Growing Soft Fruit - A Short Guide to the Most Common Soft Fruits

No allotment or vegetable patch should be without soft fruit. As well as epitomising all that is summer with their abundance of juicy berries, they make a very versatile crop to eaten in season or stored in various ways to be enjoyed over the winter months. Who can resist a handful of freshly picked raspberries on your morning cereal or a delicious blackcurrant jam. Here are some handy tips on growing and getting the best out of a few of the most common soft fruit varieties.

Blackberries

If you don't have the time to roam the hedgerows for wild blackberries in autumn, then have a go at growing a few canes yourself. Modern domestic varieties of blackberry tend to bear larger fruit than their wild counterparts and are more disease resistant. Blackberries are easy to grow and will clamber over a large trellis, tall fence or north facing wall. They produce on average about 4.5kg of fruit per plant per season and will last for many years. A favourite variety of mine is Blackberry 'Loch Tay' which grows on short upright canes and is therefore suitable for smaller gardens. It has the added bonus of being thornless.

Blackberries are simple to grow. Fresh young canes appear in summer. Tie them to which ever support you are using, taking care to remove any weak tips. Blackberries fruit on the previous year's growth, so you need to cut out last year's growth that has borne fruit right down to the base of the plant. Feed you blackberry canes with a fertiliser or compost in February and harvest the fruit between July and October.

You might also like to try loganberries which were introduced around 200 years ago by crossing blackberries with raspberries. Growing principles are the same as blackberries. There is also a thornless variety of loganberry you can buy.

Gooseberries

Gooseberries are one of the first of the soft fruits to be harvested - around the end of May to late July. There are many varieties of gooseberry bush available, with fruit varying in colour from greenish-yellow to red. A good green variety is 'Invicta' which crops twice as heavily as most other varieties and is resistant to mildew. A good red variety is 'Pax'. Also resistant to mildew, this desert variety has virtually spine-free canes.

To produce a good crop of fruit on a gooseberry bush, the aim is to build up flowering spurs on old wood. You are aiming for an upright bush with an open shape to reduce the risk of your arms being shredded by the sharp spines. As a general rule, prune a gooseberry bush between November and March.

Blackcurrant

Perhaps my favourite of all soft fruits, blackcurrants are great for pies, jams and even winemaking. A particularly sweet variety is 'Ebony' which is good enough to eat straight from the bush! Blackcurrant bushes fruit on last year's growth, so when pruning, cut the shooting branches back to a strong shoot. Feed with compost or fertiliser in February or March and harvest the fruit July to August.

Other currant bushes you might like to try are redcurrants and whitecurrants. The growing principles are the same as for blackcurrants.

Raspberry

Raspberries are normally supported on a post and wire fence. New canes need to be cut back to about 30cm from the ground. In subsequent years, cut down last year's fruiting canes to ground level. Feed with potash in early spring and harvest summer varieties from June to July, autumn varieties from August to October. Raspberries need plenty of water if they are to produce a good heavy crop. Try 'Valentina' for a sweet early variety or 'Autumn Treasure' for a later variety.

Strawberries

Although strawberries need no pruning, they can be a bit more demanding than other soft fruits to grow. Strawberries produce runners which can be cut off and propagated to produce new plants. Feed the plants with potash in January and harvest the fruit between May and October, depending on the variety.

Strawberries are prone to a number of pests and diseases, so it is best not to grow them on the same patch of ground for more than a few years at a time. Strawberries are also a favourite for birds and mice, so you will need to use some form of protection such as netting or cages. A well known and reliable variety to try is 'Cambridge Favourite'.

Soft fruit can be grown and enjoyed by anyone. There are compact varieties of most soft fruits for those with only small gardens and varieties that look both attractive and are also productive. They don't have to be confined to the allotment or vegetable patch, as most varieties can be grown in garden planters on a patio, or in mixed borders where they will happily co-exist with other garden plants.

Garden Planters source unusual outdoor and indoor planters, and other garden related gifts - whatever your taste, be it traditional, modern or just a bit quirky, we will have something for you. Run by two qualified and creative gardeners, Garden Planters will also plant up your chosen planter with an arrangement of your choice. We believe garden planters are an integral part of any garden - they enhance the overall design and say a little something about the person to whom the garden belongs.

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Growing Deciduous Trees on Clay Soils

Let's face it - gardening on clay soils can be tough going. Soil which is wet and sticky in winter and then dries out like concrete in summer isn't exactly the favorite choice of most plants. And it can nearly you drive to despair when just about every tree at your local nursery carries a label saying: "needs friable, free-draining conditions." What about trees for clay! I hear you cry. Well there are trees that will grow in heavy clay and some hardy types will actually thrive in the stuff.

Deciduous trees often do better than evergreens when it comes to surviving in clay. This is because many deciduous trees don't come into leaf until late spring (by which time the soil is warmer and drier) so they're less likely to suffer from wet feet due to cold, wet conditions.

Three great deciduous species for heavy clay soils are Oaks, European Ashes, and Liquidambars.

European ashes are well-suited to clay soils because they can not only handle wet, sticky conditions in winter, but also have good tolerance of hot, dry conditions in summer (ashes are a member of the olive family). Not only that, but they grow quickly and look green and healthy all summer long. However, Asian and American ashes are not as clay tolerant as the European ash, so be careful when choosing varieties.

Oaks come in various forms and have a high tolerance of hot summer winds. Pin oaks, which are also known as swamp oaks, come into leaf in late spring and are particularly good for low-lying spots which don't drain very well in winter.

Liquidambars have similar leaves to maples and put on a fine display in autumn with their colourful foliage. They have higher moisture requirements than ashes and oaks, but are fast growing and also have pretty good tolerance of strong summer winds and hot conditions.

To make sure your trees get off to a good start, be sure to plant them correctly. In clay soils it's necessary to dig wide planting holes (two to three times the width of the root ball of the tree is recommended). This will allow the roots to spread out into the surrounding soil and help the tree get established faster. Don't be tempted to add lots of soil amendments like compost or sand since this may turn the planting hole into a water sump that attracts water from the surrounding soil during wet periods.

After planting, you'll need to pay some attention to watering and mulching, especially during the first few years. Water trees deeply during dry weather to encourage them to put down deep roots. Mulching is essential around new trees in summer as it helps preserve moisture and stops the surface of the soil from baking hard and restricting the growth of surface roots. The best time to lay down mulch is in the spring when the ground is still moist.

Use organic mulches like straw or rotted compost, and apply them thickly. At least 7-8 cm is necessary to conserve moisture as mulches quickly rot down in hot weather. If using lawn clippings make sure to add some nitrogen containing fertilizer like urea or sheep manure as lawn clippings temporarily take nitrogen from the soil as they rot down. Organic mulches also help to condition the soil by increasing its humus content and encourage worm activity, which helps to aerate the soil.

Once established, these tough deciduous trees will only need occasional watering during particularly dry conditions. Otherwise they usually need little attention as they don't tend to suffer from many pest and disease problems.

Michael H Carr is freelance journalist and a keen gardener with experience in developing new gardens on heavy clay soil subdivisions. He currently lives in New Zealand.

He has produced an e-book entitled Clay Soil Gardening, a no-nonsense guide to growing plants on heavy clay soils in temperate climates.

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Growing Jalapeno Peppers: An Overwintering Guide

It's a common misconception that Jalapeno plants and other peppers are annual, which means they only grow for one year. The fact is that chili plants can survive for five, ten or even fifteen years, provided you take care of them when winter approaches. This means you don't have to throw away your old plants and start new pepper seeds each year. When you perform certain precautions and understand how to support your chillies as they go into hibernation, you successfully "winterize", or "overwinter", pepper plants to make sure they keep producing lots of chillies during the next growing season.

When to Overwinter Peppers
Peppers do not have a tolerance for frost, and they can suffer when they are regularly exposed to temperatures under 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The first thing you should do is figure out when the cold weather is coming to your area. Check weather reports to find out when temperatures are going to dip below 50 degrees for more than a few days, or buy a farmer's almanac to get historical weather information for your location.

Perform the Winterizing Process
Ideally, you want to move your chili plants indoors during the colder months. This protects peppers from frost and keeps them safe from outdoor elements, such as rain and snow, that can kill the plant. Before you bring the chillies inside, you want to make sure you don't take in any bugs as well.

First, use a pair of clean shears to cut off all of the leaves and any immature peppers until bare. This allows your chile plants to save their precious energy for next spring. If pepper buds form during the winter months, pinch them off.

Next, change out the soil in your pepper pots to replenish the mix and get rid of any insects in the soil. If your Jalapenos are in the ground, carefully dig them up and plant them in large 5-gallon pots. Water each pot well.

Continue to debug each plant before you place them indoors. Spray an insecticidal soap over all parts of each plant, including the top of the soil, until each part is drenched. After five minutes, spray your chile plants with water to wash them off. Move your pots to an isolated area, such as a patio, and check on your plants the next day to make sure you don't see any bugs. If you do see them, repeat the insecticidal soap process. After a couple of days of no bug activity, you can bring your plants indoors.

Where to Keep Your Indoor Peppers
Winterized chile plants like a temperature range of 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit and they require a light source to survive during the winter. Garages, basements and spare rooms are an ideal location for your plants. Keep in mind that bugs can still appear, so put your chillies in a spot that is the least intrusive to your home. If the room does not have a bright window, you can position grow lights or fluorescent bulbs above the plants.

Watering and Fertilizing Your Winterized Chillies
Your hibernating pepper plants don't need as much water as when they are actively growing in the outdoors. You can hydrate your plants once a month or when the soil mix dries out. Fertilizer is not necessary during this time, but if you choose to feed your plants, use 1/2 the dose you normally use when your plants are outside.

Dealing with Insects on Indoor Plants
Bugs, such as aphids, can sometimes show up on your indoor chillies, despite all of the precautions you've taken. If they make an appearance, place your pepper pots in a shower and let the water run over them for a few minutes. This should dislodge them and wash them away. If the insects keep appearing, release ladybugs on your plants.

Placing Pepper Plants Back Outside
When temperatures consistently go back up to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, you can move them outside again. This is generally during the months of March or April, but check the weather reports for your area to be sure.

Once your chili plants are outdoors again, they will grow back their leaves and develop new flowers.

If you enjoyed these tips about growing Jalapeno peppers, please go to http://www.growhotpeppers.com/grow-your-own-jalapenos-and-super-hot-peppers-in-containers-e-book/ for more information.

Dominica Esperanza writes for http://www.growhotpeppers.com/, a site dedicated to the practice and enjoyment of growing hot pepper plants.

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Benefits of Growing Strawberries

Strawberries are a household favourite of many. Unfortunately, we can never have as many of this lovely fruit as we want because often they are not cheap- or at least those strawberries that we buy from the grocery store may not be. Read on.

Strawberries are seen as uncommon to many households despite the love they get from children and adults alike. This makes this fruit appear like they are expensive to grow; hence, the price. Truth is; they're not. With the right knowledge, you can start your own strawberry garden from anywhere in your backyard to inside container growing. But aside from your craving for this berry, why else would you want to grow your own? If you are a certified lover and you'd like to justify your want to grow your own for a family member or for yourself, then this article is for you. Growing these plants is an option that won't just allow you to indulge on your cravings for this fruit, but will also allow you to;

Make your favourite strawberries accessible to you.

No more waiting for the next grocery trip- harvest them from your garden anytime you crave for them. They may be expensive, but they are actually easy to grow. Just find a space from where your plants can live on dirt and mulch, and acquire ample amount sunlight and they're good.

Organically grown.

Grocery bought berries are often chemically treated to meet production requirements and commercial standards. This makes these strawberries an unhealthy option which is ironic because they are meant to be healthy! So make sure to snack on healthy berries- start your own strawberry garden now!

Make growing this fruit your business.

If you are considering growing your own luscious berries, then you are indeed in love with strawberries; and love is a requirement in starting up a business. Not only that; the runners let you grow several strawberries from just a few plants, which means that you can cash in a decent amount of money from a considerably low amount of investment. So make an investment of buying strawberry plants for the same amount as you would buy a pack of strawberries, watch them multiply and supply yourself and your market with fresh strawberries. Eat strawberries and earn from them. It'll definitely feel like heaven!

Enjoy a healthy snack

Strawberries are good for your health. Having access to such a healthy and delicious snack will turn you away from junk food and other unhealthy snack options.

Save money

It's obvious. Growing your own strawberries frees you from the costs of buying the expensive and unhealthy ones in grocery stores.

Enjoy fresh strawberries

If you love frozen strawberries, then you'll love fresh strawberries even more. Many can also attest that home-grown strawberries taste better than their grocery-bought counterparts.

Convinced? If not, groom yourself up and head to the groceries to buy some strawberries. The taste alone should be enough to convince you that strawberries are worth that extra space in your garden. Don't worry. They may be expensive, but they don't really require that much care as the orchids that you grow does.

Good luck!

To learn more about how to grow strawberries and for any other additional information, please visit http://www.howtogrowstrawberry.com/ How to Grow Strawberry are one of the internet's foremost resources on the growing luscious, sweet and bountiful strawberries.

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Growlab 80 - Advantages of Using a Dedicated Growing Tent Indoors

There are advantages to giving your plants a dedicated space for growing indoors. One advantage is light control. If you have a large south facing window, you will not need to worry about the plants getting enough light in the winter. However, many are not so lucky. With a Growlab 80, you can enclose your plants in a reflective tent and turn on the light. The light will bounce off the sides of the tent and give the plant leaves a good balance of light. You can also put the light on a timer and keep any ambient light from disrupting your plants' dark time.

Another advantage is humidity control. Many plants love humid conditions. The moisture in the air provides a secondary source of water. The heat that accompanies humidity is also a welcome element. However, you do not want so much humidity that the moisture pools up on your plants. That excess moisture can lead to problems with disease. With a Growlab 80, that humidity is inside the tent. Therefore, you will not need to deal with excess moisture outside the grow space. Moreover, it will allow you to give your plants the humid conditions they love.

A third advantage is pest and disease control. In an enclosed space like a Growlab 80, your plants have an additional layer of protection. While you cannot keep every pest or disease out, you have a better chance of controlling the unwanted things. With the built in ventilation and cooling attachments, you can keep the plants healthy and keep the chance of an infestation to a minimum. With an enclosed space, you can also spot these issues before they infest the rest of your indoor gardening space. As you can see, these advantages help you keep your plants going strong even in the winter time.

A final advantage is clean-up. With the Growlab 80, you have a completely waterproof bottom. That means that any spilled water will stay inside the enclosure. Your floors are safe. It also captures any leaf drop or other debris that comes from the plants above. For anyone trying to grow a garden indoors, the mess can be too much to handle. Leaves can get everywhere. Moreover, who wants to risk their floors to spilled water or chemicals? With a complete enclosure, those are not problems. You can do quite well with a full enclosure for your garden.

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