gardens
For gardeners who can only grow in pots or containers, growing soft fruits is the easiest way to go. Not only can the plants be decorative but they don’t need as much space as vegetables grown in containers. Strawberries are ideal for the task as they will thrive in every soil as long as they are fed well and not waterlogged. In containers they can develop a really intense flavour. I
think this is aided by the heat containers store overnight - it makes higher daytime temperatures easier to attain. Plants can be bought right now and will be able to produce fruits this year if grown in containers.
Following years of trial and, often, error, I have managed to whittle down a decent Top Five fruits to grow on your own patch. The first, and possibly most
magnificent, is a strawberry that has swollen ridges and grows to a very good size. The proof of the pudding (pardon the pun!) is that it is in high demand in Parisian
restaurants and
markets. The variety is called ‘Gariguette’ and is becoming more widely available in the UK.
Another recommendation for strawberries is one which my garden idol, Bob Flowerdew, described as the best he has ever tasted. This discovery was a variety called Malwina and apparently comes from Poland.
The good news is that it is possible to find suppliers of plants in the UK on the internet. I must also
recommend the varieties ‘Elsanta’ and ‘Mara des Bois’.
Blueberries are another plant ideally suited to container growing especially: their preference for acidic compost makes growing them in Wiltshire quite a challenge. They are an attractive shape and take on beautiful autumn
from the top this seems to strengthen them. The varieties are now selected to be as resistant as possible to mildew, I really recommend varieties ‘Glen Ample’ for flavour and ‘Joan J’ for a long fruiting season.
On the subject of mildew - most prevalent on Gooseberry bushes - the
“For gardeners who can only grow in pots or containers, growing soft fruits is the easiest way to go.”
colours. Growing in a container gives you the opportunity to grow these acid loving plants which means you need to use ericaceous compost. Put plenty of drainage at the bottom of container and water with collected rain or pond water. The varieties to grow are ‘Herbert’ and ‘Ivanhoe’ which has really good late colour.
Gardeners with plenty of room can enjoy larger plants like Tayberries. The bristly canes can grow 10ft in length which makes it ideal for decorating walls or fences in sun or shade. The fruits are twice the size of raspberries and arguably more tropical tasting although they were first bred in Scotland. I’ve only ever grown the plain old original version - still one of the most flavourful fruits we can grow in Wiltshire. ‘Medana’ is recommended for disease resistance and there is a thornless variety called ‘Buckingham’ which receives good reviews.
Raspberries will tolerate shade and can be simply pruned for best fruiting. It’s best to know the variety of raspberry in order to prune. Autumn fruiting canes simply require you cut all the canes down in winter as they produce fruit on canes grown that season. Summer varieties should be thinned out to 6’’ apart during winter and if they have a few inches pruned
advice is to grow the newly developed varieties. ‘Invicta’ is widely available and seems better than the bushes I used to have to mulch and continuously care for to get similar results. Avoid fancy sounding flavours and pick the healthy option when it comes to Gooseberries.
Perhaps Redcurrants should be grown for the birds - even with netting you’ll have plenty of thrushes trying to get their beaks into them. I try to beat them to it - especially when it comes to the white variety called ‘White Versailles’ which is much less tart and edible straight from the bush.
Red and White currants are a really excellent plants for fan training against a wall or for better access on a 5ft high, and 6ft wide frame with wires to train the stems to. Pruning involves taking the odd stem down to 6 inches every year which will stimulate new canes to replace the old. This can be a very tidy and decorative fruit bush as at keeps to size very well and attracts more attention than flowers when totally laden with clusters of berries. I’ve had success with all varieties of Redcurrant but there are some rather inviting new varieties, one called redpoll with clusters of up to 40 berries! Remember my warning of thrushes - it’s you or the birds!
THEWESTWILTSMAGAZINE 35
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84