Do you live in Fife? Have you ever fancied growing your own fruit tree? Well, now you can.
Meet Gillian Fyfe, the grandmother leading a scheme to bring free fruit trees to folk in Fife.
“We would like offer fruit trees to people who don’t have them already,” the 60-year-old explained.
“I love fruit trees. I grew up on a farm garden and I’ve gardened for a long time.”
Fruit trees are a big part of Gillian’s life and expert planter that she is, she already has 12 fruit trees at home.
And now, she is spreading her wisdom – and love of trees – with the rest of Fife.
Fife fruit trees will save money, waste and food miles
A bare root tree costs around £20-30, but thanks to a new scheme led by Climate Action Fife, Fifers will be getting their fruit trees for free.
“The initial cost of a tree is relatively expensive,” Gillian explained, “but because they’re so long-lived people will get the benefit long-term in terms of the cost of the fruit.
“And you know, if you’re replacing six apples that you’d buy in the supermarket with six from your own tree, it saves money and plastic.
“You might be able to do that for three or four months in the winter, which is really nice.”
And by year three, Fifers should be able to get their hands on their own fruit.
Fruit trees like apple, plum and cherry, take about three or four years to grow fruit.
“You get good years and bad years but it should be pretty steady,” Gillian added.
“In a good year, a small-ish apple tree might produce 50 kilos. So it’s a lot. It could be 250 kilos if you have a bigger tree.
“Plums is anywhere from 18-27 kilos.”
Anyone can grow a fruit tree in Fife
Money will not be an object for people who want to get their hands on the trees thanks to the free initiative.
Gillian said: “It’s quite an expensive outlay for someone who doesn’t know what to do.
“And if you were buying it on your own it would have to be in a pot, probably from a garden centre. And there it’s more like 50 or 60 pounds per tree.”
On top of that, the size of Fife folk’s gardens won’t be an issue.
That’s because the scheme, from Climate Action Fife, will distribute mostly small fruit trees, with the intention of allowing everyone to house a tree, no matter the space they have available.
“We’re choosing small trees because we think most of the homes will have urban gardens,” Gillian explained.
“We don’t want to exclude people because they don’t have the right space.
“If you’ve got a patio, you could even have one in a pot.”
Finally, as Gillian demonstrated how to plant a Scotch Bridget apple tree, she said that age, skill or tree knowledge is no barrier.
“There’s no particular reason why most people couldn’t plant a fruit tree,” she said.
“I’m 60, so there we are. Anybody can plant a tree – I’m a granny!”
But if you want some tips, you can check out the information from Climate Action Fife and their video below.
