New To Fruit!

[Frana]

Have had my allotment for a couple of years now and with reading lots, advice from some 'old boys' and of course this fantastic site, I think I have learned quite a lot of useful stuff.

Only ever grown strawberries on the fruit side of things though and this year am thinking to try more fruit.

Any hints and tips on what would be a good start for me and what are the basics I should know?

[JimmerG]

Frana,

Make sure you plan the location properly as fruit tends to stay where it is for good! Make sure the ground doesn't get waterlogged. Give the plants a good compost/manure mulch in the winter/spring - maybe a bit of wood ash to help the fruit. And you pretty much leave them to do what they want.

Any fruit bush/tree needs to go in NOW!

I can heartily recommend raspberries. If you get some Glen Ample and some Autumn Bliss you'll have gorgeous rasps for the summer and autumn.... a few this year, loads next year. Look around you should be able to get 5 canes for £5. Planting - usual story, free draining soil, lots of compost/well rotten manure, don't bury them too deep, they have shallow roots. The Summer versions need support, autumn don't.

Get some Rhubarb in now aswell. you can get chunks of crown from garden centres for £2. Again, free draining soil and lots of organic matter, give them about a square metre of space. don't cut anything for the first year. Then sit back and watch it flourish.

The best thing about fruit is it 'locks up' areas of the garden/allotment, so you don't have to worry about digging/cultivating that area ever again!

Good luck!

J

[Frana]

Thanks Jimmer!

Very informative and extremely helpful.

Quite fancy the idea of raspberries so will stop off at a local stockists tommorrow and get em in!

Cheers!

[TEB]

Totally agree re the Raspberries, especially the Autumn Bliss, if you have a semi shady spot they will live quite happily there.
Lots of places are doing offers on fruit bushes, Lidl and Focus are 2 that I know off