9 pointers for growing bountiful fruit in the garden

One of a gardener's greatest accomplishments is growing sun-sweetened fruits, which might be glossy red apples or juicy raspberries.

Though most of us think of fruits as growing on trees, many of the easiest fruits to fit into a home landscape are so-called small fruits, or berries.

• Ground-hugging strawberries will knit themselves into a leafy green ground cover in a sunny spot, and blueberries are at home nestled among ornamental shrubs.
• Every yard has room for at least a few fruits. Here are a few tips on adding fruit plants to your garden.

Fruits run on sun, and plenty of sun is the key to growing healthy plants that produce big harvests.

• Place all fruits where they will receive at least a half day of full sun.
• Gentle south-facing slopes are ideal for most fruits.

Get started in spring, when fruits are just emerging from winter dormancy.

• In some areas, you can plant strawberries in the fall, but most fruits are best planted in late winter or early spring.

• Dig planting holes in advance so they'll be ready when planting time comes.
• Holes for trees should be 60 centimetres wide and 60 centimetres deep and mix in plenty of compost or other organic matter.

You can grow small fruits in broad rows or even raised beds. If you plan ahead, you can prepare planting sites in fall and winter, then refill the holes and cover them with a board or mulch until spring.

Mulching will keep the soil moist and discourage weeds.

• Spread a deep layer of straw or wood chips around the base of newly planted fruits. The mulch will also protect the plants' shallow feeder roots.
• When mulching trees, keep the mulch 30 centimetres away from the trunks to deny rodents a hiding place and to promote good air circulation.

An abundance of fresh air helps prevent fungal diseases and loss of spring blossoms to late spring frosts.

While fruit trees are functional, they can also be decorative.

• Apples, pears and cherries make particularly attractive landscape specimens when in full flower.
• Bramble-type fruits, such as blackberries or raspberries, can be used to define a boundary — and discourages trespassers.
• Or you can grow fruits upward by training grapes or kiwi vines to cover an overhead arbour.

Some fruits can't pollinated themselves.

• Study varieties closely and make sure you have good combinations of varieties when growing tree fruits and blueberries that are not self-fertile.

• Always clean up leaves, fruits and other debris around fruit plantings to discourage pests.
• Prune and destroy any diseased fruits or foliage.
• Monitor fruits often for signs of insect or disease problems, so you can treat them promptly.

• Are there some apples you want to protect or some grapes that need a little more time on the vine? Slip the fruit into clear perforated plastic bags as it approaches perfection. You'll keep out critters while the fruit continues to ripen.
• Wrap tree trunks with plastic guards to protect them against sunscald, nicks from lawn equipment and rodents that like to nibble on bark. Choose the type that expands as your tree grows and has ventilation holes.
• Horticultural oil is an effective all-purpose pest preventive on fruit trees. To suffocate overwintering insects, use the heavier kind, called dormant oil, before trees leaf out. Use the lighter oil — known as summer oil — during the growing season.