hi all - ok I've got half a plot in Exeter , the temptation is to want to grow everything as majorly enthuisiastic! I've planted things a little closer together than advised - for example Black Currants are 2.5 foot apart - raspberry canes are in a block a foot apart with a foot and a half between rows etc. I'm trying to conserve space - what wil happen? will they just grow into eachother ? or do you think i should alwys stick to the recom. planting distance? help me out here! :o(//)
Hi there marcus, you should be all right, we all do it :-[ the reason for planting a good distance apart is to make sure there's plenty of air around the plants to avoid diseases caused by still, damp conditions.
1 ft is fine for rasp canes, provided you keep em trained, pruned and well fed :)
Blackcurrants are a little close IMO, but if you follow the simple regime of pruning every alternate one down to the ground each Autumn, they should be fine :) and FEED
We plotters who grow for the kitchen have the luxury of eating every other baby veg from a row and eating so those left in can swell, unlike the farmer who has to have them all ready at once. It's your plot, and you can have fun experimenting and adjusting in the light of experience. A lot of us sow e.g. carrot, bush beans, beetroot, onions in clusters, further apart. If you plant e.g. beet, carrots, lettuce in succession - a short row every two to three weeks from March to Sept - you can climb up the learning curve fast.
Recommended planting distances look madly far apart - I remember planting squash and Jerusalem Artichokes 3 ft apart and thinking that was way too much, but when they'd bushed up oh was I glad I didn't plant them any closer. I filled the greenhouse with tomatoes and squash so I had to crawl in to water, so will be planting twice as far apart this year :P you live and learn ;)
It's YOUR plot, use the rec. planting distance as a guide and take it from there :)
well thank you - nice and positive too! I think I'll spread the black currants out a bit more as I really want a bumper crop the year after next - I've cut the newly planted plants down to two inches and I've been ferrying well rotted horse manure in every weekend for four weeks! thanks a lot - yes it's a learning curve ;D
A big welcome to u Marc don't know much about berries just thought I'd say hi. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D.
hi cornykev - i don't know about berries either!
out of interest are you in Enfield or Hereford as I saw Enfield then looked at your map and was amazed at how countryfied Enfield was ! ;)
I usually plant closer in the row but leave sufficient gap to walk up and down the row for weeding, harvesting and pest control.
Distances are good for somethings but not so for others. If yo are planting extra large produce for show then distance becomes more imoportant.
To maximise crop quantity - dont leave gaps. There are some fast growers that can be slotted into empty space between main plantings. Keeps weeds supressent whilst makes best use of your beds. Speediest growers are baby carrots, beetroot, radishes & cut & come again crops such as baby salad leaves. ;)
we tend to put above ground things between above ground things, so we can put them closer,
also catch crop with fast growing things between things that are in the ground for a long time so, by the time the big things need the ground, the others are out
also, growing sweetcorn and peas, beans etc after early spuds so the ground's working all the time,
our blackcurrants are about 2 feet between, the raspberries tend to fill in spaces so they're about 18", just cut the inconvenient ones out :D
:D :D Marcus I live in Enfield but the map is showing Hereford but I don't know how to correct it, but they is quite a bit of countryside on the outskirts and surrounding areas. But I still clueless on the berry front.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
thank you all for your replies so my buzz words are intercrop - catch crop and forest planting and lots of mistakes! trouble is when you nurture something from seed and watch it grow and then perish it tugs at the heart strings - sob sob ! blow blow ! :'(sob sob !!!!