I have lived in a house with a tiny back garden for five years, into which I have stuffed seven honeyberry bushes, and two gooseberries. I have now been offered an allotment by my city, so decided last week to take a cutting from each of my honeyberries (I think I have six varieties, but two are unknown), while they are still dormant. I just stuck them in small compost pots and left them outside to see what happens when the honeyberries wake up, as an experiment. I know that the first one starts to get green towards the end of January.
I have also ordered five raspberry bushes, and three more honeyberry bushes, varieties I donāt already have, for my allotment. The allotment is quite small also, but I plan to arrange some raised beds for vegetables with these small fruit bushes arranged between them. If any of the cuttings work, I will try more next winter and expand that way.
Ireland has a long season doesnāt it at least it is what I believe from a recipe TV show?
IS this about right?
https://www.climatestotravel.com/climate/ireland/dublin
Climates Mild I wonder if a Persimmon would work
I think that could be trained small, and you only need one for seedless fruit.
I saw on Plants for a Future (pfaf.org) that In England Persimmon didnāt ripen
but maybe some of the Early ones
(can also pick hard , and store in fridge in ziplock for a few months to ripen)
I have around 25 honeyberry cuttings going right now.
Black or Red rasps? In either case prepare to have gazillions of baby plantsā¦ you may want to start selling or giving away in a couple of years.
I would not plant them near vegetable gardensā¦ they wander way too easily. Keep them separate on the edge of the lot as best you can.
Thanks for the recommendation of persimmon, itās something to think about. Iāve a feeling our summer would not be hot enough for it though. However, my partner loves them, heās from France and they grow them in his hometown!
I did not think about that with raspberries. Theyāre red, Glen Ample is the name. I ordered them because theyāre supposed to have an upright habit.
The honeyberries we love, and theyāre relatively unknown here still, so I hope to grow more. Most of mine are Eastern European varieties. Do you find that any particular variety grows better from cuttings? Are yours hardwood?
Raspberries for the most part love to wander thru their roots. Good thing is very easy propagationā¦but bad thing is that you dont want them in your gardenā¦they need their own area to be managed.
I am in my first year of haskapsā¦mine are all hardwood cuttingsā¦ i dont really know enough to tell you anything about them. I have mine rooting in a cold basementā¦small buds are formingā¦ im hoping that they root and stay dormant.
My red raspberries are Heritageā¦ and they send out root shoots vigorouslyā¦ I started with 3 a couple years ago and have 30+ now.
Very easy to propigate and spread around and I like thatā¦ but best if you have them in a bed that you can (for example) mow aroundā¦ to keep the root shoots under control.
The ones that root shoot in my bedsā¦ I leave if I need them in that spotā¦ or dig out and potā¦ pergaps to give to friends or familyā¦ or move them to a new location at my place. The ones that come up outside the bedā¦ the mower takes care of.
The vid above shows how to trellis and prune red rasberryā¦ they have them planted in long rowsā¦ that they mow aroundā¦ and notice how vigorously they have grownā¦ before they pruned.
Highly recommend raspberriesā¦ but there has to be a way to control spreading especially of reds.
Iāll be interested to read of your success
āthe hard cuttings
(āmy soft cuttings didnāt live)
Good to have a perspective from the other side of the pond.
This young lady is over seasā¦ and grows stuff including raspberries and strawberries in her allotmentā¦ definately not impossibleā¦ she does it. Perhaps her varieties are not so agressiveā¦ you might check her vids out.
Love the way she talksā¦
Welcome Claire! This thread on haskaps is long, but youāll find some useful information there.
Leningradsky Velikan and Wojtec are two you might be able to get ahold of over there that are hard to find in the US.
What is an allotment
Welcom to the forum
Thanks for the videos, very informative! Looks like Iāll have to put a bit of thought into how I plan and layout a raspberry bed.
@disc4tw thank you, I will read through those. Itās great to find some experience of honeyberries, as I donāt know anyone here who grows them.
@ggrindle Allotments are pieces of land owned by the local authorities, and divided into plots that are rented out to residents to grow vegetables. Some private landowners do it too. There are long waiting lists for a plot however, and I had been waiting five years.
You are welcome! There are a few members here who are very passionate about growing honeyberries. Iām just starting myself, and relying on the collective knowledge base to pick good varieties.
How long will you be able to lease your allotment? Is it a set time period or can you extend it if you choose to?
Once a plot has been assigned to you, you get to rent it year on year indefinitely, unless you arenāt cultivating it, in which case they can assign it to someone else.
Wow
Congratulations! Now comes the work and the fun
Yeah those temps are supper low does the allotment allow a high Tunnel to increase heat?
would having metal frame & plastic over the tree be allowed could be done cheaply ?
You could use a old Trampoline , and use that metal to make hoops .
what Iā am about to suggest some people have more knowledge hereā
but some use dark solid rocks (not lava rocks) to gather heat under treeās
Lava rocks are too porous from what I understand ,
and do not radiate towards the treeās environment.
(on a News T.V show date line or something)
In England Some (dentist) American grew Pinot Noir for Sparkling Wine (Champagne)
Since the 90ās , and started a Industry in Gloomy England
Of coarse Still wine has less acid so these grape to not ripen fully ,
but are acidic for the style of sparkling wine.
To be Honest I am not very good with the Climates of different Places, and the Cultivars
but others here might have low temps that can advise you on some fruit treeās (or not)?
https://www.climatestotravel.com/climate/ireland/dublin
What US suppliers have the posts with holes that they use here? I planned on getting plain t-posts, but would love the holes for running wire.
@franc1969 ā¦ not sure where you could get post just like thoseā¦ think he was in Maine.
I have some smaller raspberry bedsā¦ just started last springā¦ this one is like 6-8 ft long and I used u-post and wire. I have 4 beds now like this made with u-post and wireā¦ all are working fine.
The canes are not real thick yetā¦ but they will multiply this year for sure.
I have found that upost work fine for smaller beds. Plenty of tension to hold up raspberry canes. I have one wire at 24 inch and another at 48.
Those are ohio treasure blacksā¦ and a couple of heritage reds.
The upost do have holes you can run your wires thru.