Fruit bush hedge

[trancedaddy]

Being a newbie at gardening, having moved into a house with a large rear garden: I'm not sure what to do about 'things'

Having read an article about ' soft fruit hedges' in a national newspaper, I thought what a good idea to divide the rear lawn up by planting a fruit bush hedge to give a vegetable plot behind the hedge with the lawn in front.

The hedge would run in an east to west direction and apart from where it meets the western privet hedge, where it would be shaded from late afternoon onwards, is sunny throughout the whole day.
I'm looking to plant the hedge over a 10m length with currant bushes, gooseberries and raspberry canes. A 'double row cordon' appeals to me, so I'm looking for advice on spacings. Have searched the net but what advice I have found is to say the least, conflicting.

Would be grateful for any advice and comments.

TD.

[mothhawk]

Welcome to the vine trancedaddy. Can't help with spacings though, my garden is on the bijou side of small so no room for more than a couple of anything. A soft fruit hedge sounds like a great idea. Someone will be along soon to give you tried and tested advice on planting distances, I'm sure.

[FB.]

Gooseberries are usually quite thorny, so not very friendly for a garden hedge (but good as a vandal screen, as are blackberries/brambles).

Raspberries need some support or they will arch over like brambles, especially when laden with fruit (plus raspberries have lots of small thorns which scratch and deter, but they don't generally draw blood).

Most soft fruits need protection from birds.

Spacing can be whatever you fancy.
If the soil is nasty plant them closer - say 1ft apart for raspberries and 2-3ft apart for currants and gooseberries. If the soil is good (or you intend to feed/water/spray) they can be spaced twice as far apart.
You don't mention your location but certain regions are known for their good or bad soil and climate. Sometimes the soft fruits perform better "up North" and don't like the sun and heat (and lack of winter chill) "down South".
Ultimately, your soil/climate combined with your "care routine" of feeding, watering, spraying and pruning (or lack of) will determine how big they get and how productive they are.

The soft fruits tend to grow very quickly and currants or gooseberries are very easy to grow from cuttings - just wait until the leaves turn yellow in autumn, cut off a piece at least pencil-size and immediately poke it a few inches into the ground and leave it undisturbed until the following winter.

Personally, for a fruiting hedge, I would suggest apples or pears, grown as cordons, espaliers or Belgian Fences. They generally don't need the support that raspberries do, they don't have thorns, and the fruit tends to be less vulnerable to bird damage (or outright theft!). The strong woody structure of apples or pears is more ideal for a permanent structure.

I've tried growing apples and pears underplanted with currants, raspberries and gooseberries underneath but I find that the apples and pears usually aren't strong enough to compete and soon become overgrown by the soft fruits.
On the other hand, "instant gratification" is much easier with soft fruits because they grow so quickly and start cropping so soon. "Proper" fruit trees grow slower and take longer to start cropping.

[Two_Sheds]

I have a thornless raspberry fedge (Polka) at my lotty: it helps the other crops by being a bit of a windbreak

Plants were planted 3ft apart, but they soon put out suckers to fill the gaps.

I have a wild blackberry going along the rear fence, heavy cropper despite never being fed or watered

[veggiechicken]

Hi Trancedaddy and welcome!
How wide do you want your hedge to be? You can keep raspberries and bramble fruits trained along wires so could have a double row of those in the space of one currant bush.

[trancedaddy]

Thanks for the comments guys.
Given me room for thought!
My location is in the NW, near Blackburn. The garden is relatively well protected from the wind as there is a large clump of trees set back from NW & N perimeters. The prevailing winds tend to be W/NW so the rear of the garden tends to be a sun trap. Birds from the woodland area would be a problem but I assume 'netting' would minimise their effect.

Interested in the comment about propagation, as for a double row, closely spaced over a 10M run, there is a substantial cost implication in setting it up from the start. Think I'll start with a single row with the intention of doubling up the next year. Also this way will allow me to go through the 'learning curve'. If I do have any disasters, then it won't potentially be as costly. The other possible problem with a double row
is picking the fruit. This way it may take 3-4 years before the hedge reaches full cropping potential but hopefully be then I'll know what I'm doing.

Well best get digging and get the ground prepared for planting. At least the nearby stables are a handy sources of manure.

TD

[FB.]

I have a thornless raspberry fedge (Polka)

I have some Polka but the embarrassing thing is that I hadn't noticed they were thornless.

One thing I have noticed, though, is that Polka don't seem to grow very quickly, with a high transplant failure rate in my soil.
My other autumn fruiters (Autumn Bliss, Allgold) grow about three or four times faster than Polka. 7-8ft for the Autumn Bliss/Allgold but only 2-3ft for Polka. It's possible that the Polka might be sick (poor growth can be diseased stock) because Polka came from a different supplier to the Autumn Bliss/Allgold which were supplied by Keepers some years ago.

[Fleurisa]

How about a fruit and nut hedge? Add hazelnuts to the list

[BUFFS]

I have some Polka but the embarrassing thing is that I hadn't noticed they were thornless.

One thing I have noticed, though, is that Polka don't seem to grow very quickly, with a high transplant failure rate in my soil.
My other autumn fruiters (Autumn Bliss, Allgold) grow about three or four times faster than Polka. 7-8ft for the Autumn Bliss/Allgold but only 2-3ft for Polka. It's possible that the Polka might be sick (poor growth can be diseased stock) because Polka came from a different supplier to the Autumn Bliss/Allgold which were supplied by Keepers some years ago.

i have polka and joan j and find the joan j much the stronger variety,i have lifted offshoots all thru the summer,as they show themselves,and have yet to have one die on me,but here they will never die of dehydration,so thats a major factor,but it has given us a great crop,with the new growth tied in in the autumn as this gives an earlier,bigger crop the next year,from the start/middle of july to mid/end of sept,it certainly works in this area anyway.

[Two_Sheds]

Polka don't seem to grow very quickly, with a high transplant failure rate in my soil.

Oh, they've been fine for me. They're actually bigger (nearly 5ft) stronger plants, with better fruit, than the autumn rasps (3ft tall) I inherited with the lotty (variety unknown)