Growing soft fruit - Part 1: Jostaberries

Growing Soft Fruit - Part 1: Jostaberry

We produce great soft fruit in this country, thanks to our reasonably cool winters and wet springs, which are usually followed by at least five to six weeks of warm or hot weather.

This means that by the middle of July we can produce vast quantities of sweet, jammy fruit, which is a high value crop for food producers.

Picking

Once you start growing soft fruit, you'll soon realise that at the height of the season you need to pick it everyday. While this may seem like a lot at first, there are so many different ways to process it that, in my opinion, you can never grow enough.

You can turn your fruit into ice creams, cordials and jams as well as freezing it to use later in the year. At the beginning of the season, make sure that you pick the darkest of your fruits first and leave the others to ripen in the sun – it's the sun that makes them sweet.

Jostaberry Picking

A cross between a gooseberry and a blackcurrant, a jostaberry is the best of both worlds. Excellent for making ice creams, they're best when cooked, as all the delicious juices get released in cooking.

They're quite large plants, but thornless, which makes them easy to harvest. If you're picking your fruit over a week or so, make sure to make a note of where you started so that you can cover all of the bushes. This will reduce the chances of fruit spoiling on the plant.

One of the best ways to maximise your harvest is to plant a number of varieties that produce fruit at different times. This way, you can extend the season and you won't end up with a massive glut.