Advice on Tayberries please

[Grandpadragon]

The Tayberry I planted last year is now covered in berries I'm going to have an enormous crop Do our avian friends like them and should I net them?
Can you get them ripe enough to eat raw? or are they better cooked /jammed

[yoanbob]

yes you can eat them raw, most "raspberrys" in the supermarket are tayberrys, bigger, better coulor, inferior taste but apparently sell well, they are not as sweet or sour as raspberrys and can be used in the same way for a milder flavor.

[Flummery]

The birds love them grandpadragon! If you want the whole crop you'll need to net. They are bigger than raspberries and, I wouldn't say inferior in taste, I think they are different. I've had a tayberry for 6 years and it's fantastic. The birds nick them when they are at the peak of perfection! They never get really sweet but if you like a sharp fruit with a bit of a bite they are great raw. I find that because it's too easy to pick under-ripe, I wait till they are just right and pick what's ready. I freeze them a bit at a time and can then get a whole lot ready at once. I usually eat them raw with ice-cream or in a pie. Wouldn't be without mine.

[rustylady]

Net them Grandpadragon - I grew raspberries a few years ago - lovely plants but I never got a ripe fruit off them. Only one day when I didn;t have to go to work I realised what was going wrong. The **** birds were eating the top ripe fruits and the **** Old English Sheepdog was eating the ones she could reach.

[Alison]

I don't net any of my fruit and accept that I'll lose a few but I still get plenty so that's fine by me. They don't seem to eat the raspberries much, or the tayberries but if anything they go for my redcurrants. Suppose it depends on how many birds you have in your garden, maybe our cats scare them off.

Back to the original query, I usually cook my tayberries and they make delicious jam. They're also lovely in a pie with apples or in a general mixed fruits thing with ice cream or yoghurt.

[Grandpadragon]

Thank you for your info girls. Have had 3 feeds so far they are ripening at about 12 per day just right for us two Have the nets ready but have only lost3 to the birds and I suspect the high one went to Granny Dragon bird and the two low ones to Dilys Mafanwy Dashund bird!. They go well with strawberries plus of course the cream or ice cream.

[Grandpadragon]

I have to appologise to Dilys Mafanwy it was a female blackbird. I netted the tayberry but failed to get the net right to the ground in the corner, she flies down and walks under the net and has a go at any ripe very low berries. I'm leaving it as it is as if she likes them that much she's welcome.

[mrskp]

Mum told me about tayberries on her recent visit up and has given me the cash to buy one (I think I've only got room for one).

Advice please on varieties available, growing conditions, when I should buy/plant , infact any advice at all would be grand.

Cheers muchly.

[mellonmellow]

You definitely want to protect those berries from the bird. They'll be gone the next day.

[Flummery]

My Tayberry is Buckingham Thornless - I think it's commonly available - both Marshall's and Dobies have it at the moment. It's a good doer but I've lost more to the weather than to the birds this year. Still got a big bowlful every 2 or 3 days though!

[mrskp]

Many thanks Flummery, that's exactly the variety that the supplier has recommended since i posted my ask.

Will have a look at Dobies and Marshalls as Blackmoor's aren't available til November.