Strategies for Growing Fruit on the Oregon Coast

When you live on the coast, one of the things a gardener is told is "you can't grow fruit here."  Which is bunk. Here's what you need to know about growing fruit near the ocean:

1. Pay attention to microclimates.

Most gardeners know about microclimates, little areas of your yard or neighborhood that experience radically different conditions-- like late frosts in a shady corner of the backyard, and intense heat next to a west- or south-facing wall in summer. On the coast our microclimates are intensified, especially where it concerns the effects of wind. 

Your neighbor might be able to grow a certain thing very well, but in your yard the wind comes whipping around the corner of the house and destroys the same plant. So with this in mind, a fruit grower can succeed on the coast; however microclimates must be strictly observed and can be used to advantage.

2. Carefully choose your varieties.
It's tempting to visit the big-box market an hour away from the beach and select a robust fruit tree or shrub. This can be a big mistake. Likewise, that coastal supermarket whose fruiting trees line the sidewalk for a few weeks in springtime should be avoided. I've yet to see a Bing cherry succeed here.

In both cases, you are likely to purchase a plant that is ill-suited to this specialized climate. Average winter temps are warmer than inland, and cooler in summer due to the moderating influence of the sea. Many fruit trees require cold in winter to produce a good fruit set, and long, warm summers to ripen. Choosing varieties developed for production inland may just set you up for frustration. Click here for some of the edible plants that have performed well in my Oregon coast garden.

The solution? Get to know a nursery in your community, particularly if the owner enjoys growing food. They can advise you and obtain the right plants at the right time. Locate your nearest coastal extension office-- for my location, that's in Newport. They have loads of helpful information and may even hold a seasonal plant sale with the right varieties. Finally, seek out neighbors and garden clubs in your community for advice. There's always an expert nearby if you pay attention. Read more about my choices for fruit in these articles.

3. Provide shelter from wind.
The best wind screen for your new fruiting plants is permeable rather than solid. If the wind can be diffused on its way through, the damage on the lee side will be significantly reduced. A solid barrier can actually force the wind to find its way up and over, creating increased eddies and more damage. Knitted shadecloth stretched across a frame (pictured) or existing fence can do the job nicely. I've found 30% shade cloth to be ideal, and knitted holds up in high winds better than woven cloth. Secure it with zip-ties or strong clamps. On the Oregon coast, persistent wind comes out of the north in summer and strong, gusty winds out of the southwest in winter.

A related strategy is to plant a hedge on the north side of your garden to minimize the drying winds of summer. Use coast-adapted hedge plants like these.

4. Make necessary soil amendments.
Due to heavy rainfall, our coastal soils tend to be highly acidic.  Additionally, the sandy makeup in many areas is quick to leach nutrients. Adding lime to boost pH and compost for organic matter are commonly added as topdressing, but testing your soil is a good place to start. If you can't locate a place to send samples, or the wait time is too long, get a high-quality home kit like this one for basic measurements of pH (acidity/alkalinity), nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Correcting these major nutrients-- and choosing the right plants-- will go a long way toward growing a successful garden.

What's Become of My Edible Landscape - Part 1

It's been nearly four years since my last post, and there continues to be interest in this blog. An update on the edibles in my coastal landscape seems timely, given that spring is the time for planting and planning. I'll start with some of the hits in this post, then move on to misses in part 2.

As I wrote before, planting raspberries here (and most places in the Northwest) is a no-brainer. Given their high cost at the market and ease of planting-care-harvest, they are great bang for the buck. My 'Saanich' red raspberries continue to produce mightily from one little row, filling the freezer and our bellies in early summer.

We took a big risk in cutting down the long hedge of arborvitae that provided privacy from our very-close neighbor's house, and replacing it with a row of Asian pears 'Kosui' and 'Chojuro.'  I'm happy to report they are thriving. We created a support structure of cedar posts and stainless wire on which to train our pears in a style known as "pleaching." For a great guide on this and other pruning methods, check out my favorite book on the topic.

The 'Frost' peach that was planted on the south side of our garage, trained similarly, continues producing boxes of peaches every summer. I don't weigh the harvest, instead counting the fruits, and it's usually 300+ on this single tree. The 3-way espaliered apple on my garden fence produces lots of Liberty apples, and a smaller number of Akane and Melrose. Enough for daily lunches and some processing over a few months in the fall.

Blueberries and strawberries continue producing without much trouble, and the Seascape strawberries have yielded lots of starter plants for friends and neighbors. It was great fun when the little girls next door started their very own strawberry bed from the plants I was digging out of my paths. A female Seaberry has been producing small handfuls the last two seasons (a male plant is required too).

For the first time, my Cascade hops made their way into a batch of homebrew last fall... still a ways to go learning that craft but the plants are doing well over the backyard deck. Climbing right along side them in the deck planters are an ever-changing mix of vining tomatoes, scarlet runner beans and flowering annuals. I'll have to write a separate post on the subject of coastal grapes...

Among the less-vigorous, wait-and-see plantings are the 'Negronne' fig tree, 'Red Pearl' lingonberries, cranberries and a hardy kiwi vine 'Issai.' These have all survived and show some promise but have yet to yield any food. A potted pomegranate in my greenhouse surprised me with tiny fruits last season, though they never fully matured. And for the first time I saw tiny cranberries forming on my creeping plants in the garden. Some other creature got to enjoy them but it was fun to see them at last!

Eating the View

Who says a landscape has to be merely beautiful? By the same token, why must edible plants be banished to the back garden, out of view? I'm here to tell coastal homeowners: yes, you can have your beautiful landscape and (like cake) eat it too.

A trend has gripped the nursery industry these past couple years, with the onset of the scary economic situation that began in late 2007. "Edible" plants are all the rage. Funny thing is, for many vegetable and fruit growers like me, edibles have always been our reason for gardening in the first place. We may have all started with a tomato plant or two, and before you know it, the winter seed catalogs have us prancing down the garden path toward exotic herbs and Asian greens, not to mention strange fruits.

By now, many of you have become familiar with attractive landscape-quality edibles like kale, Swiss chard (especially the 'Bright Lights' variety) and the striking artichoke. These dinner staples can be worked right into a varied perennial or shrub border, fitting in as comfortably in the front yard as the veggie patch.

What you may not realize, or perhaps haven't considered, is that many fruiting plants are front-yard stunners as well. Why bother with barberry and cotoneaster in your foundation plantings, when you could instead plant an elderberry, evergreen huckleberry, cranberry, currant or gooseberry? Many of these plants offer more than just the fruit but also floral and changing-color leaf displays to enjoy. Those among us with an adventurous spirit, willing to pay attention to cultural plant needs, might even try the cutting-edge seaberries or honeyberry.

Working old familiar standards into a landscape can be easier than you think. In the past couple years, I have transformed a formerly sad juniper-patch into strawberries, and the south side of my garage is the perfect habitat for a 'Frost' peach tree, trained into a fan. This pink-flowered stunner provided 30 fruits in its first year. A stone retaining wall is now lined with a row of 'Saanich' raspberries instead of handrail, and the back fences of my property support a 3-way pear, 3-way apple and 3 new varieties of grape selected for the coast. The apple and pear are espaliered, to make the most of limited space.

Take a good long look at what is filling your front yard and ask some questions like, does it get full sun? Is there shelter from the strongest winds? What is that plant (in place now) doing for me-- is it flowering, providing groundcover, or just taking up space? Do I appreciate the texture, color, fall display? After you assess these questions, you can begin to think through what edibles might take their place, and provide you with more than just scenery. What you might get instead, is good eats!

My fruiting plant sources in the Northwest: Raintree Nursery (WA) and One Green World (OR). Be sure to check what can be shipped into your state-- many are prohibited to cross state lines.