DRAYTON ROAD ALLOTMENTS ASSOCIATION
ALLOTMENTS AND GARDENS
ADVICE TIPS AND INFORMATION
Fruit
updated 22 December 2011
good crop of redcurrants, blackcurrants did not yield too well, too dry and more horse manure needed!!
Prune Autumn cropping Raspberries in the spring down to the ground before March.
but not summer fruiting, they should be pruned as soon as they finish fruiting, remove the old wood that has fruited and leave the new wood to grow and fruit next summerStrawberries only crop successfully for about 3 years. So I have 30 new plants to set this year. They will be ready for next year when I will remove the old plants.
Old plants now removed and asparagus bed in place.
Update: 3 plants of one variety have died, rest look well. I am determined to keep the runners off these plants.
Fruit will really benefit from a blended horse manure mulch now
May 2011. I strawed my strawberries to keep in the moisture, the strawberries were early this year, but poor cropping.
Again the "Autumn Bliss" raspberries cropped well from July to end of September and Polka did well too.Fruit
I grow strawberries on the ground. However see the upper photo of modern cropping of strawberries with regular watering carried out automatically and with feed in the water. The strawberry plants are in a trough with minimal soil but all the elements required are provided.Mine are ground planted, see below and strawed in May. You can plant the plants in black polythene. Straw or poly suppresses weeds and helps retain moisture.Note that the bed should be renewed after 3 or 4 years and maiden plants set again for fruiting the following year from late June onwards. Different varieties extend the fruiting period. I grow cambridge favourite mainly, these crop over 3 to 4 weeks.
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 ground bed |
strawed strawberries
maiden strawberriesOther Fruit
Rhubarb, set , keep clean and feed well with manure, pick in the second year after planting. Sun or semi-shade, good varieties :- Timperly and champagneRaspberries fruit for 12 years, 6 foot posts and wire for support plant 15 inches apart with rows 6 feet apart
Mine are a bit close. Autumn bliss is my favourite variety, fruits from August to late November, pick twice a week, good flavour
Red Currants and Black Currants Black Currants require plenty of nitrogen and prune about a third of the bush hard each year, after fruiting. Red Currants prune gently to maintain a goblet shape and feed more balanced fertilizer. Both should crop for 12 years
Gooseberries I inherited an established gooseberry bush, age unknown but has fruited this year quite well
Netting
I can strongly recommend bird netting with 8 feet posts, (6 feet above the ground,2 feet in the ground) to keep the net clear of your head and keep birds off your fruit. I bought 4 metre wide strips of net about 12 metres long from the local DIY superstore
2011 gooseberries
