From Left to right the D.T.Brown - Long Cropping Raspberry Collection that consists of 6 canes each of the following three varieties: Malling Juno (early) far left, Tulameen Pearl (mid) 2nd from left, Polka (late) 4th from left
Sunday Malling Juno and Tulameen Pearl got a trim up as the canes had grown so tall and were bending over and were in the way. Not much in the way of fruit in this first year from these two varieties but the beds have really established themselves and the number of additional canes is quite impressive in its first year, and I have great expectations for next year.
Malling Juno (early) - Tasting the first raspberries of the season is always a treat and Malling Juno is one of the best on the market. The medium to large berries have a firm texture and a deliciously sweet flavour - just perfect for eating fresh. The spine-free canes are leafy, easy to handle and prune and, the fruits are well presented, so picking is easy too! Cropping from early to late June (even earlier if grown under cover), plants are known to have excellent disease resistance as well. Bred by East Malling Research.
Very few Raspberries in the first year, but such growth once they got
going, hoping they will give a super yield next spring.
Tulameen Pearl (mid) - Tulameen Pearl is far superior to the
popular Tulameen which D.T Brown have sold in the past. They think this vigorous
new strain is a real find and you are sure to agree it’s a winner. It has a
high yield with berries which are larger and brighter and the fruit is firmer
so keeps better once picked, though we doubt these fruits will last long in any
household with a taste like this!
Again not a great yield in the first year, but a good number of
additional canes in the first year and looking forward to seeing what next year
will bring.
Polka (late) - A multi-award winner at the National Fruit Show,
Polka has exceptional fruit quality and the large, medium red berries are full
of fragrant zesty flavour. Bred in Poland with Autumn Bliss as one of its
parents, the virtually spine-free raspberry canes will yield double the crop of
Autumn Bliss and Polka crops up to 2 weeks earlier, from late July to October.
Polka even grows well on less desirable soils.
Only came March this year, there are a few Raspberries on the canes
which have a small amount of growth, but hoping for a good harvest next Autumn.
Due to an error in dispatch I received were Autumn Treasure and not Polka D.T Brown Customer Services who were excellent to deal with kindly sent the Polka so I've ended up with four beds of Raspberries, with Autumn Treasure in the 3rd Bed and Polka in the 4th Bed when looking at the raspberry patch towards the main path.
Autumn Treasure (late) - Bred at the world renowned East Malling Research centre, is set to be the benchmark for home gardeners. This quality primocane has a high disease resistance to root rot, wilt and powdery mildew, and crops well even on poorer ground. It gives an exceptional yield of very attractive, large, firm berries from August to October and the fruit stands wet weather very well. The flavour is very good indeed - not as acid as Autumn Bliss. Spine free canes.
I'm very impressed with the amount of Raspberries that this variety has given in the first year, I had a similar amount of Raspberries last week and there are a number of green raspberries forming and the bees were doing their thing on them as I was harvesting.
There were also those particular raspberries that were not in a condition to be taken home and that had to be consumed as I was harvesting.
It was indeed a very lucky accident that Autumn Treasure were sent in error.
There isn’t a wire at the very top of the scaffold
tubes as the Owls sit on top, So I had a hunt around in my timber store and
found an old broom handle and have extended the owls perch so I can run a top
wire.
I still have one more Rhubarb bed to dig and then transplant the third Rhubarb Livingstone from D.T.Brown into its own bed, hopefully I will be able to do this sooner than later. I have not pulled any rhubarb this first year and some has gone to seed and I have just cut those bits off.
It is recommended for strong and healthy growth
that you don't harvest rhubarb in the first year, and take only a few stalks in the second year. When
you have established plants of, three or more years old, rhubarb is ready to
harvest from spring onwards, as soon as the stalks are long enough – between 300
– 600mm, depending on the variety.
Note to Self:
Measure the length of the stalks produced this year out of interest.
On the agenda next for the day was to top up the Quadgrows, whilst the water but was feeding the Quadgrows I cleared the foliage back around the tomatoes to let more airflow, the top of the gable was quite dense with growth.
Next year I will make sure I snip off and leave a small gap
between the toms and the roofing sheets. The tomatoes in the photo are turning
red and were not quite ready for harvesting.
Tomatoes harvested from the plot 1 Greenhouse
Next I decanted a bucket load of D.T.Browns Sarpo KilifiPotatoes from one of the Buckets, then got the scales out to see what kind of yield I had managed from four seed potatoes.
1865g of potatoes
There were many cucumbers that have over ripened
and turned yellow, Some of those will be used for seed harvesting and the green
ones have gone to other plot holders and my neighbours, but from the look of
things I doubt if there will be any more cucumbers as the weather is turning as
we slip into Autumn.
The larger tomatoes in bottom right corner came off the Crimson Plum plant that is out in the open on the plot. There are some minor signs of blight but I’m hoping it will continue to resist the full onset and will provide me with a harvest next week.
I watered the Beetroots and topped up two Daleks this morning and then it was time to make my way home for Sunday lunch.
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