Fruit in a small garden
Everything a home gardener needs to grow fruit in a small space: what to grow and where, planting bare-root trees and bushes, pruning each kind of soft fruit, choosing rootstocks and pollination partners, and getting the crop safely to the kitchen. Short videos, quick checks and a checklist for your own garden in every lesson.
10 lessons20 minutes of video40 flashcardsLifetime access
Start with lessons 1 and 2: choosing fruit for your space and planting it well. Bare-root season runs from late autumn to early spring, the best time to begin.
Planning and planting
Choosing a spot, easy fruit, small trained trees, pollination and planting
- 1Choosing fruit for a small gardenFinding the right spot, the easiest fruit to start with, small trained trees, and pollination partners.Free lesson
- 2Planting fruitBare-root or pot-grown, planting a tree and soft fruit, and care in the first year.
Soft fruit
Strawberries, raspberries, currants, gooseberries and blueberries
- 3StrawberriesThe three types, planting, care through the summer, and new plants from runners.
- 4RaspberriesSummer or autumn varieties, planting and supports, pruning each kind, and common problems.Free lesson
- 5Currants and gooseberriesHow blackcurrants differ from redcurrants and gooseberries, pruning each, and picking.
- 6BlueberriesAcid soil and ericaceous compost, rainwater, pots or the ground, feeding, pruning and picking.
Fruit trees
Apples and pears on dwarfing rootstocks, plums and cherries
- 7Apples and pearsRootstocks and tree size, trained forms, pollination partners, and how pears differ.
- 8Plums and cherriesChoosing a tree, the summer-pruning rule, thinning and propping, and protecting blossom and fruit.
Care and harvest
Fruit in pots, frost and birds, thinning, problems and storing
- 9Fruit in potsThe best fruit for containers, potting up, watering and feeding, and keeping pot-grown fruit going.
- 10Protecting, thinning and harvestFrost and birds, thinning apples for bigger fruit, common problems, and picking and storing.
Before you buy
My garden is tiny. Can I still grow fruit?
Yes. The course covers fruit for pots, trees on dwarfing rootstocks, and trained forms such as cordons, espaliers and step-overs that fit a fence, a wall or the edge of a path.
When should I start?
Late autumn to early spring is bare-root planting time for trees, bushes and raspberry canes, so winter is the ideal time to plan and plant. Strawberries go in from late summer.
Are GardenSteps courses RHS courses?
No. GardenSteps is independent. Our courses follow the Royal Horticultural Society's published guidance, but they aren't affiliated with or endorsed by the RHS.
Who are the courses for?
Home gardeners in the UK, from complete beginners to people who garden every year and want to stop guessing. You don't need any experience.
How long does each lesson take?
The videos are about two minutes each. With the quick check, the flashcards and the checklist, a lesson takes around ten minutes, so you can do one over a cup of tea and then go out into the garden.
How long do I have access?
A single course is yours for as long as we run it, with no subscription. If we ever close a course, we'll give you at least 12 months' notice and a way to download its summary sheets. The all-access pass opens every course for 12 months.
What is the all-access pass?
One payment of £79 opens every GardenSteps course for 12 months, including any new courses we release during that time, with all the summary sheets and handouts. It doesn't renew automatically: we email you a month before it ends, and renewing early adds the new year to the end of your current one. Handouts you've downloaded are yours to keep.
Which devices can I use?
Any modern phone, tablet or computer, so you can take a lesson out into the garden. The summary sheets are PDF files you can print.
Can I get a refund?
You can cancel within 14 days. Because the courses are digital content, the right to cancel ends once you start the lessons, and we ask you to confirm this at checkout. See our refund policy for details.