Rain Barrel Fruit Tree
It is definitely far fetched to grow a fruit tree in a rain barrel. I know this because I spoke to a lot of experts at garden centers who laughed at the idea. They basically said it would not work. In fact I heard that over and over again. One of the biggest reasons given, was that the tree would not be able to last the winter as the soil in the barrel would freeze, unless it was put into some kind of shelter, like a shed or a garage. Well I don’t have a garage and the tiny shed we built has no room for a fruit tree. That probably should have stopped me there, but I was determined to find a way to grow fruit trees for small spaces.
The idea behind the fruit tree in a rain barrel is that it takes up very little space and is portable. Therefore if you rent your space or move often can just roll the fruit tree right into the moving van. Granted a fruit tree in such a small container would probably only last about 10 years, but for $70 and an old barrel that I had laying around, it is worth a try. So casting out all the negative things the nurseries told me of course I went ahead with my experiment.
As you can see above, I made a series of holes to attach the wheels. You can see in the picture that the first set of holes were placed incorrectly which caused the barrel to fall over. Also in retrospect you need much bigger wheels as these have proven difficult to maneuver. A few holes were drilled about 4 inches up from the bottom of the barrel to allow for drainage.
The landscape fabric was cut to fit the bottom of the barrel. After the lining was in, the bottom of the barrel was filled about 1.5ft with mulch.
The lovely fruit tree, cost approximately $70. This is a dwarf tree which is important because the maximum it will grow is between 8-10ft. Also it is important to note that I chose a nectarine because it self pollinates. Usually you need two trees to get fruit, unless you have a four in one which does not need a pollinator because it is grafted with 4 varieties generally of the same fruit. The fruit tree was placed in the barrel with surrounded by about 3 inches of much and then soil.
The nectarine spent last winter up against the wall you can see in the background of the image to the right. Because the wall is southern facing it functioned as a troupe wall, keeping the tree warm in the winter. I didn’t wrap the tree or do anything special to prepare the tree for winter. I prefer not to coddle my plants too much as I want them to be resilient and not rely on me, in case of extended periods where I am away or for some other reason that I am unable to care for them.
In conclusion for this year, the nectarine did fantastic over the winter and was one of the first to start budding in spring. I was thrilled and so very excited. Unfortunately we had a really cold snap one spring evening and every last bud perished! Alas I am not deterred. For me, the little rain barrel fruit tree is a success, it lived thorough a Canadian winter. Spring will come again and if I am lucky this time next year I will report a nectarine harvest.
