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Planting More Raspberries And Exotics.
We have come to the conclusion that we are growing far too many vegetables and are being forced to give a lot away. Whilst it is nice to do this we could make more use of extra fruit, so I have been on the hunt for more fruit to plant.
On the first plot that I had on this site, I planted two rows of Raspberries, one Yellow and one Red, but both are “Lates.” Last year we had a problem with Mildew on the fruit, but this year they seem to have done very well with lots of big, clean, juicy fruits. As a consequence of this
success I am planting a row of “Earlies,” that are surplus to my brothers garden. This new row of reds will go on the other side of the yellows, but to put in another full row I will have to move the recently planted Yellow Gooseberry bush that I bought a little while ago. Rather than disturb everything while they still have leaves on I am going to
replant after the leaves have dropped so as to reduce the stress on the plants when moving them. It should give them a better chance to settle in over the Winter months
when they are not really growing. The yellow Gooseberry will be replanted behind a red that is already there, (when the Chicory come out) making the start of another row of fruit bushes across the width of my plot. Behind these I am going to replant the Acca Selowiana that has got to be moved to make way for the new positioning of the compost heap. The Acca was planted in one of the special, root training, bag pots that will have to be dug up as well, so I will see how durable they are and how easy they are to dig up in one piece without damaging them.
More and more people are growing more tender plants in their gardens around the country and protecting them with Horticultural Fleece, Cloches and other things. Last year I buried some pots of Chrysanthemums in my plot, covered them with a fleece and they all survived. And having done this with some fruit bushes and trees such as an Olive, at home, I thought I would give it a try on my Allotment with some
tender fruit trees and see how practical it is. The site is very windy, which a lot of the more tender plants won’t like, but I will just have to see how they go through the Winter.
One
fruit bush that I am trying, which is not very hardy, is a Myrtus Ugni
that a friend on the site gave me. I was reluctant to plant it when I
had it, however, it seems a shame not to put it in the ground somewhere instead of keeping it stuck in a pot and it hasn’t really cost me anything, so it wouldn’t really be a loss if it died.
Consequently, I have decided to plant it in the new row of fruit, behind
the Acca, and give it some protection in the Winter. A decent cover in the form of a Cloche, or Fleece won’t cost much and it would still be cheaper than buying a bush. Anyway, the plant should stand 10 degrees of frost without protection at all.
My Second PawPaw has died, so I have replanted its pot, that was buried in the soil, with a tiny Meyer Lemon tree that I have grown from a pip.
The Meyer Lemon is a particularly hardy variety that is supposed to withstand a few degrees of frost and will only succumb in a harsh Winter outside without shelter.
With this there was no real cost for the plant either, so there is no real loss if it dies. Again though, some protection for it in the Winter will still cost less than a Lemon tree bought from a garden Centre as they are horrendously expensive.
If I succeed with these
tender plants this year perhaps I will plant some Bananas and Olives in the future. It would only be a case of moving them up to the Allotment from my home!
 
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