Fruit Trees, any space for them?

Fruit Trees, any space for them?

Just a few facts to instigate your thoughts:

Nowadays, Londoners can grow fruit trees in their front and back-gardens, if they have one. While a small fraction of them, around "30,000" people (LDA, 2006),

that is around 0.4% of London population, grows fruit trees in allotments, whenever their "condition of tenancy" allows them to do so.

In fact, even if allotments are defined as: "a piece of land not exceeding 40 poles in extent which is wholly or mainly cultivated by the plot-holder for the production

of vegetables or fruit by him/herself and family", where "40 poles is equivalent to 1,012 m²" (ARI, 2007), it is not always possible to grow any kind of fruit tree.

For example, some allotment providers, like the Croydon Federation of Allotment and Garden Societies gives clear guidelines on the planting of fruit trees, which:

"should not overhang roads, paths or adjoining allotments or site boundaries with private residences" and

"should be planted no less than five feet (1.5m.) from roads or paths for apples, plums, pears, gages and other top fruit", and limit the size to "dwarfing rootstocks only".

While other providers, like the Tandridge District Council forbids the growing of "anything bigger than a raspberry bush" on their allotments,

and the London Borough of Wandsworth, which requests:

"not to plant any fruit trees or fruit bushes or any crops that require more than 12 months to mature without the previous, written consent of the Council".

More to follow...

Dhanya