Where has the year gone? As we go into Autumn it’s time for us to start planning for the seasons ahead. From, October to December we are in the best time frame for planting soft fruit, ready for those delicious berries the following year. Growing your own fruit is not only cheaper but there’s a real satisfaction that comes from growing your own. We have an excellent selection of fruit available at Coolings for you to choose from.

Firstly, you need to get beds ready by digging over the soil. This will get rid of any weeks. Once you have done this, dig in some manure or soil conditioner to ensure that the quality of bed is good for growing your fruit. You can also grow fruit in containers, with fruits such as Blueberries and Gooseberries doing well in pots. Remember, Blueberries will need ericaceous compost. Gooseberries will be fine planted with a good multi-purpose compost.

You should use saucers underneath any containers as this will help to the container drying out too much in the Summer months. Try to use rain water to water Blueberries as tap water is too limey, and make sure you feed from the Spring when the plants start to grow. We would recommend a good fertiliser such as Vitax Q4. Pruning Gooseberries is easy. From November to March cut out any dead or diseased wood and keep the plant nice and open, also cut back by half the new growth produced this year. If you have a lot of growth in the Summer you can also cut back the side shoots in late June.

Blueberries don’t need much pruning! Take out dead or diseased wood in the Winter and again keep the bush open so that air can circulate. Soft fruit needs to be sited in full sun to ripen the fruit, but a little shade will be tolerated.