Soft fruit - what do you recommend?

19 years ago

I want to stock my garden with a variety of soft fruit, raspberries, blackberries, red/white/blackcurrants, gooseberries and strawberries. I've grown soft fruit before, but not for several years, and I'd like some advice on which varieties you think are particularly productive and trouble free.

I've been doing some research and reckon that Invicta and Hinnomaki Red or Pax are probably the best bet for gooseberries, but I'm open to suggestions. What about jostaberry and worcesterberry. They both look good, but what are they like to eat?

For raspberries, would you recommend a primocane, or a summer fruiting cane?

Has anyone grown a thornless blackberry. It it as vigorous as a normal one?

Any suggestions on blackcurrants? I used to have a Ben Sarek and a Ben Lomond, which both fruited well, but have these been superceeded now?

And do you know of a good fruit nursey?

Thanks.

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Comments (5)

mariannese
19 years ago
I grow both English Invicta and Finnish HinnonmÃ¤ki Red and their chief merit is resistance to American gooseberry mildew. They taste okay but I am very, very sorry I didn't try to save the infected old plants that were in the garden when I moved in. They had superior taste and I regret that I didn't try spraying them, cutting them down or whatever. I suggest that you try to find a healthy local variety and taste the fruit first.
garden_nerd
19 years ago
Thornless blackberry. Is it vigorous?? Excuse me whilst I fall off my chair laughing! Mine was described as "Thornless Blackberry" but I think it's a Merton Thornless. It's been in for about 5 years and each summer puts out around 5 new canes which grow at least 4 metres long. Luckily I get to cut off the old, fruited canes each autumn or the house would resemble Sleeping Beauty's castle by now! It's also important not to let the canes root at the tip into the soil, which they are very sneaky about doing. Much better to shove the snout into a pot of compost then you can give it away to a friend.

It's just about the right size for my small town garden and is one of the most arresting features in summer - early, for the blossom, late, for the fruit which hang off it in swags like small bunches of grapes. They taste OK, too, though not as sharp as wild ones.

If I was choosing again I might go for a cut-leaved variety which is even more decorative.

Have you considered a Japanese wineberry? Similar habit of growth to a blackberry, but even more decorative flowers and wine-coloured fruit. That's on my must-have list for spring.
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I used a recipe from the new Ball book because I wanted to use the currant pulp. (I ran them through the strainer attachment of the kitchenaid.) It was basically equal parts currant pulp and whole raspberries, then just a little bit less sugar than the total of the fruit. This is Carol's post from earlier this year. These are my own notes, so I left out instructions for some of the steps. If you need additional information, just let me know. The reason these preserves work so beautifully is you prepare currant juice and use that as a base in which the raspberries float. It's a Madelaine Bullwinkel recipe. Her methods are unique (also a pain) but they make lower-sugar no-commercial-pectin preserves possible. I've posted another of her recipes here before, one a lot of members liked, for spiced blueberry preserves. It's a winner too. Raspberry Red Currant Preserves Categories : Canning & Preserving Jams & Jellies Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 2 cups red currant juice -- (strained from 2 1/2 pounds) 2 pounds raspberries 3 tablespoons lemon juice -- divided 3 1/4 cups sugar -- divided Extract juice from currants. (Do not heat currants with stems; juice will have a "grassy" flavor.) Combine raspberries and currant juice in an 8-quart non-reactive pan. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and simmer 10 minutes. Strain juices for 15 minutes. Reserve berries. Measure the juice and either reduce or add water to measure 3 cups. Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice to the strained fruit juices in a clean 8-quart pan. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and add 3 cups sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, allowing liquid to ragain a boil each time before adding more. Cook to the jell point. This will happen within 5 minutes. Stir reserved berries into the hot jelly and steep 15 minutes. Add remaining tablespoon of lemon juice. Cover pan and bring to a boil. Uncover and stir in remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Keep at a boil until jell temp is restored, about 5 minutes. Pour preserves into a 2-quart glass measure. Let preserves sit for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to redistribute the berries. Bottle as usual and BWB 10 minutes. Description: "These are delectable and beautiful. A Madelaine Bullwinkel recipe." Yield: 5 cups My Note: I'm going to try this technique with peach chunks and raspberry juice. Carol
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amanda1
Original Author
19 years ago
You could be right about the old gooseberry varieties. My neighbour had a bush that was totally devoid of leaves by the end of every summer, but it still managed to produce a decent crop and they tasted great.

Japanese wineberry sounds like a rather good suggestion, but I don't know much about them other than their appearance. I've no idea what they taste like. If they grow like blackberries, should be pretty easy to manage.

Do jostaberry and worcesterberry taste similar? And do they taste of blackcurrant?
flora_uk
19 years ago
I had some Jostberries but have now cut them down. They grow very large (think 6 feet by 6 feet) and the fruit tastes like a blackcurranty gooseberry. I found them not worth the space. They are treated like blackcurrants. However, mine were grown from cuttings and I heard Bob Flowerdew on Gardeners' Question Time say that cutting grown plants did not taste as good as plants from nurseries. I don't understand how that can be because cuttings are identical genetically to the parent. So if the parent is good why wouldn't the child be? Anyway, that's what he said.
garden_nerd
19 years ago
Well spotted, Flora UK. Sometimes these experts talk a load of rubbish, IMO. I suppose they've got to fill the programme up with something. I've read loads of things in gardening books that, in my experience & observation , are not true.

Soft fruit - what do you recommend?

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mariannese

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Soft fruit - what do you recommend?

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