Soft Fruit Bed

[lesleygl]

I want to devote a new bed to soft fruit, quite a large area, say about 15 to 20 ft square. Looking at websites the plants look quite expensive to buy. Can anyone advise the best and most inexpensive way of doing this please. I have in my minbd that you can buy soft fruit canes a cetain times of the year. But maybe you will have to wait a few year before they fruit. I would like to grow lots of difference sorts of soft fruit, is it best to buy from websites of nurseries?

[Two_Sheds]

If you want definite named varieties, then buy from a nursery, a fruit specialist.

If you're happy with mongrels, then beg some canes & runners off fellow plotters. I posted loads out last autumn for Grapes for the price of the postage, but don't have any spare this year

Poundshops do have fruit and sometimes they're OK - my blackcurrants (5) all came from the £ shop and are good plants

[lesleygl]

thanks Two Sheds - that is a good idea - I have bought some from £ shops and Lidl before but had forgotten

[rustylady]

My raspberries and redcurrants came from the Poundshop 3 years ago and they have been brilliant. Also remember that you don't have to fill the whole space all at once. You can take cuttings from your original plants once they are established and increase your stock that way. Strawberries send out loads of runners each year, so they're also easy to increase.

[Aberdeenplotter]

The area of ground you have really isn't very big so before you start buying anything, plan out what you will be able to accommodate. Currant bushes need 5 ft between them and raspberries 5 ft between rows. Strawberries need 2ft between plants and between rows.

[Two_Sheds]

quite a large area, say about 15 to 20 ft square.

The area of ground you have really isn't very big

This is where my maths-less head lets me down.
I assumed (there I go again, assuming stuff) because she said "large", that the area was 15ft x 20ft, but maybe it's only 5ft x 3 or 4ft ?

my head hurts

[lesleygl]

So does mine. Maybe it just seems big to me!!

[Aberdeenplotter]

This is where my maths-less head lets me down.

TS, you surprise me. We all thought we could count on you

[northepaul]

I was told that you need 18" between raspberry canes, and 2ft between currants bushes!!

[Aberdeenplotter]

18" between canes, 5 ft between rows for raspberries. you need to be able to get in between the rows to prune and pick fruit and the berries need sunlight to ripen. The current bushes spacing is really a practical issue. The branches grow to a minimum 2 ft so that is a total of 4ft between the bush centres and you need to be able to move about between the bushes for pruning and collecting fruit. Total 5ft minimum and if it is gooseberries, you may in fact want more to make sure you can move about without injury from thorns

[Two_Sheds]

My rasps are packed in with about 24" between canes, but over the years they've increased to a thicket ~ it's really difficult getting to all the fruit (today I was getting lashed round the face by prickly branches, in the high winds), and without sufficient air flow the fruit is going mouldy too

[northepaul]

Hmmm thanks for the advice..(goes off to rethink raspberry bed )

[zazen999]

My rasps are packed in with about 24" between canes, but over the years they've increased to a thicket ~ it's really difficult getting to all the fruit (today I was getting lashed round the face by prickly branches, in the high winds), and without sufficient air flow the fruit is going mouldy too

This is why I invested in thornless ones. I thought it worth it at the time and I can still squeeze inbetween the 2 lines - they are on both sides of a 4ft bed, so 2ft inbetween at most. I do trim back the ones in the middle as they grow to keep the path clear - ish.