Choosing Soft Fruit bushes

[Rosella]

Hello,

I am a newbie gardener looking for some advice. I have inherited a small vegetable plot in my back garden, where I have been growing simple stuff like onions, and a few tomatoes and potatoes. I have recently enlarged the growing area (lifted a few concrete slabs, and composted the ground), with a view to planting some soft fruit - I love the idea of some berries for eating in the summer, and also for making jams and puddings.

I need some advice on what type of fruit is easiest to plant and look after (something not likely to suffer too much from pests or diseases) because I don't have much time/skill! also, which are likely to thrive in a small area, and produce a reasonable crop - bearing in mind I live in the South East (Hertfordshire). I love the idea of traditional fruit like gooseberries, and raspberries, are they difficult to keep under control? I would also like blueberries, but will they thrive in my garden, or do I need to grow them in pots with ericaceous compost?

Last question: is September/October a good time to buy and plant out?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[rustylady]

Hi Rosella, welcome to the Vine. Gooseberries and currants (black, red and white) are quite easy to look after, and so are raspberries. There is plenty of advice on the Vine, or try the RHS gardening advice site. September is a good time to plant soft fruit. As for blueberries, I believe they need acid soil, but I have never grown them myself.

[Jeanied]

Why don't you try a patch of strawberries too - a real treat round Wimbledon time. I have a blueberry in a tub on my allotment - it has a watering tube and a reservoir for water in the base so it does not dry out between visits. The only problem seems to be getting to the berries before the birds do!

[Rosella]

Thank you

thanks to both for your suggestions!

I have been reading the RHS advice website, I find the long list of jobs, pruning, and possible pests and diseases a bit worrying! In the end, I have been offered some Raspberry runners by a friend of a friend, so I am going to go with those. Possibles for the future are a couple of gooseberry bushes, because I like gooseberry jam! If I feel any more adventurous, I will perhaps keep blueberries or strawberries in a pot on my patio.

All the best, and thanks again

[SarzWix]

Raspberries are pretty easy There's all sorts of pruning advice for them, but basically you just have to cut off the stems that have had fruit on them, and leave the ones that haven't for next year's fruit to grow on.

Caring for gooseberries is relatively easy too, the only thing likely to go wrong with them is gooseberry sawfly, which is a caterpillar type thing that can strip all the leaves in no time. But there's now a 'biological control' for that which is a microscopic predator which you apply and they then take care of the pest

With both, make sure they stay moist through any dry patches (a bit easier in a garden than on an allotment) and mulch them with compost or manure.

[SueA]

Autumn raspberries are even easier than summer fruiting ones, they don't grow as tall so don't need lots of support & tying in, you can grow them in large pots & containers & you just cut all the canes right down to just above the soil in winter.
As Sarz says the main problem with gooseberries is sawfly larvae, I'd given up trying to grow them because if you don't spot the first nibble the entire bush is stripped in a day. Might give then another try though with the biological control idea next year!