Raspberries.and other cane fruit
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Raspberries have become our most popular pick your own fruit. Not only do they taste fantastic fresh but they freeze well, are easy to jam and are so much better value if you pick them compared with buying from the shops. Our main season in July consists of Glen Ample and Cowichan. Both are large fruited and well flavoured, and most years I prefer Glen Ample, though not always. For years our favourite of all was Leo in late July and early August, and because of its smaller cells it remains excellent for freezing and jamming. However the newer Octavia is challenging for this spot in the season, especially if you like easy to pick large fruit! We have two varieties of autumn raspberries to keep you in fresh soft fruit right through to the first frosts. Autumn Bliss is the well established standard for this season, but we have also now got Joan J. which is well worth trying. Loganberries and Tayberries are must haves for the connoisseur of jams and home made ice creams, and we have now added Tummelberries to our selection of raspberry/blackberry hybrids. The former crop in early to mid July, the latter should stretch well into August. Our blackberries start with Helen in mid July and continue with Loch Ness through to October. We have found Helen too soft, so are replacing it with Loch Tay. |