bwhite829
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Location: Pensacola, FL

good fruits for an apartment

Hey all, I'm starting a sq ft garden at our apt next week, and was wondering if there is any viable fruit I can get started with it? my understanding is that fruit takes much longer to produce than veggies. my spring garden will consist of squash, eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, etc, but was wondering if there is any good fruits that can yield in one season? it won't be much larger than about a 4x6 or so garden with a couple pots of various vining plants.

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Strawberries, definitely. :wink: Some brambles that produce on new growth if you had the room. Maybe grafted dwarf citrus trees. technically tomatoes are fruits.... :wink:

If you are thinking next couple of years, I would say blueberries, but I think the Southern blueberries are huge bushes unlike the northern low bush varieties.

Peaches and Nectarines, you can get "patio"-type super dwarf container varieties --they should be OK where you are right? You have to consider the required chill hours.

I would definitely try dwarf bananas if I had th frost-free climate. As it is, I have to bring them inside during th winter so I'm still scheming.

I'm sure there are more. 8)

wisconsingal
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I was going to suggest a dwarf blueberry (I'd like to try one of these myself) but now I see you are in FL and I'm not sure if the same container type would grow well there.

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lorax
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Dwarf bananas, hands down. For your area, Dwarf Red and Dwarf Brazilian are fantastic producers and don't take up much space. You can actually plant them in the center of the bed and put other plants around them, particularly bush beans.

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applestar
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Lorax, I'm thinking if I told DH that we won't have to buy fresh-cut Christmas trees any more, I would have the space to keep a dwarf banana tree in the house during the winter! 8) How would they look with Christmas decorations hanging from the petioles and twinkling lights wrapped around the trunk? :lol: :>

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The Bearded Farmer
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I have been playing with fruit trees for a couple of years now. In all seriousness if you are willing to put in a little work, you can keep ANY fruit tree very small.

All you need to do is plant the tree in a 15-20 gallon pot. Read up on how to prune fruit trees ( there is a very specific method ). You must also be willing to yank it out of the pot every year, or at the least every other year and trim roots. In winter (if its a tree that needs chill hours) cover the pot in burlap and let it overwinter!

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lorax
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Location: Ecuador, USDA Zone 13, at 10,000' of altitude

AS, bananas look absolutely stunning done up as Christmas trees. Lightweight twinkle lights, especially LED types, can actually be festookened along the petioles as well, for extra-festive decor touches.

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rainbowgardener
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Since we were out of town for Christmas this year, we did not get a Christmas tree. But we did string lights through the house plants. The tall ficus in front of the picture window in the living room looked quite convincing as Christmas tree from outside, after dark....

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applestar
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Thanks, Lorax and RBG.... 8) 8) 8)

:wink:

Lehcar
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Location: Zone 7, Coastal SC

The Bearded Farmer wrote:I have been playing with fruit trees for a couple of years now. In all seriousness if you are willing to put in a little work, you can keep ANY fruit tree very small.

All you need to do is plant the tree in a 15-20 gallon pot. Read up on how to prune fruit trees ( there is a very specific method ). You must also be willing to yank it out of the pot every year, or at the least every other year and trim roots. In winter (if its a tree that needs chill hours) cover the pot in burlap and let it overwinter!
Wow! I'm intrigued...

I was thinking about starting a fig tree and after doing a little research I've found that fig trees actually like to be constricted a bit and flourish in containers. However, I can't seem to get a clear answer on exactly how to prune the root system or any answer other than "prune the foliage to match the root pruning"... what does this mean?!

Haha, I've been pulling my hair out trying to get the answer.

Do I just shake out most of the dirt as though I am going to re-pot the plant and hack away the outer layer of roots? Do I just hack off the bottom layer? Side layer? Snip away gently at all roots under 1/8" in thickness? What about the foliage? Should I cut away half-branches to encourage more growth next year or snip half of them off entirely at the trunk? Do I cut every other branch or every third? Only cut enough to see sunlight through the leaves? Do I very politely ask the roots to pack their compost and leave quietly and oh, could they please take their foliage counterparts with them?

Help! Lol.



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