Been to Lidl - Now what??

[organic]

So, completely by accident (and if you believe that I'll tell you a bigger one!) I've ended up buying a load of fruit things from Lidl. I don't know what the proper term is, but they look like sticks with a bag around one end. Canes? Bushes? Plants? Anyway, you know what I mean, don't you.

Now the reality that I really don't have a clue what I'm doing has set in!
Here's the list of what I've got:

Raspberry "Malling Promise" (x2)
Blackberry "Black Satin" (x1)
Redcurrant "Jonkheer van Tets" (x1)
Blueberry "Patriot" (x2)
Gooseberry "Hinnonmaki Gul" (x2) (a.k.a. Hinnonmaki Yellow)

I've done some googling, some searching, a bit of poking around, and while I know the idea is to soak the roots in water for a couple of hours before planting them, beyond that I'm not sure what to do.

I know they need different kinds of soil, and most of them seem to need the soil preparing ahead of time but I don't know what kind of soil I have, nor have I prepared anything.

I'm currently trying to figure out whether or not I should put them in pots for the time being. I've still not finished sorting my plot out so the place I'd like to put them is still kinda covered with the remains of a manure heap, loads of stones and a few weeds, so I can't put them in there and I'm not likely to be able to for some time yet.

Are any/all of those varieties suitable for growing in pots? I've got a bag of B&Q organic compost and not a whole lot else - will that do for the pots or do any of them need something else?

If I do put them in pots, how big should the pots be for the first year?


Finally, once all that's sorted, if anyone has any advice about what to do to them in this first year to get a healthy plant - whether it's pruning, cropping/not cropping and so on - that would be appreciated too.

I've looked all this up in the books I've got on hand but none really answer it clearly... or at least, not in a way I've been able to understand easily.

Cheers folks.

[sewer rat]

If you can get some big pots then most of what you have will survive the first year or so in them.
You mention different composts - the only one with a special requirement is the blueberry which prefers an ericaceous compost ( your local GC will have some). Other than that, your best bet is a John Innes No 1 or No 3 compost - these composts have a higher soil content and will retain nutrients and moisture for much longer than a multi purpose compost.
The rasp canes will need support if they are going into a pot so put a couple of bamboo canes in with them.
The bushes you have probably will not need pruning this year (I bought some fruit bushes from Lidl last year for one of the gardens I work at and they were all put into pots for a patio area - none required any pruning in their first year.)
Hope this helps - any more questions, fire away.

[Nicos]

....what ratty says!!!!
...and remember that raspberry like to have their roots quite shallow!

[snohare]

I can never remember about the pruning as far as rasps etc are concerned, but the one thing I always remember is a friend of mine who is a professional gardener who grows organic fruit and veg, creating a big fancy fruit cage for his new setup. Because they are all what is known as "gross feeders" (use enormous amounts of nutrients compared to most plants) he put a good three inch layer of manure all round them once they were planted. Boy, did they ever crop ! A stunning success, even the ones that were festooned with thousands of caterpillars eating every leaf were laden with berries.
Every year he tops it up and gets the same result. The only problems he has are that if snow sits on the netting it can collapse the whole structure, and the fruit cage is a bit small for such vigorous plants, he has to keep giving away suckers...
Because of lack of space, I had some rasp canes just sitting in a compost bag half filled with loam last year, which I watered with worm wee from a wormery. I was amazed to find that they flourished and came out with more berries than the properly planted canes in soil nearby. I came to the conclusion that the bag was holding in the moisture from rainfall whereas the canes in a raised bed were much more freely drained, and it was being in constantly damp soil that the bagged ones liked. Presumably the worm wee made up for lack of manure.

[Two_Sheds]

I bought a goosegog because I'm determined to grow one (for wine). I'm planting it in the back garden so I can keep on eye on the bladdy sawfly, which strips all the leaves overnight on the lotty plants.

[elsie-scot]

there was a thread on lidl or aldi fruit bushes recently, think main theme was that often the roots aren't great, so a bit better to pot up for first year anyway.

[snohare]

Once the blackbirds get near them, the sawfly patercillars don't fare well - well worth a tithe of the crop to the birds !

[Fruit_fanatic]

I'm going to suggest something different. If you put them in pots you'll have the remember to water and feed them regularly and arrange for someone else to do this if you are away. It's not so easy to prevent the birds nicking all the fruit, if you get any, and then you'll have to plant them out eventually which will disturb the roots again.
I'd soak them well, plant them out in some clean (weed free) ground and leave well alone. The roots will have a chance to get established before the leaves appear and if you can mulch them with well rotted compost or manure it will keep moisture in, reduce the weed competition and provide a small amount of feed.
We grow our gooseberries and redcurrants as single upright cordons which makes harvesting a lot easier. The raspberries and blackberries will need to be supported.
Blueberries require more acid conditions so these are the ones you may need to grow in pots depending on your soil - if it's over pH6 then that's a must. But you could plunge the pots in the garden unless you have very limey soil, and that will save a lot of time in watering. Never water blueberries with tap water. Always use rain water as this is slightly acid anyway.

[organic]

Thanks for the replies folks.

Would a 30 to 40cm pot be enough for this first year or do I need to be getting something larger?

For the lime, do I really need to go out and buy special compost, or would I be ok to just cadge a spadeful of lime and mix it in to some normal compost and use that?

As for skipping the pots and putting them right into the ground - I'd absolutely love to, but the space I need them to go isn't ready yet so if they are to go there they'll have to wait for a fair while. I'd have thought it would be better to get them in pots now and then put them somewhere more permanent as soon as I can.

[FoxHillGardener]

...For the lime, do I really need to go out and buy special compost, or would I be ok to just cadge a spadeful of lime and mix it in to some normal compost and use that?...

The lime is what you want to avoid with blueberries, not add it. Ericaceous compost is lime-free hence good for blueberries

[organic]

Oh dear - how backwards did I get that!? Haha!

I claim tiredness and lack of attention.

So, if not lime, is there something I can add to "normal" organic compost to make it more suitable for blueberries?

[Nicos]

So, if not lime, is there something I can add to "normal" organic compost to make it more suitable for blueberries?

Not really- just go and treat yourself to a bag of ericasious compost.
Coffee grains will make it a bit more acidic- but not enough to be honest

[organic]

I was hoping to avoid that. I've already maxed out my budget - getting a bag of compost will mean dropping a couple of seeds from the shopping list! Haha.

Ah well... "needs must" I suppose.

[Nicos]

getting a bag of compost will mean dropping a couple of seeds from the shopping list!

I'm sure some kind sole will have a swapsies for the seeds you need!

[organic]

Quite possibly. Haha.

There are a few on the list that are "sew under glass" this month and "sew outside" the next, so I'll probably drop those and skip the "under glass" sewing.

It'll mean waiting a few weeks longer for first harvest but I suppose, this being my first growing season, that really isn't the end of the world!