Autumn is the perfect time to plant certain types of soft fruit for a delicious crop next year.
Strawberries typify summer and now is a great time to start your very own straw
berry patch. Once you’ve decided where to plant them incorporate plenty of organic matter such as Gro-Sure Farmyard Manure and dig in some general purpose fertiliser such as Growmore to top up nutrient levels. After planting keep well watered and weeded.
If you already have a Strawberry patch don’t forget to replace any old plants, ideally every 3-4 years to keep them fresh and productive. If you potted up any plants from runners early in the summer now is an ideal time to plant them and you should be picking fruit from them next summer.
Raspberry canes can also be found in Garden Centres for planting now. Raspberries can be split into Summer fruiting and Autumn fruiting and those available for planting now are the Summer fruiting type. Sold as bare ‘canes’ these need to be planted as soon as possible.
To prepare the area dig trenches, incorporating plenty of Gro-Sure Farmyard Manure as you go. You will need to provide support for the raspberries and the easiest way to do this is by attaching wires between posts placed into the trenches before planting. Plant raspberry canes around 40 cm (16in) apart.
Why not try ‘Glen Moy’, an extra early variety with wonderfully flavoured fruits ready for picking from the end of June. This variety is resistant to aphids and is not prone to aphids. Alternatively, try ‘Glen Ample’, a disease resistant variety with large juicy fruits ready from mid-July.
If space is limited why not try growing Blackcurrants such as ‘Ben Sarek’. This variety produces compact bushes making it ideal for a small garden and being frost resistant its easy to grow with fruits ready for harvesting Add plenty of organic matter such as Gro-Sure Farmyard Manure to the planting hole before planting in late autumn. If you are planting more than one bush leave 1.5m (5ft) between plants.
