Summer fruit favourites

[alldigging]

Strawberries. They taste so much better than anything you can buy in the shops. Picked fresh and eaten outside, or used in a pudding, or turned into jam.

[Glutton4...]

Raspberries, every time. I've never grown them, but I adore them.

[VirginVegGrower]

For me it's got to be raspberries.

And me! Raspberries of any colour, black Glen Coe or gold Valentina or red Tulameen. I love them all.
For variation on the same theme - Japanese Wineberries - lush! I'm coveting a cloudberry and will get one, one day

[BertieFox]

I'm awaiting delivery of a chilean Guava and a 'cocktail Kiwi' (similar or the same as Kiwi Issai), so excited for those.

Also might get something off my 'pink lemonade' blueberry this year, and I do have 3 japanese wineberries (as mentioned above), but as they fruit on older wood I might have to wait until next year!!

Is a 'Chilean guava' the same as what the French call a 'Brazilian guava' (Goyave de Brasil), in which case it's Feijoa sellowiana (aka Acca sel.) If so, I've been growing a supposed self fertile one (Coolidge) for several years and although it's smothered with beautiful fuschia like flowers, it never sets a single fruit. I have tried hand pollinating but still doesn't work. I'm now waiting for some seed grown ones to start flowering to act as pollinators.
If your guava is a 'true' guava (Psidium) I'd be interested to know what variety.

Also, you will find 'Issai' will peform far better if you also have a male Actinidia arguta of some variety. Although it is supposed to be self fertile it will bear more fruit with a pollinator.

[yummersetter]

No Chilean Guava is completely different, Ugni Molinae, more like a myrtle. I think the 'guava' part of the name might be a selling device! I have a fifteen year old feijoa, grown from seed that's filling half a polytunnel and have had fruit occasionally. The thick petals can be taken off carefully and are delicious with strawberries, they have a lychee flavour.

The Victorians were keen on growing tropical fruit in their hothouses - I think they had guavas growing at Sion House, across the river from Kew.

[Mikey]

I love everything as it starts to fruit, early summer I love my goosgogs with some elderflowers and some sweet elderflower cordial in a pie. they never quite fruit at the same time for me so I'm always freezing one or the other.

If its freshly picked I adore strawberries, I have a fair patch given over to them now, extending the season long enough for the family to get fed up of them fresh and allow me to make some jam.

[Paulieb]

Is a 'Chilean guava' the same as what the French call a 'Brazilian guava' (Goyave de Brasil), in which case it's Feijoa sellowiana (aka Acca sel.) If so, I've been growing a supposed self fertile one (Coolidge) for several years and although it's smothered with beautiful fuschia like flowers, it never sets a single fruit. I have tried hand pollinating but still doesn't work. I'm now waiting for some seed grown ones to start flowering to act as pollinators.
If your guava is a 'true' guava (Psidium) I'd be interested to know what variety.

Also, you will find 'Issai' will peform far better if you also have a male Actinidia arguta of some variety. Although it is supposed to be self fertile it will bear more fruit with a pollinator.

Yep, the chilian guava is a Myrtus ugni and the cocktail kiwi is Actinidia arguta.

[PyreneesPlot]

Another vote for blackcurrants here. Fabulous flavour and the birds and deer leave them alone.

[sugar]

Choosing one favourite is hard. I like them all. But I guess that in the end, the taste of Tayberry gets the edge over all other softfruit in my garden

[binley100]

I just like all fruit ......

[BertieFox]

No Chilean Guava is completely different, Ugni Molinae, more like a myrtle. I think the 'guava' part of the name might be a selling device! I have a fifteen year old feijoa, grown from seed that's filling half a polytunnel and have had fruit occasionally. The thick petals can be taken off carefully and are delicious with strawberries, they have a lychee flavour.

The Victorians were keen on growing tropical fruit in their hothouses - I think they had guavas growing at Sion House, across the river from Kew.

Aren't these names confusing! It's rather like the Hardy Paw Paw (Asimina) and the Paw Paw or Papaya (Carica) where the same name is given to completely different species. I see Ugni Molinae can also be called Myrtus, and to confuse matters further there are UgLi fruit, which are citrus!
Glad to hear you are succeeding with your Feijoa; perhaps there is hope for mine, which is a metre and a half high and wide now, but has never ever set a fruit. I found some fruit growing in the botanic gardens in Gijon (worth visiting if you are ever there!) and helped myself to some fallen fruit. The resultant seedlings now two years old have reached a good bush size and I hope they might flower in another year to provide pollination. Then we shall see.

[Aberdeenplotter]

I have strawberries, a variety named Maxim which reflects the size of the huge berries it produces. Definitely worth looking forward to. I have raspberries - variety Glen Ample - a smooth stemmed summer fruiting variety with decent sized berries. I have Black currant -variety Ben Connon- a prolific cropper once again with large berries. Although it looks as though I grow for size, none of these berries would be entertained in my plot unless there was real quality. I also have redcurrants - variety unknown but a good cropper, and red gooseberry - variety Pax and green gooseberry - variety Invicta, a mildew resistant variety. Very difficult to decide which of the foregoing is my favourite as they are all delicious but I think I would have to vote for raspberries.

Edit note.

How could I forget I have a dozen blueberry bushes? Definitely a luxury as I really don't feel they justify the ground they occupy in terms of the yield they produce but a lovely berry nonetheless.

[BUFFS]

my favourite would be the alpine strawbs,closely followed by the goosegogs,invicta,winhams industry, and a hybrid baby that has a lovely flavour,then the late raspberries followed by the rhubarb now growing apace....happy days are nearly here again..

[Laura Hillier]

There seem to be a lot of currant and raspberry fans! All this talk is making me want a summer fruit salad...mmmm!

Does anybody have any other delicious fruit to add to the 'must grow' list that hasn't been mentioned?

Laura

[veggiechicken]

Jostaberries are a "must grow" for me. A subtle cross between a blackcurrant and a gooseberry in size and flavour - without prickles!! Easy to propagate from cuttings too - so I'm growing a jostaberry hedge