Fruit Trees - The Maths

Whilst in the 'Market Street' of my local supermarket this week I paused to think about the cost of buying fruit. To the probable consternation of my fellow shoppers, a tortured expression fixed itself on my face while I did some mental arithmatic. This went as follows:-The approximate yield from an apple tree – I'm thinking in maturity on an MM106 rootstock, but let's not worry about the fine detail- is, on average, 100lbs of apples. At current prices ( average 82p/lb) that volume would cost £82.00 to buy.Same sum for pears, the average yield of a pear tree 75lb at 90p/lb would cost £67.50 to buy.And as for cherries, average yield from a cherry tree 50lb at a whopping £4.52/ lb would cost £226.00 to buy.A 1 year old fruit tree from Ornamental Tree Nurseries sells at less than £20.00.With my available cash being squeezed from all directions in the current recession, I'm glad we planted fruit trees in our garden.You can do the rest of the maths....