Raspberry and Strawberry plants; how many?

[Nurseygreen]

Hi all,

Just eyeing up what I want to get for my plot. Two of my favourite fruits are strawberries and raspberries, and I'd like to grow enough to make a few jars of jam. I've seen two deals for each and can't decide which would be best. I want enough but don't want to get carried away!

Raspberries;
6 canes - 2 each of 3 different varieties covering June Oct
20 canes - 10 each of 2 different varieties, summer fruiting and autumn fruiting

Strawberries;
30 runners - 10 each of 3 varieties, one ever-fruiting, one early and one late fruiting
10 runners of ever-fruiting

Anyone know what the rough yield might be, and if the fewer plants would give me enough for jam? (I know it's a bit of a guessing game!)

Thanks, Sam

[WendyC]

Both strawberries and raspberries bulk up quite quickly so even if you start with a few you will have more next year. Strawberries need replacing ideally after 3 to 4 years, but raspberries go on a long time. I would say if you want jam then have fewer varieties because if you spread the cropping over relatively few plants then you will never have enough to make jam. This is particularly so with perpetual strawberries which I found spluttered on over several weeks but never enough to do anything with, other than eat them there and then! I now have two strawberry varieties, about 20 plants of each. Don't know if that helps.

[skeggijon]

As Wendy says

[Alison]

Dunno how many raspberries I have as they came with the plot and gave spread anyway. Strawberries, at the plot I have 24 of an early type and 12 of a later variety. 12 get replaced every year on a rolling basis so don't produce much the next year so I only really consider I have 24 fruiting plants and I get masses. Eat loads, make jam, dry some, freeze some, make curds, eat more and give some away. It does depend however how you grow them. I used to have more plants in tubs and didn't get half as many as I do in the ground at the plot.

[Nurseygreen]

Thanks everyone.
I think I'll start with 6 raspberry canes and 10 strawberries with the aim of making jam next year, and just scoffing them this year then! Worried about giving myself too much to do as I have veggies to plant and want to try to get a cut flower bed going too!

[Kristen]

I reckon you need 10 raspberry canes, of each variety, to get a good picking (that's what I planted originally, they have now spread to become a thicket, and my "harvest size" is based on what we pick now, rather than from the original plants).

I have about a dozen of each variety of Strawberry, but the cropping of the varieties I have overlaps, so in practice I have more than that.

[Valleyman]

With a bit of patience you can grow your strawberry patch exponentially. They are just a tasty weed really.

10 plants is a good start! I moved into a new house last year and had to start again with my strawberries. Just got two packs of six (an early and a late variety), and propagated the runners. This year i will have approx 25 of each plant. And that is far too many for the patch they are in, so i'll be thinning out the weak ones until I have around 30 plants left.

This year I will cut off all the runners and let them grow. Next year I will start propagating again and replace approximately 10 per year. Either that or I'll start filling in gaps in the flower borders which will drive the wife mad.

[KevinM67]

As Wendy says

Yeh, I'd go with skeggijon's advice