Best Fruits to Grow in a Small Garden

Growing dwarf fruit trees is a trend of many urban gardeners - people who have a small garden. These plants all share one thing in common – small size, so they’re very space-saving. But that doesn’t affect the ability to bear fruits and most of them taste great.

Here are the best fruits to grow in a small garden that I think you’ll like.

Lime/Lemon Trees

Lime/Lemon is sour and succulent. This fruit is extremely rich in vitamins - especially vitamin C, antioxidants, and other nutrients.

They require an area of about 3 x 3 m or 3 x 4 m to grow and can be grown on many different types of soil, but the best condition is loose and humus-rich soil at a pH of about 5.5 to 7. It prefers full sun and little wind.

They grow best in tropical and subtropical climates.

Dwarf Red Apple Trees

While common red apple varieties are 5-7m tall, with large foliage like old trees, dwarf red apples are only 1-2m tall, with a unique and impressive shape.

They can be grown in pots or containers, on a variety of soil types (from medium clay to sandy soil) but are best suited on sandy loam soils, rich in nutrients.

Dwarf apples bear fruit after two years of growing. Their fruits are sweet, very aromatic, and super nutritious.

The plant prefers cool, dry climates and a lot of light - needing 8-10 hours of sunlight per day.

Pomegranate Shrub

The fruit is sweet and juicy. You can eat them raw or make juice.

A pomegranate tree can be grown on the ground or in a pot/container. If planted on the ground, it needs a 3 x 3m area. But you can prune it for smaller foliage.

If planted in a pot, the smaller the pot, the smaller the fruit size, and they will not be as delicious as when planted in the ground.

Pomegranate is a light-loving plant, has good heat tolerance, can withstand low temperatures in a short time, and also tolerates waterlogging quite well.

The best growing temperatures are from 20 to 30 degrees C.

Kumquat Trees

Kumquats can grow up to 5m tall, but the height of dwarf grafted trees is just half of that, which is perfect for small gardens and pots.

Their fruits are very small in size, taste sour when green, or sweet and sour when ripe.

Kumquat trees can be grown on many different types of soil, but the best one is loose and rich with humus and fertilizing, well-drained, sufficiently moist, and has a pH of about 5-6.

They prefer full sun but will bear fruit well in cold climates.

Mango Trees

Mango fruits are soft, juicy, and sweet with a sweet aroma. Its texture ranges from fibrous to almost the consistency of butter.

There are some dwarf mango varieties to be grown in pots or small spaces.

They can be grown in varied soil types, but the best one is loam sandy soil with the temperature ranges from 24 to 26°C, the coldest month should not be under 15°C.

Planting mango requires a dry season to help it differentiate flower buds better.

Starfruit Trees

If you’re a big fan of kiwi fruits, you might love starfruits due to their similar tastes. When ripe, it is sweet with a mild tart flavor. The riper the fruit, the less tart it is.

It has a sour lemon-like taste, which is perfect to add to salads.

Usually, after 10-14 months, the tree starts blooming.

Starfruit grows well in hot and humid climates of the tropics or subtropics. It can thrive on many types of soil, but best on humus-rich, easy-draining, porous soils. The required soil pH ranges are from 5.5 to 6.5.

Guava Trees

Guava fruit’s taste is a mix of mango, pear, and strawberry. When ripe, the skin has a sweet-sour taste and the flesh is sweet with herbaceous, earthy, floral, sweet, and fruity flavors.

The tree can be grown on earth ground or in a pot (sizing at least 60 x 60 cm).

It requires a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius, loose, moist, well-drained soil, and full sun - at least 6 hours/day.

Grapevine

Grapes have sweet, mildly tart flesh, with crunchy texture and thin skins.

For grapes, a dry climate with lots of sunshine and low humidity are the best growing conditions. They are easily grown on a pergola, trellis, or arbor.

They prefer sandy, porous, aerated, well-drained soil without containing too much grit. The pH should be from 5.5 - 7.5.

Blueberry Trees

The taste of blueberry fruits is somewhere between a red and green grape, but sweeter with a bit of acid. They are very juicy.

The plant prefers full sun, temperature between 20-36 degrees Celsius, and humus, well-drained soil at a pH between 4.5 – 5.

Pear Trees

The taste of pears varies between varieties. Most of them have an apple-like taste but are either sourer or sweeter. The flavor is varied, too.

Pear trees can be grown in a pot of 18” to 20” in diameter.

The best temperature ranges for them to grow are 10 - 12°C, and should not be higher than 25°C. The plant requires plenty of sunlight.

Pineapple Plants

Pineapples taste very interesting. It is sweet and fruity, nearly like a combination of apples and oranges – very zesty and bright.

Because it is a tropical or near tropical plant, the required temperature ranges are 18 -45°C.

The ideal pot size is 11- to 26 liters and the soil should be well-aerated, non-compacted, and free-draining clay loams, sandy loams, and loam with no rocks or heavy clay.

Acerola Trees

The fruit can be cooked into dishes or eaten raw. It tastes sweet, aromatic, and astringent.

Acerola trees require warm climate, prefer lots of sunlight, and the best temperature ranges to grow are from 25-35 degrees C. The soil should be dry, well-drained, and sandy at a pH from 6.5 and 7.5.

It grows well in a 24” D x 24” W pot.

Conclusion

Above are the 11 best fruits to grow in a small garden that are easy to take care of and give off tasteful fruits. Hopefully, this article has helped you in choosing the right plant for your home space. Thanks for reading!