the good life
PRACTICAL IDEAS AND ADVICE FOR WOULD-BE SMALLHOLDERS
GROW YOUR OWN BERRIES
WANDERING INTO THE GARDEN ON BALMY EVENINGS to eat handfuls of ripe berries freshly picked from the plant is definitely one of the joys of the season. Warmed by the day’s sun, fresh strawberries and raspberries are far sweeter and more aromatic than anything you can buy. Better still, add a couple of currant bushes (red, white or black) and a gooseberry bush to your plot – these old-fashioned favourites are rarely available in supermarkets and expensive if you do find them. Their jewel-bright berries bring colour and flavour to summer puddings, and make the most delicious jams and compotes to remind you of glorious, sunny days when winter comes.
BLUEBERRIES
need acidic soil, so should be grown in a container or raised bed, which can be filled with ericaceous (acidic) compost (readily available in garden centres). Mulch them with pine needles and keep moist with rainwater to maintain the soil acidity. Pots will need to be kept well watered in the summer or the plant may drop its fruit, so have a water butt handy. The compact blueberry species ‘Top Hat’ does particularly well in a container.
STRAWBERRIES
are quite easy to grow. Give them a spot in full sun, plenty of water and some feed, and you’ll be rewarded with a juicy crop. Choose your plants carefully and you can extend your harvest well beyond Wimbledon fortnight, too. Plants are available as early (try ‘Honeoye’), mid (try ‘Cambridge Favourite’) and late season (try ‘Rhapsody’) croppers – as well as perpetual (try ‘Bolero’), which can provide two harvests during a summer. Plant a selection and enjoy all summer.
RASPBERRIES
are great because the berries on each plant don’t all ripen at the same time, so you can eat them over a few weeks. Although they like sun, they still do well in partial shade, so are perfect for
anyone not blessed with a south-facing garden. There are two types – summer-fruiting produce a crop on last year’s growth (try ‘Glen Ample’), while autumn-fruiting have berries on shoots that have grown this year (try ‘Autumn Bliss’). The latter require less maintenance as they don’t need to be trained against a support and you simply cut them down to the ground each winter.
GOOSEBERRIES
are rarely found on supermarket shelves. When you do come across them, they are the hard, green and extremely tart varieties that can only be enjoyed once cooked. Grow your own in a sunny, well-drained spot and you can sample the rare pleasure of a dessert gooseberry. Not just green and hairy, they’re rich and juicy – try the sweet, red ‘Captivator’ or the yellow-green ‘Golden Drop’.
RED-, WHITE- AND BLACKCURRANTS
are expensive to buy and deteriorate quickly after picking. Growing just one or two bushes in your garden can save you money and will provide a beautiful display of glossy berries. They are quite at home in partial shade, and need little more than good feeding and pruning once established. The tricky part comes when harvesting the delicate fruit. They will keep well if whole strings are carefully snipped from the bush, but are best eaten as soon as possible. Try ‘Ben Lomond’ blackcurrant, ‘Red Lake’ redcurrant and ‘Pink Champagne’ whitecurrant.