Category Archives: Soft fruit

Soft fruit

soft fruit flowers

Are my autumnal raspberries meant be flowering, or are they like me, a tad confused?

There over forty canes sunk on the plot. Thirty two of them, are the typical pink ones, the others are yellow. This particular variety, is the fall gold autumnal raspberries that were sunk early this spring. I was not expecting to see an awful lot a this stage. Even then, I had expected the pink all season raspberries to be further on compared to where they are. Not many are green and leafy; they are largely still brown and sticky. There are still very few green runners visible.

So I am little surprised to see the flowers.

The unknown variety of redcurrant appears to have some fruit. This particular plant. is one of two, bought from pound land about four years ago. It is only just getting leafy, and as you can see, having blossom that is fruiting.

Soft fruit

#NABLOPOMO: Fruit flowers…there’s more

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I was sat in the Coventry University edible campus garden-it was between teaching classes, I needed some sunshine and solitude of the green kind-and saw that their plants were green, leafy and blossoming. Bit more than mine, and I did have a pang of horticultural jealousy.  I am however, glad, that the plot is in the same stages of development. I was able to compare the blooms in the edible campus garden with the ones on the plot.

With the fruit trees blossoming, i was starting to wonder about the rest of the fruit plugged in. I only took a briefest of looks at the redcurrants, having seen that the gooseberries were starting to flower. I have had the two redcurrant plants for about three years. They were bought as twiglets, from poundland. In that time, they did nothing, so I bought some slightly older ones. Reason being, as I was told by another plot holder, they need to be three years old before they fruit. Lo and behold, the poundland plants have formed flower buds of a kind. The sort that are very easy to miss, if you don’t poke or prod into the foliage.

Fruit trees, Soft fruit

#NABLOPOMO: Blossom booting up on the plot

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I have been some what worried as I wander around the plot, that there was something of a delay with the blossom. There seemed to be blossom everywhere, but my little corner of the universe. So I made something of a close inspection today, to see if there was anything growing. The braeburn, worcester pairmaine and falstaff apple trees have started to send out leaves and blossom. But what really took me by surprise was the presence of plum and pear blossom. The concorde pear tree has blossomed previously, but then lost all it’s blooms. The victoria plum even fruited once, three years ago, but nothing since. Whilst I feel somewhat alarmist, I’m not holding out too much hope this early.

With having hope, I had somewhat lost it with the rochester peach tree. Unlike the Moor park apricot, a recent addition, the rochester peach looks a pale, skeletal thing, about to snap in half. I looked down, thinking that I perhaps needed to weed around the  base. A single solitary shoot protruding from the bark. Al is not, perhaps, lost. In comparison, the moor park apricot is slowly waking and sending out green shoots.

Blueberries were watered today, with saved rain water. Not looking so bad, sending out buds and flowers. We might end up with fruit yet.

Psychology Sunflower Challenge, Soft fruit

#NABLOPOMO: Strawbs and Sunflowers

Have spent the best part of today, pottering around, potting up chillies. Some of them even have flowers. Sunflowers were also potted up as some of them were starting to keel over. As were the last of the tomatoes.

I did take a wander down to the plot, Ma wanted to dig for England again so I had to keep her company whilst nursing a thermo mug of tea. Was really quite bright, and I thought I looked a bit cool with the sunglasses. I had just planned to supervise ma, but then I got a call from a plot neighbour who was actually working hard.

A lovely plot neighbour had an excess of strawberries, and I had already re-homed some their donations. I’ve taken in another half a dozen or so additional plants. Quite healthy looking too. These were then plugged in around autumnal raspberry canes. I have hoping that these will grow, send out runners and cover the ground. Also means I get two types of soft foot from one bed.

Soft fruit

#NABLOPOMO: Blueberries and gooseberries on the plot

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blueberry gooseberry

There was a lot of soft fruit planted on the plot over autumn. Uptil now, it has all largely been dormant. Hopefully, during this down time, the plants have been setting down root systems in preparation for the growing season. The blueberries are starting to get a wiggle on, and the variety named darrow is still in the lead with buds forming. Blue jay is not too far behind.

In the second picture, and a little harder to see, are the gooseberries. These are three of the hinnonmaki, I think, and all of the hinnonmaki are starting wake up and form little green leaves amongst the spiky thorns. it looks neat and tidy as ma has been ruthless in pulling out grass.

I am trying ye again with rhubarb, this was donated by my aunty. This time, I am putting the crown somewhere it might actually have a chance and not get rained on. Mine must be one of the few that doesn’t have any rhubarb on it. I might even search for a rhubarb and ginger recipe, as I was given a jelly bag by Father Christmas and have yet to use it.

Soft fruit

Blueberry budding

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darrow_blueberry

There are three blueberries in pots on the plot. What you see above is the Darrow variety, the others are blue jay and bluecrop. The blue crop was the youngest, I think, as well as the smallest. I’m surprised that there are quite few buds on this already. My concern had been that the frost would nip at them, but they do seem to be fairly robust.

All three are in large pots, that have been filled with ericacaeous-how ever you spell it-compost. I did water them in with rain water when they were first potted in. Luckily we have had some rain since to keep them watered.

project othello, Soft fruit

Raspberries getting a wriggle on

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There are a number of different raspberry varieties that are on the plot. We have:

  • tulameen
  • glen cova
  • malling jewel
  • autumn bliss
  • polka
  • fall gold

Most are part of the all season collection that were planted last year. However, the autumn bliss, polka and fall gold are the varieties that specifically fruit as the autumn draws in. The all season collection was sunk last year, with the autumn bliss and polka varieties sunk last summer. The autumn bliss were the surprise quick croppers in autumn, having been rescued from a garden centre, and the polka were actually kindly donated by a friend and colleague.  The autumn bliss canes were cut down as suggested, so we shall see how these develop.

Pottering around today, I was looking to see if there was any sign of life in the large number of raspberry canes. Lo and Behold, the fall gold are showing green buds. This is somewhat surprising as the canes were only sunk recently. In comparison, the earlier planted canes of the all season collection are somewhat behind. They have rooted, there is resistance if you try and tug at the canes. However, the buds are only just forming at the knobbly bits of the canes.

Soft fruit, tomatoes

Seedlings and soft fruit: cynical single day

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Today is the feast of saint valentines and as ever, I don’t have any plans. Have finally received the yellow autumn raspberries that I was expecting. These are a variety called fall good and will go with the yellow autumn bliss canes planted last summer. I am hoping that these actually taste of something. Have been rather looking forwards to them. These canes have been plugged in alongside the autumn bliss and hinnonmaki green goosberries.

Have also made paper pots today and potted up some wiry tomato babies. I now have two dozen babies so I doubt very I shall be sowing any more. Unless of course they all keel over.

Soft fruit

Planting Blueberries

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Having researched over the last week or so, the blueberry plants have been planted into pots. I had found a rather twiggy plant at wilkos, this was the blue crop. The advice is to have more than one variety, so I have also found one called darrow and another called blue jay from a local garden centre. I had been toying with putting them into the clay. But research suggested against this. Advice is to put into pots rather than into ground. Blueberries require ericanaecious compost, or however you spell it. The pots have holes in, so I didn’t need to attack them with a screw driver, and now have the compost in. The plants have been plugged in and also watered with rainwater that happened to be held in a large container. The blue crop from wilkos seems to be the smallest, with the other two plants being much larger and robust. Suggesting that they are at least a year or so old, they did come in fairly big 1.5 litre pots.