Grow Your Own Magazine

Can anybody advise me where is the best place to buy fruit trees to grow as espaliers.

I have just taken on a second allotment plot which I intend to use purely for fruit. There is an existing path right through the middle and I intend to put soft fruit bushes and canes on one side and espaliers on the other so space for a total of about 20 trees of various types.

Janette

We buy all our fruit from www.kenmuir.co.uk We have always received excellent quality and service.

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Have a look here Janette

http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/factsheets/gg22.php

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ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

I am also looking at planting some espalier fruit bushes. What fruits can be grown in this way? Also on a practical note what sort of stakes should I use for attaching my wires to? How deep etc.?

Please help. I will probably be doing this by myself and am not very diy orientated. Why have a man and use power tools yourself?

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Bright Blessings
Earthbabe
If at first you don't succeed, open a bottle of wine.

Most folks use wooden posts Earthbabe, trouble with them is they rot. If you can get some Scaffold Tubes they will be better or some 2" angle iron. You can get wire strainers from most diy places to tension the wire. as to how big, depends how tall you want them to grow. Most folks would go for 6ft high with 2ft in contreted in the ground (they'll get heavy when they are full of fruit so you'll need a bit of beef there)

As to sorts, most trees can be trained like this. Get a copy of Hessayon's THe Fruit Expert that will tell you what sorts of rootstock is usefull as well.

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ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

Thanks ntg. Don't know if I will be able to concrete on the lottie (I think that's what you mean. Am aiming for slightly shorter espaliers, just to provide a border to the plot. What is angle iron? 'Scuse my female brain

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Bright Blessings
Earthbabe
If at first you don't succeed, open a bottle of wine.

No probs earthbabe,

If you can't use any concrete ram loads of brick rubble around the post (a drive in the country will reveal loads dumped by folks!!!

Angle iron is an L shaped profile & it's just stronger than flat steel & looks like this

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ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

Concrete/brick rubble is not a prob as the neighbours have dug out a swing recently and some others had a wall taken down by an inconsiderate handyman who dumped a load in an old lady's garden.

Thanks for the pic. I am learning something new every day.

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Bright Blessings
Earthbabe
If at first you don't succeed, open a bottle of wine.

I tried to get some angle iron a few months ago to tie my cat down with, but I couldn't find any anywhere. I googled for iron mongers and only found one in the entire county and when I called them they said they didn't do that ("try wickes or somewhere like that" he said). I was too polite to ask what the heck iron mongers did if they didn't sell iron! ANyway I gave up in the end - do you know where to buy it?

have you tried jewsons, we can usually find stuff there that we cant get anywhere else.

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Yo an' Bob
Walk lightly on the earth
take only what you need
give all you can
and your produce will be bountifull

I tried elmes buildbase, b&q, homebase, and wickes - couldn't find a nearby jewson...

Look under steel Stockholders in yellow pages

As daft as it sounds our local timber yard sells it - I know not why!

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ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

Is it just me but why was jxm wanting to tie their cat down?

Sorry, that is cat(amaran). When they are tied up in the dingy park they can get thrown around in stormy winds because the gusts get under the trampoline and normal screw/spirel spikes work loose as the wind rocks it around. There is a special type of spike, made from a big ol' piece of angle iron and some shackles that does a much better job...

Obviously, tying a normal cat down is just a simple case of velcroing it to the carpet...

Ahhh now it's much clearer - had flash back to the last time we had to give our cat a worming tablet, it involved pinning her to the ground with an old towel and OH's knee pusing her into the floor. Not sure what the RSPCA would have to say about this technique but it seemed to do the job. Mind you, any pain she felt is only just desserts for her deficating in amongst the newly planted lettuce seeds last spring.

I now have my trees. I was looking at something that suggested 3-4m between trees.

Is this in all directions. I have decided to put them in the garden (Mr E has approved the plan) and the area I wish to border is about 3m across at the most. Long term plan is for them to provide attractive fencing/borders to a paved area. The area is between the herb garden and the lawn. There is a pear tree about 10m away.

Am I pushing my luck?

You can tell I'm still a novice at fruit.

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Bright Blessings
Earthbabe
If at first you don't succeed, open a bottle of wine.