Home Gardening

Growing fruit does not have to be difficult
Mississippi Gardens Newspaper and Web Column - June 7, 2004

For several years, it has been a goal of mine to build a small backyard fruit garden for which pesticide use and maintenance would be kept to a minimum. I don't like to use pesticides and time is precious.

	The secret is out that both the flower and fruit of the pineapple guava are edible.

For years I have observed home gardens and commercial orchards and seen first hand the trials and tribulations of those who have had to apply pesticides repeatedly in order to harvest an average crop. Surely there had to be plants that would produce fruit with minimal care.

Fruit trees and shrubs can be divided into three groups regarding maintenance and pesticide application. They can simply be categorized as low, medium or high maintenance.

Examples of those in the high maintenance category include peach, nectarine, apple and plum. These take a lot of time and effort including annual pruning and weekly spraying to minimize the effect of insects and disease.

Those in the moderate maintenance group include muscadine, pecans, strawberries and pears. Those in this category require some pruning and all may require pesticide application.

The easy-to-grow category includes plants for which very little has to be done to enjoy a bountiful harvest. These are basically plant and harvest. Examples of these include blackberries, blueberries, figs, Oriental persimmon, quince, mayhaw, pawpaw, loquat, jelly palm and pineapple guava. Some may be familiar to Southern gardeners while others may be entirely new.

Blueberries are probably the most popular and readily available low maintenance fruit plant. Six bushes will supply an abundant supply of berries for most families. Blackberry varieties are available without thorns that make picking safe and fun for all. Oriental persimmon is a tasty tree fruit that ripens in the late summer and fall. Be sure to choose a non-astringent variety for best fresh eating. Quince, mayhaw and jelly palm are well known for the excellent jellies that can be made from the fruit. Quince and jelly palm also have ornamental value.

Pawpaw, loquat, and pineapple guava are three lesser-known plants that can be grown for their fruit. Pawpaw is a native Southern tree with fruit that tastes a little like banana custard. The loquat tree has a tropical appearance and unique flowering time. It actually blooms in the fall and ripens fruit in the spring. The flowers are cold sensitive so loquat is best used below Hattiesburg.

I'm especially excited about pineapple guava. This is actually a very attractive plant that has been widely used in Southern landscapes. However, the secret is out that both its flower and fruit are edible. Plant five or six pineapple guava in sandy loam soil where it gets plenty of sun.

Growing fruit for personal enjoyment does not have to be difficult or time consuming. Don't let the threat of insects and disease pests keep you from enjoying your Mississippi garden.

Publications may download photograph at 200 dpi

These archived columns were written by Kerry Johnson, a hobby gardener, former weekly newspaper columnist and an Area Extension Horticulture Agent for 11 coastal counties in Mississippi.