Topic: Growing fruit on an east/south east facing wall

[SueK]

Like many of us, I've spent time looking at the catalogues recently and am wondering whether we could grow some fruit (thinking of spineless gooseberries and blackberries) against an E/SE wall, where the previous occupants helpfully left some trellises.  Has anyone tried this before?

Thanks,
Sue

[Morris]

Yes, a long time ago!  ;D I grew gooseberries, red and white currants as cordons against an east fence at the end of our long, narrow garden.  I had excellent crops and it was a very space-saving and productive way of growing a range of fruit.

I can remember filling a washing up bowl with gooseberries from two cordons and sitting on the lawn frantically topping and tailing for the freezer on the day before our holiday - my husband thought I was mad!  (these days I've learned and stick them in the freezer just as they are).

I now have a brown turkey fig, mainly planted for foliage, trained to go around the east and south sides of a building (if you can picture that...)  It is huge.  The east side only crops well in good years, but when it does, we are overloaded.

I should think on a SE wall, providing its not too dry, you could grow any fruit you want.

And BTW, I have raspberries planted here against a north fence which crop excellently and taste sweet and good as those in the sun! 

[saddad]

Hi Sue.. I'm passing through Pudsey this afternoon... taking lad back to Uni. SW wall would be ideal but SE isn't bad. I'd consider the larger "thorny" brambles like Fantasia or Silvan myself... unless you have a reason for avoiding thorns..  :-\

[SueK]

Hello again, just been in the east midlands myself, visiting the in-laws in Nottingham!

The only reason I thought about spineless varieties was on account of the youngsters, although - unlike the mother-in-law, who grew spineless blackberries for several years - the thought of roses, gooseberries, etc doesn't really fill me with horror where the children are concerned.  Plus I like the thought of having a red dessert gooseberry and noticed Pax - a spineless red - in a catalogue recently.  I'd be interested to hear what people think of the flavour of this and the hinnomaki red.

Morris, we also have a north fence but the proximity to the house - it's really only a strip rather than a back garden - means that there's a lot of shade during the day.  But I haven't given up hope of finding something!

[saddad]

I grow Pax.. it's not as nice as Whinham's Industry...  :-X

[Morris]

Our north fence is in a quite open site so it's not dense shade, so you're right, maybe yours won't work so well.

I believe morello cherries are meant to do well on north walls - experiences anyone?

[Vinlander]

I grow Pax.. it's not as nice as Whinham's Industry...  :-X

I agree. But they are still good (better than most green/white ones) and if you have gardener's hands you can pick Pax without gloves. Makes it a lot quicker.

[cleo]

Pudsey? where the pigeons fly backwards to keep the sh8t out of their eyes?

Well so an old friend from Farsley used to say anyway ;)

[sunloving]

Its lovely planning fruit for a wall!

I have pax and they are delicious, you can eat them straight from the bush yum, but they are prone to splitting in drought/rain cylces, so give them a good mulch of something when they go in, mine fruit well in relatively shady spots.

I bought a young morello cherry tree from Asda last winter £2.99, to put on a north east facing fence.
It flowered like mad and produced lovely fat cherries, brilliant, no sign of pests or problems with the shade or cold so far and it was a very cold winter .

I have a south east facing wall to  but theres no soil under it so Im considering grapes of finding something to train over a tunnel and onto the wall as its such a radiator.

good luck with whatever you use
x sunloving

[Vinlander]

I have a south east facing wall to  but theres no soil under it so Im considering grapes of finding something to train over a tunnel and onto the wall as its such a radiator.

Sunloving - in the frozen north you'll have to choose your grape carefully (just kidding - though the summers really are shorter).

It's therefore a good idea to give the old varieties a miss and go for hybrids crossed with species from N.America which are more early and disease resistant.

If you are a pessimist you can't do better than Himrod - a green/white seedless that I have running along a hedge north of the house so it only gets sun from 2pm onwards - despite this it was ready in early Sep. - and this year everything is late.

It has a slightly different more interesting flavour than supermarket grapes.

If you are a moderate who likes Welch's purple grape juice you should try Reliance pink seedless - (the wife's favourite) with strawberry overtones.

If you are a mild optimist you should really try Glenora black seedless - the earliest red I've ever grown, and its flavour surpasses ordinary grapes in the way that a cantaloupe surpasses a watermelon.

Cheers.

[sunloving]

Brilliant
thankyou for such detailed advice, ill look out for those maybe add them to my christmas list ;D
 x sunloving

[SueK]

And a big thank you from me - not just for the replies but for the extra ideas  :)which come out when you describe your own gardens.

What can I say - so many walls and fences, so little time!   :)

Sue