Relish the fruit of your labour

There is an old saying—if you want to be happy forever, become a gardener. Yes, this is true. Ask those who are actually gardening freaks. However, the gardeners develop a particular liking for gardening and then dive too deep into that. It may be a liking for bonsai, cacti and succulents, water plants, vegetable growing or interest in fruits. Let us today talk about fruit growing in home gardens.

Unlike all the other horticultural subjects, the subject of fruit growing is altogether different. The result is visible only after a few years of planting the trees. So, initially you have to be cautious about procuring plant material. Always buy the saplingsfrom a reliable source i.e. either from some government nursery or from agriculture university nurseries, spread almost all over the state. 

You may also get it from some semi-government or registered nursery. At times, in order to meet targets, some departments procure fruit trees from some sources that may be doubtful. Make sure the pedigree of the plants is known. Make sure the plant you are getting has been prepared by the department in its own nursery. Do not buy plants which are 'imported' from other states. It is better to wait even for a year but be sure that the plant you are getting is tested for good yield. 

In case of agricultural universities, you can be sure that the plants are never procured from other states to be sold to the gardeners or orchardist. There are some well meaning volunteer bodies, NGOs, religious bodies, commercial organizations etc that distribute fruit trees too. Say a polite no if the plants being distributed are from some private nursery where there is no guarantee of the plant being from a known source. Such well meaning organizations should also obtain fruit trees from the above mentioned sources only and tell the recipient too whether the trees being given are seedlings or grafted.

Seedling trees take many years before they come into fruiting. Also in such case of seedlings, one cannot be sure about quality of the fruit. Planting should only be done in a pre-dug and filled pit. For the planting of saplings, one meter deep pit with similar diameter should be dug. The pit is exposed to sun for a few days. The upper one-and-a half feet soil should be kept on one side and the lower soil should be rejected. The upper soil is mixed with equal quantity of well rotten farmyard manure or in case of heavy soils, the mixture should contain one part each of soil, sand and farmyard manure. The pit is refilled about a few inches above ground level so that when you water it, the soil settles. In case the level goes down, make it up by adding more soil manure mixture. It is always better to plant fruit trees in July-August. 

(Narula is Panchkula-based horticulturist and landscapist)