How do I grow raspberries, currants and blueberries?

Soft fruit is among the best value in a garden, because it is expensive to buy and easy to grow. The main thing to get right is pruning, and the main thing to plan for is netting — birds take the entire crop otherwise.

What you'll need

• Plants
• Support posts and wire
• Netting (optional)
• Ericaceous compost for blueberries (optional)

Step by step

1. Choose a sunny sheltered spot with good drainage.All soft fruit crops better in sun. Avoid frost pockets, since late frosts damage the blossom and there is then no fruit.
2. Plant blueberries in ericaceous compost.They need acid soil and will not thrive otherwise. In most gardens this means growing them in pots of ericaceous compost, watered with rainwater.
3. Support raspberries on posts and wire.Canes reach two metres and fall over without support. Put the structure in before planting, not after.
4. Learn which type of raspberry you have.Summer-fruiting crop on last year's canes and are pruned right after fruiting. Autumn-fruiting crop on this year's and are cut to the ground in late winter.
5. Prune currants according to type.Blackcurrants fruit on last year's wood — remove about a third of the oldest stems each winter. Red and white currants fruit on spurs and are pruned to a permanent framework.
6. Net the fruit before it ripens.Birds strip soft fruit completely. Netting must be in place before the fruit colours, and taut enough that birds cannot get tangled.
7. Mulch annually and keep them watered.Soft fruit is shallow-rooted and suffers in drought, particularly while the fruit is swelling. Mulch conserves moisture and suppresses weeds.
8. Replace raspberry canes every eight to ten years.Yields decline and virus builds up. Start a new row elsewhere rather than replanting in the same ground.

Tips

• A fruit cage is a substantial investment but it is the only complete answer if birds take the crop every year.
• Blueberries need two different varieties nearby for good pollination. A single plant crops poorly.
• Soft fruit freezes very well. Spread on a tray to freeze individually, then bag — it stops them clumping into a block.

Common mistakes

• Pruning autumn raspberries after fruiting like summer ones — Autumn types fruit on the current year's canes. Pruning them at the wrong time removes the wood that would have fruited.
• Planting blueberries in ordinary soil — They need acid conditions. In neutral or alkaline soil they yellow and fail regardless of feeding.
• Netting after the fruit has coloured — Birds find it first. The netting must be up before the fruit starts to ripen.

Questions people ask