc

[tonybloke]

All figs are self fertile! ;)