Now is the time to pick your own fruits
Reap the rewards from daily bowl-in-hand collecting
Pick your own fruit time is here again! It began earlier this month with the first strawberries ripening and now the raspberries have joined in. There will be no respite from the daily collecting bowl-inhand approach until the end of October, as the other bush and tree species weigh-in with their contributions.
Anyone can grow a few tasty, fresh berries of their choice in our northern climate, as most types lend themselves to pot or container culture; the absence of a garden is not a problem. Indeed, dwarf varieties covering a diversity of soft and top fruits have been bred for this very purpose.
In this garden we have a decent range of edible fruitbearing plants that were chosen for June to November production. Strawberries herald the beginning and as Christmas countdown approaches, we can still be picking autumn raspberries and storing apples. Whereas gathering from one plant can continue for several weeks e.g. raspberries, we wait until the majority of black and red currants are ripe and harvest them in a single day. Any left to ripen are taken by birds.
My key performers are raspberries, strawberries, currants, gooseberries and thornless blackberries.
Because the first mentioned has cultivars that cover different phases of summer and autumn it represents real value for money. I find the following varieties (in order of ripening) so reliable: ‘Glen Ample,’ ‘Octavia,’ ‘Tulameen,’ ‘Joan J’ and ‘All Gold.’
Raspberry plants currently bearing ripe fruits are doing so on one year old canes that grew up and matured last summer. So, traditionally, there has been a waiting period between buying, planting and the first taste. However, the introduction of the ‘long cane’ type has shortened the timescale. They can be bought at one metre plus in length, planted in early spring, and bear fruit the same summer.
On balance, growing soft fruits, be it in containers or the open garden, can be so rewarding. It’s not just the delicious product but also the observation of growth process from flowers to fruit formation and ripening. Then the choice of use; Is it to be immediate consumption, freezer storage or jam-making? It’s difficult to think of any negatives attached to the growing of these productive plants other than the occasional pest wanting a piece of the action, stained fingers from over-zealous picking, and the topping and tailing of gooseberries for the freezer!