Growing fruit takes much less effort than vegetables and you don't need a garden to do so. There's a fruit to fit every space, writes Sarah Marriott
The strawberry is small, sweet and succulent; it tastes like the strawberries of my childhood.
And I can eat in confidence, knowing it's completely free of pesticides - because I grew it myself.
Over 40 per cent of all fruit and vegetables contain detectable levels of pesticides, according to 2003 tests by the Irish Pesticide Control Unit.
It found 60 per cent of apples had pesticide residues although only six per cent of these exceeded the EU-agreed Maximum Residue Limit (MRL).
It also found that 16 out of 20 samples of strawberries contained pesticide residues.
Fruits that exceeded the MRL included samples of raspberry, lemon, grapefruit, pears, orange, blueberry and cherry.
One problem with MRLs is that they are calculated for an adult - but children face higher risks from pesticides than adults.
According to the US National Research Council: "The data strongly suggest that exposure to neurotoxic compounds believed to be safe for adults could result in permanent loss of brain function if it occurred during the prenatal or early childhood period of brain development."
One way of ensuring fruit is free from pesticides is to grow your own.
Anyway, what could be nicer than reaching out of the kitchen window to pick strawberries for breakfast or impressing friends with home-grown blueberries?
Growing fruit takes less effort than vegetables, says Phil Wheal, gardener at the Organic Centre in Co Leitrim.
"Vegetable growers are at it all the time; fruit growers get holidays."
After planting a fruit tree or bush, the only work involved is to prune it in late winter or early spring, feed and mulch it in the spring, then harvest the crop in late summer.
Unless you want to provide a five-star restaurant for the local bird population, it's worth covering the tree or bush with netting when the fruit starts to swell.
If you're thinking of planting a tree in the garden, why not choose an apple, fruiting cherry or plum?
"They look attractive, are easy to grow and you can get something back," points out Wheal.
If you don't have space for a full tree, you can now get "stepover" apples, which only grow to 18 inches high.
Garden-owners can also make a bit of space in their flower beds and pop in a few rhubarb plants, strawberries or currants.
But you don't need a garden; there's a fruit to fit any space.
Tiny alpine strawberries look cute in a window-box, safe from slug attacks; "ballerina" apple trees grow happily in a patio pot; and blueberries romp away in a 20-inch tub filled with peaty, acidic compost.
The only thing to remember about any plant in a container is that the soil can dry out quickly (a watering system on an electronic timer is a good investment).
Few of us would aim to be self-sufficient in fruit but we can grow enough to make a difference to our diets.
A mature "ballerina" tree can provide up to three kilos of apples, a Stella cherry tree can produce up to 400 cherries, a five-year-old jostaberry bush can give over five kilos of fruit while autumn varieties of raspberries are "easy to the point of menace", says Wheal.
Other advantages to growing your own are quality (enjoy flavourful, chemical-free fruits); cost (organic cherries, berries and currants are always expensive); and choice (experiment with unusual varieties such as Worcester berry, which is like a sweet gooseberry).
And if you get children interested, they may be more likely to eat something they've helped to grow and harvest.
When shopping, don't simply walk into the garden centre and take the first attractive fruit tree or bush you see, advises Wheal.
"You need to be discriminating. Choose varieties that are disease resistant and do well in this climate, such as Cambridge Favourites strawberries.
"For apples, choose a traditional Irish variety; English and continental apples don't mature properly here because we don't get enough sunshine.
"For hardy, prolific, disease-resistant, low-maintenance bushes, try jostaberries."
Phil Wheal is leading a fruit workshop at the Organic Centre, Co Leitrim on July 16th www.theorganiccentre.ie or phone: 071-9854338
Mail order soft fruit bushes and trees from Future Forests at www.futureforests.net or phone: 027 66176.
For native apple trees visit www.irishseedsavers.ie
Next week: Nature's bounty