‘The mango, the jackfruit and the coconut — all that is needed for survival’, goes a farm adage.
The bio-diversity of a kitchen garden is ideal for growing fruit trees, which thrive in a forest environment. While commercial farms have to be carefully monitored with soil analysis and adjustments, fruit trees do well in a home garden with minimum attention. The use of organic fertilisers and pesticides will reap superior fruits through the year.
The post-monsoon months are ideal for planting trees. Most tropical fruit trees are permanent and have similar growing conditions — a well-nourished base, watering at crucial stages and warmth to ripen the fruit. Mangos, jackfruit and coconut are some of the largest sub-tropical fruit trees, and are an asset to every home. Use the basic methods of ground preparation and care for all fruit trees, noting the minor variations. Record their progress in a diary.
Plant: Many gardeners and farmers prefer to grow their own saplings from seed. Alternately, healthy six-month-old saplings can be sourced from a nursery.
Choose a sunny spot to ensure the young tree gets enough light for healthy growth. Fruit trees need a well-nourished base for their roots which will grow and anchor the tree. Prepare a round pit four feet wide with a depth of five feet. Leave a distance of 15 feet between each large tree to ensure adequate sunlight for the lower strata of plants. Add a mix of neemcake, cowdung, dried leaves and loamy soil to fill half the pit and leave for 10 days. Plant your seedling in the pit, cover with soil and water generously, leaving a slight depression to retain moisture in the dry months. Cover the soil with a mix of leaves and grass.
If your garden has enough space to accommodate more large trees, add avocado, rambutan, mangosteen, lychee and others, using the basic methods of soil preparation and maintenance.
The same guidelines can be used to plant fruit trees on sunny terraces using large troughs or grow bags with well-drained loamy soil. The base of the pots should have a six-inch layer of crushed brick and pebbles to encourage drainage. Mango, jackfruit and even dwarf coconut can be grown in terrace gardens.
Moon Phases: Permanent trees have a long life span and are best planted during the full moon phase, as the sap flow is concentrated in the roots. The first quarter phase when the sap flow in the tree trunk is high, is the best time to apply panchagavya , and also for grafting and pruning. Many farmers believe that fruit increases in weight towards full moon.
Care: Moderate watering with drip pipes is necessary to ensure the roots never dry out. Feed the young plants at the onset of monsoons and again post monsoons with panchagavya ; when they are older, fertilise with farmyard manure as the buds appear. Spray the foliage periodically with a dilute neem solution to resist pests. All fruit trees (except coconut palms) benefit from pruning to encourage growth and flowering. Trim excess branches to encourage a lush healthy canopy.
Intercrop with a range of mid-level fruit trees like guava, papaya, chikoo, custard apple, pomegranate.
Mango: A mango tree will yield a small harvest by the fifth year; this can go up to 500 kgs of fruit by its 20th year, if the tree is well-nurtured. Seedlings must be watered frequently and the soil around it kept mulched. By the second year, irrigate once a week during the dry months, but stop watering by early spring as the first flowers appear. Post harvest, the soil around the tree must be nourished once a week for two months with manure and panchagavya .
Jackfruit: This nutritionally dense fruit can be consumed as a vegetable and also as a fruit. It grows best in well-drained soil in hot, humid regions. Like all fruit, the jack tree produces superior fruit in a diverse garden intercropped with other fruit trees. It needs irrigation only in the driest months and is generally maintenance-free. One jack tree is sufficient for a kitchen garden, as a mature tree can yield up to 100 fruits in a season.
Coconut: Coconut trees should be grown on the periphery of the garden, away from the house, as falling nuts can be dangerous. As they are prone to a range of diseases, careful attention must be given to the preparation of the pit before planting. The base of the trees should be mulched with leaves, and nourished with rich organic fertilisers once a month; irrigate regularly especially in summer months.
This is the first of a three-part series on fruit trees.
