Berries Galore!

Well, not quite; although we have had a couple of punnets worth of strawberries so far this year. This batch was picked today

It is a constant battle to beat the slugs and there are so many more that they get to first... they don't even eat the whole fruit, but damage them just enough to make them unfit for human consumption! Then the woodlice get in there and have a go at the decomposing ones.

Partly my fault as I have let the soft fruit bed run wild this year; I didn't cut down the raspberry canes, or remove the straw that I put down last year, or weed it, so I have created a haven for creepy crawlies to thrive in.

So much so, that picking anything that doesn't naturally rise above the mayhem is like a bush-tucker trial. These gooseberries had the added complexity of thorns hampering their collection (the redcurrants got pulled off during the process and are not quite ripe yet)

So, learning point for next year... keep on top of the general garden maintenance!

Fruit

My garden hasn't been the biggest producer of fruit; so far this year I have picked a few strawberries, about a tablespoon of blackcurrants.

and a handful of cherries

By far, the biggest harvest has been gooseberries, which I picked this morning.

Check here to see what I did with them.

Gooseberries... decisions, decisions

I bought a gooseberry bush last year and I am sure that it was a red variety, but I have since lost the label. I have never had any fruit from it, however I have been closely watching the berries develop and they don't seem to be going very red.

This is what they look like today

I squeezed a couple and they are just starting to give... as I want to turn them into jam I don't want them too ripe. I deliberated, probably for far too long about whether or not to pick them and decided to leave it another week... hopefully I made the right choice.

Fruit Blossom

It's always nice to see blossom in the spring; one of the cherry trees and the pear tree are doing their bit.

The gooseberry and blackcurrant bushes have also come into bud.

I have already seen quite a few bees in the garden, so hopefully they will do the pollenating to ensure some good fruit this year.

New Shoots

Yesterday's rain has clearly had an effect on the outdoor sowings: radish, turnip, paris market carrots (just about), mizuna and mixed lettuce seedlings have pushed themselves up through the compost.

These are the radish (french breakfast):

Also, not to be outdone by the raspberries, there are now green leaves on both the gooseberry and blackcurrant bushes.

Currants and Berries

I weeded my currants & berries bed today and planted the blackcurrant and redcurrant canes I bought earlier this month. This is them in their new home in the middle of the bed.

To the left, my strawberry plants are looking a bit sorry for themselves, and as I have never had much success with them I'm a bit worried, but frost is supposed to do them good so fingers crossed.

On the right hand side I cut down my raspberry canes, which is what you are supposed to do in winter, I think I should have done it at the end of last year though and I'm just hoping I didn't leave it too late and they grow back to fruit in the autumn... fingers crossed again!

I didn't get any gooseberries or blackberries last year, and the respective bushes (are they still bushes if they have no leaves?!) have been left to their own devices, and seem to be okay.

So, if everything comes good, I should be overwhelmed with currants and berries this year... for the last time, fingers crossed.