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  • How many soft fruit plants do you have?

    I'm just about to order a variety of soft fruit plants for my new plot and am wondering how many (and what) other people grow? I'm especially interested in raspberries, blueberries, currants and the 'unusuals' like jostaberry etc. We are a family of four and spend a small fortune on soft fruit each week, so I'm happy to 'invest' in a decent number of plants. I am pitching for 14 raspberry plants, 7 blueberries, one of each currant colour and a josta and honey berry to try. Does this sound about right? In due course I might propagate some more off these ones (or if I am under shooting significantly just buy some more upfront). Are things like jostaberry and honeyberry and other 'unusuals' worth it or are these more miss than hit? Would love to hear what you do. Thanks!

  • #2
    I'm a back garden grower and only have the usual blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, plus rhubarb and a couple of cordon apple trees. There's only the two of us so with the freezer we have enough fruit for pudding and my breakfast oatmeal just about all year round.
    Location....East Midlands.

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    • #3
      I have only planted my soft fruits a year ago, so don’t yet know how much fruit they will produce.
      I went for 8 raspberry canes, 2 blackcurrant, 3 blueberry, 1 gooseberry, 1 redcurrant, 1 white and 1 pinkcurrant.

      We also inherited a cultivated blackberry (or maybe a hybrid berry), which produced over 50lb fruit over last 2 seasons, and I plan to add some autumn raspberries at some point.

      When I was a kid, we had 12 raspberry canes at home for a family of 4 (all summer fruiting), and had enough spare to make jam - or raspberry toffee if we left it cooking too long

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      • #4
        I grow jostaberries - once you have one established, they're easy to propagate from cuttings - like blackcurrants. But don't expect heavy crops for a year or two from any fruit bush.
        How about gooseberries, loganberries and all the other black/loganberry types.
        ............and strawberries!

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        • #5
          I have strawberries, blueberries and raspberries oh and gooseberries. not counting the numbers. Probably too many but not enough when they are done.

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          • #6
            Hi, In terms of soft fruit, I have 3 blackcurrant bushes, 3 gooseberry bushes (one of them red dessert gooseberry).
            I used to have 1 red currant, 1 white current and 1 pink current but didn't eat them or like them so dug them up and gave them away.
            this year I'm planting 1 raspberry and 1 blackberry (these were gifts)
            I never bought any of the above, they're all from cuttings I obtained from other allotment folk.
            I'm propagating jostaberry this year, my neighbour allotment holder has this plant and last year produced masses of the most delightful fruit, wonderful taste in my opinion. Funny thing is, I gave him the cutting that I'd obtained from someone else as i didn't have the space, I'm making space for it now though. But be warned, jostaberry plants grow very big, my neighbours is huge
            I also grow perpetual stawberrys, they're just as nice in my opinion

            Oh, and a Tayberry, forgot about that, fantastic berry, a bit like a loganberry I think
            Last edited by MyWifesBrassicas; 01-01-2019, 08:46 PM.
            sigpic

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            • #7
              I grow lots of Strawberries. Early medium and late and an Everbearer / All season to get the full growing season.
              Strawberry 'Albion'
              Honeoye
              Cambridge Favourite
              Florence
              Still using them in an Apple and Strawberry Crumble

              I also have the small red and white alpine "wild type". Picked one today in the polytunnel. Going to have to put it out for a month or so to recover. Think they need a period of cold each year.

              Have 2 lines of Rasps. Autumn and Sprint (1 each Yellow and Red)

              6 x Cherry, 4 x Plumb, 6 x Apple - Trees too young to judge fruiting

              6 x Blueberry - Need more shelter - wind stripped berries this year.

              1 x mature Discovery Apple Tree.

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              • #8
                I'd avoid any 'novelty' fruit like honeyberries and fuchsia berries etc, in many cases they're low yield and often not very nice. If you really want to try then shove it in a pot before you commit a space in the ground.

                At first at least I would stick with the staple fruits like strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, various currants etc. The hybrid blackberries are also very good - loganberries are nice but I find tayberries absolutely delicious. Not such a fan of boysenberries as I find they have a strong winey kind of taste but it's all personal choice. I'm also not particularly fond of the couple of yellow raspberry varieties I've tried. Many are wary of gooseberries from having tasted them previously but red varieties are much sweeter.

                Don't forget the spacings, blueberry bushes for instance should be 1.5m apart and it doesn't help them or give you more fruit to try and cram more in (although we all do ).

                If you've got room, you could also add tree fruit such as apples, pears, cherries or plums. Dwarf varieties will fit even a small space or even a pot if that is all you've got (although getting the watering right in a pot isn't easy).
                Posted on an iPad so apologies for any randomly auto-corrected gobbledegook

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                • #9
                  I dug up the Honeyberry and binned it, unpleasant and poor cropper for me, have blackcurrent x6, guzzgogs x2, Rasps x8(new bed, may get more) and strawbs x40

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                  • #10
                    Thanks everyone, these are really helpful suggestions. Totally forgot to mention about rhubarb and strawberries but will definitely be growing those. Have dropped the honeyberry and am adding in a tayberry for definite! Will look at loganberries etc too. Hoping to do fruit trees at some point after the soft fruit

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                    • #11
                      For soft fruits, I grow what I already know I like to eat and are pricey/hard to find rather than novelties: raspberries (autumn ones as they are easier to prune and no netting from birds), bluberries (yum - no sharing of these!), also one each blackcurrant (for drinks), redcurrant (for jelly), and gooseberries (actually nice in cakes etc. if allowed to fully ripen, which surprised workmates when I had them try them) and a small grape vine (for jelly).

                      I also have a boysenberry for novelty (again, it needs to really ripen not just be black before eating) and many rhubarbs (7 and counting - I like to share them). I also have a small bed of Mara de Bois strawberries (everbearing variety for snacking throughout the season), as they are best tasting ones in IMHO. No blackberries as they are easy to forage (add I do collect loads from the hedgerows, where they go to waste). I may get the hubby one of those tiny-fruited kiwis for fun, but I have no experience with those.

                      Fruit trees, well, I have fair number of them too...pears, apples, quince, fig, peach, damson, greengages, plum, morello cherries...

                      Yup, addictive like seeds... And as you said, if you like them you can propagate them for yourself or to share.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by B Porcupine View Post
                        For soft fruits, I grow what I already know I like to eat and are pricey/hard to find rather than novelties: raspberries (autumn ones as they are easier to prune and no netting from birds), bluberries (yum - no sharing of these!), also one each blackcurrant (for drinks), redcurrant (for jelly), and gooseberries (actually nice in cakes etc. if allowed to fully ripen, which surprised workmates when I had them try them) and a small grape vine (for jelly).

                        I also have a boysenberry for novelty (again, it needs to really ripen not just be black before eating) and many rhubarbs (7 and counting - I like to share them). I also have a small bed of Mara de Bois strawberries (everbearing variety for snacking throughout the season), as they are best tasting ones in IMHO. No blackberries as they are easy to forage (add I do collect loads from the hedgerows, where they go to waste). I may get the hubby one of those tiny-fruited kiwis for fun, but I have no experience with those.

                        Fruit trees, well, I have fair number of them too...pears, apples, quince, fig, peach, damson, greengages, plum, morello cherries...

                        Yup, addictive like seeds... And as you said, if you like them you can propagate them for yourself or to share.
                        Sounds delicious! Thanks for the info

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                        • #13
                          Just noticed they have Selva Strawberry in Wilko Site. These are everbearing, so a couple plants and a few runners for next year could see an extended season for years to come.

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                          • #14
                            A lot what to grow might depend on what pests are present in your area and what they take a fancy to.
                            Autumn rasperies (crop both spring and autumn) and blackcurrants always give me a good crop as does a tayberry. Strawberries usually are eaten before I can pick them by different pests each year, even when netted. Last year was mice, year before and quite often in past squirrels. Slugs and ants in other years but mainly it is squirrels and mice. Blackbirds will do almost anything for red currants and are quite partial to gooseberries round here.
                            Hopefully, if you grow a variety and with a bit of netting, they will leave you enough of what you like.

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                            • #15
                              In our garden we have gooseberries x2, rhubarb x2, raspberries x4, apple trees x2 (all different varieties), 2 white currants 1 red (for the blackbirds), established black currant and another 2 taken from cuttings as they are so tasty and we wanted more. We gather plenty of blackberries locally and through our own hedge on to farmers field.
                              My next consideration is going to be a fruiting hedge separating garden from veg patch. I'm currently considering a few plums, maybe a greengauge, two pears perhaps then underplanted with gooseberries, currants etc.

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