I would like to grow a selection of soft fruits i.e.
Strawberries, Raspberries and Blackberries.
Gardeners World ( 12/3) gave advice on raspberries, but I know very little about the other two- especially blackberries, which I definitely would like to try, as my sister has an apple tree and this makes me think of jams, pies etc for autumn time.
Can anyone give some advice? :-\
Are plants available now, if not when ???
Debs
Hi debs,
Blackberry, I have the thornless type and they are sooooooo easy to grow. Still, I like to go to the dunes to pick the wild ones and by the flavor you wouldn't think the fruit even belongs to the same species, both good but so different.
After harvest I save 2 or 3 strong branches per plant from that year, cut the side branches off it at 3 or 4 eyes and all the rest of the branches are cut down to the ground.
I have poles on either side of the row and one in the middle with strong wire strung between at the top of the poles and a wire at waist hight. After pruning I tie the saved branches to the top wire. In spring and summer I tie the new branches that come out of the rootball to the bottom wire (they don't bear fruits this year). This way the fruit hangs on the top wire, easy picking. After harvest, all the branches from the top wire get cut off and the saved, new branches get moved from the bottom to the top wire and you start the whole cycle again. This way you'll never get a confusing jungle. I give them dried cow manure pellets every other year.
Strawberries, starting when they flower, I give them some dried cow manure pellets. Never let the plants dry out, they need lots of water during the flower and fruiting stage. Every year I get new plants from the runners and plant those out early august. Many people keep the same plants for 2 or 3 years, I tried it but found that new plants crop much heavier.
I am by no means an expert but this is how I do it. Hopefully you'll get more advice here and I can pick up some tips to do it better myself. Good luck.
Soft fruit shouldn't be too much of a challenge. I bought raspberry, blackberry, black and white currents and gooseberry plants 2 weeks ago to compliment what I bought (and pinched) last year. Due to a pollution panic close to my plot the plants have been in their bags 2 weeks longer than I liked, but I've got them planted today. If you want a little advice (which is always open to 'discussion between gardeners!) I'll give you my 2 Euro's worth if you wish.
Dear Kenkew,
Any advice is gratefully received.
I've always loved gardening but have never grown fruit & veg until now ( must be a late-developer!!)
Ina,
Quick strawberry question - do you get rid of the 'parent' plant after it has produced its runners, or still continue growing it ??
I tried strawberries in the greenhouse last year but was disappointed with the yield and not impressed with the teracotta pot I used, as compost fell out of the planting holes.
Has anyone tried growing strawberries in drainpipes (halved) and hung along greenhouse?? I have some in situ but have not tried it yet.
Debs
Ina's soft fruit advice is excellent. We try to keep a succession of young (and high producing) strawberry plants going. To that end we propagate the runners and remove the parent plant when it is 3 years old.
If you are getting interested in soft fruit growing, then why not try some of the other sorts. Thornless Loganberry (fantastic jam and wine) Worcesterberry (cross between blackcurrant and gooseberry) or Alpine strawberries (dead easy from seed and luscious flavour). Then of course there are all the currants and blueberries (need an acid moist soil) This year we are hoping for berries on an American shrub called Chokeberry (?Aronia sp.)
Course you realise that if you do get good crops from your plants you will have to learn how to preserve, jam, pickle, bake and freeze.
Dear Palustris,
Thanks for the advice.
Thankfully, I'm a dab hand at the old jam-making, chutney-making, freezing malarky...which goes hand in hand with wanting to grow my own and know what has happened to them while they grew! ( which can't be said for supermarket stuff..)
Are backberries etc available to buy in G.C's now ?
What would I expect to pay ??
Does anyone know a good source of cheapness ???
Debs
unless its raining you shall have strawberries tomorrow - they are growing well in their pots and taken as runners from what is (so they say) a good bed.
you could try safeway for blackberries, i know they had currant bushes in dead cheap...
If you want a couple of currant 'twigs' that I believe are rooted, I always bung my prunings in the ground around the bushes, and they always seem to root, I have some, no idea if red or black as I have both, and no idea of posh name, other than black or red currant. ;D I will happily oik them out and post 'em to you, probably won't get much in the way of fruit this year, but next year.... mmmmmm.... currants.... my fave berry! Email or pm me your addy if you like. ;D
ooo, and alpine strabs are a must! Easy peasy from seed as they don't produce runners, tiny little fruits but the most tastey sweet strawberry yummyness ever! :P Like my berrys and cherrys me! ;D
Thanks E J,
Shall send you my address via pm. Will return postage costs so you do not incur expense for being so kind !!
Debs
Legless,
One of these days we shall meet !!
Unfortunately, I still haven't been to the lottie. :'(
Did you go today? (sun) I planned to , but domestic chores and weather prevented me :-[.
Weather forecast is good for latter part of the week ;D, so I will try my hardest to get there from Thurs onwards...
Debs.
8) 8) 8) 8) ... dreamin of sun and fine days in lottie...................
nah, it looked too much like it was going to rain! i hope to get down there for a couple of hours most afternoons this week, but i'm doing overtime til 3 so it'll be 3.45 before i get there, still get something done though.
i might be imaginary - you always have to consider that possibility :D
I got some cheap fruit bushes (gooseberries, black and red currants) from Wilkinsons. They were between £1.30 and £2 each. They also had strawberry plants but i can't remember how much they were!
Sparky
Poundland had some currant and raspberry "twigs" for a pound each!
Ten x
Excuse me butting in....I've just pricked out my alpine strawb seedlings and am wondering how much space to allow each plant ultimately - I have a space about 6'x4' to give them. The seed packet says 12" each way but d'you reckon I could get away with closer spacing? I've no idea how much yield to expect - I'm planning on freezing the fruits until I have enough for jam. Any advice appreciated.
Thanks
Christina aka grape_expectations
debs, i think you may find the strawberry and comfrey fairy has visited your plot today, finally found you....
p.s. one of those strawberry plants is actually a robot programmed to lop the heads off sunflowers 8)
Hi Christina and welcome.
I'm not sure if alpine takes up less room than regular strawberries. I usually figure one (woman's) hand length around each baby plant. I guess your concern is space. The way I plant is not in single rows that I can walk between, I plant in wide beds and stagger plant in three rows. This way I can easely reach the middle row from the narrow pathways between the beds. This saves you two pathways of space and you don't press down the soil close to the plants either.
Theres a bit on various soft fruit on my web site Debs that might give you some guidance.
click on the world icon under my logo and this will take you to my site, then follow the fruit by name in the alphabetical index.
or follow the 'Fruit garden' weekly reports on the main index.
(http://www.honleyvillage.co.uk/images/Community/GardenClub/bYkYhw.gif)
Many thanks to all..........
I just lurv :-* this website !!!
Legless - watch out!! My 5 yr old boy kitted out in his combat gear, wearing his 'Action Man Spy Goggles' might just catch you out... be warned....
he's armed and dangerous >:(..........he's got a whoopee cushion and he's not afraid to use it !!!!!
;D :D ;D :D ;D :D ;D :D
i've got quite a high fence ;D
i should imagine being 5 - he's too short to attack over it :P
Not if his mum gives him a 'leg-up'
ALLS FAIR IN SUNFLOWER WAR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh right - will allow husband to have that super soaker he's been asking for then....
p.s. you want to get a lock on that gate, anyone could wander in and get your sunflowers... ;D ;)
Christina, my alpine strawbs are all quite close together, I have them dotted around my flower beds ;D so they have to rough it with the perennials. The fruit they produce is obviously weeny, but delish, and my little plants produced fruit all through the summer, long after my regular strawbs had done their stuff. Freezing is a good idea because unless you have stacks and stacks of plants, you will only pick a couple a day and it will take you all summer to get enough to make jam. I mixed them with all of my berries to make 'tutti fruitti' jam ;D
Got some raspberry twigs and blackberry twig and two more strawberry plants from Wilkinsons today.
Good cheap place - twigs cost approx 1.99 each, and strawbs were 89p each
debs