The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Gardening
One of the most exciting times for any gardener is berry season, says John Stoa as he picks his way through the range of delights in his garden
The berry season is in full swing and John Stoa has the pick of the crop if you want to enjoy the taste of summer all year round.
June and July were the traditional times for soft fruit picking on the farms, but today we can grow our own berries in our gardens and allotments.
The season starts earlier these days as growers cultivate strawberries and raspberries under tunnels. However, using a range of different varieties and planting dates with cold stored strawberry runners means it can carry on well into the autumn.
Although most amateur gardeners do not have walk-in tunnels we can still enjoy a longer season if we raise a range of different varieties, using low polythene covers for the earliest strawberries.
In a good, sunny, dry season the crops can give a heavy yield and this means a commitment to picking and processing fresh fruit to eat, some for jam and more for the freezer.
It might mean hard work and long hours but the rewards are fresh fruit over the whole summer, plus yearround jam, compote and frozen fruit. And being outdoors on a sunny day is not such a great hardship.
Looking back a few years (more than 60) I remember being introduced to our local berry field in Dundee as part of a wee gang of tearaways from St Mary’s. It was pure magic.
The farmer was happy to pay us a half penny a pound for picking so at eight years old I became a working man with money in my pocket and a belly full of fresh raspberries.
It must have made an impact on me as I have been growing them, as well as strawberries, ever since.
Tayside and Angus are famous for their soft fruit and now new fruit crops are accompanying the traditional rasps and strawberries.
Blueberries have made a major impact and honeyberries and cherries are being tried out quite successfully. The chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa, has black berries that are very high in anthocyanins and vitamin C. The fruit has an astringency so is best processed in jams, compote and fruit juice, although I also use it for one of my best home brew wines.
Blackcurrants have made a huge impact with local growers and I have tried many different varieties over the years with my favourite at present being the Ben Conan. It has quite large berries and is quite sweet when fully ripe. It also makes a fantastic wine.
However it now has competition with the new Big Ben variety, a very heavy cropper bred for its large size and extra sweetness at the James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie. So far it is proving to be sweeter than others.
Gooseberries are another popular crop and the new variety Iona, again bred at the James Hutton Institute, is an absolute cracker. Red and mildewresistant, it has very few thorns so picking is a pleasure.
I also like Invicta, a yellow variety which has sweet delicious fruit that makes it a must to grow, although picking always ends in a bloodbath on the hands as you strive to reach those last few berries hidden away deep in the middle of the bush.
Research at James Hutton has been intense with Nikki Jennings,
the soft fruit breeder, creating new varieties of raspberries both for normal season as well as autumn fruiting.
At present my Glen Fyne is proving to be an excellent summer fruiting raspberry, but now I can extend the season with Glen Dee which crops later.
Figs and saskatoons may not yet have taken off in Scotland, but I have enjoyed a lot of success with both so maybe in time they will also have their day.