Advice regarding plants
 

Hi
I have just set aside an area in my garden for planting fruits.

I am think blackberry/gooseberry/strawberry - the area is reasonably large.

Where is the best place to buy the plants and in what form?

Should I buy seeds and try t grow them that way or buy some 'already made'
that I plant into the ground.

I am planning on doing this in about a month so obviously dont expect
anythign to grow by this year but by next summer would be good.

I am in Hampshire if anyone knows anywhere particlarly good to go or I can
order online.

If I spend a bit more and buy somethign already partially grown can I save
a huge amount of time??

Advice regarding plants
 

"mo" wrote
Hi
I have just set aside an area in my garden for planting fruits.

I am think blackberry/gooseberry/strawberry - the area is reasonably
large.

Where is the best place to buy the plants and in what form?

Should I buy seeds and try t grow them that way or buy some 'already made'
that I plant into the ground.

I am planning on doing this in about a month so obviously dont expect
anythign to grow by this year but by next summer would be good.

I am in Hampshire if anyone knows anywhere particlarly good to go or I can
order online.

If I spend a bit more and buy somethign already partially grown can I save
a huge amount of time??

Buy plants of known provenance from a reputable specialist supplier after
looking for plants awarded the AGM. That will improve the quality of your
crop no end. Especially with cultivated Blackberries and the hybrids.
http://www.kenmuir.co.uk/index.php/s...egetables.html
Strawberries are best planted on humps through mypex groundcover fabric to
stop the weeds that they seem to attract.
Vine fruit, blackberries, boysenberries, loganberries etc will need a good
strong support system, they are extremely heavy once fully grown and in
fruit.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

There has been an enormous amount of selection in fruits developing varieties with particularly good crop rates, size or flavour. Growing from seed will give a new 'variety' with unknown qualities. And it will be several years before you get a plant large enough to fruit.

Spend some time exploring different varieties - it is sometimes nice to get a variety that isn't available in the supermarkets - partly because it is interesting to have something slightly different, but also because the most commercially successfully varieties are those which have a large crop ready to be picked at the same time - they're not necessarily bred for the best flavour.

Look also at some of the blackberry hybrids - loganberries, boysenberries and so on. They crop very heavily and ripen earlier than blackberries.