Suttons Flame (Red Seedless) Grapevine

 KC5383 Grapevine Plant - Flame Red (Seedless) which is supplied as a grafted plant in a 2-litre pot and Cost when purchased in 2022 it was £18.99.

The plant arrived on the 4th of February 2022. Looking at the price on the 11th Jan 2024 its now selling at £22.99

Flame is one of the most popular self-fertile varieties of grape that taste even better just picked from the vine. 

This variety is suitable for outdoor and greenhouse/ conservatory growing, and the web site says” Choose a sunny spot and our variety will provide you with a bountiful crop of delicious grapes! The vine is very attractive too!”

When growing grape vines choose a sunny position in any well drained soil. A south facing position against a wall is ideal, and I'm blessed in having such a wall.

I visited the allotment plot on the 5th of February 2022, late in the afternoon and cleared the area of wall beside the greenhouse on plot 1A exposing the eyebolts and wires. 

The Suttons Flame grapevine came in a cardboard box approximately 900mm high which I opened to have a look into when it arrived but didn't undo until I was down on the plot. I took the plastic bag off and placed it on the table behind the greenhouse on plot 1 and gave it a drink. 

Sunday morning, I was up and dressed bright and early came down for breakfast looked out the window and it was tipping it down. I telephoned and stopped Emma from coming over to help Kelly to keep an eye on Jen and got on with cutting up more cardboard for composting browns down the allotment. 

Sunday afternoon, the rain had stopped, and the sun briefly came out, so I went to the allotment for a couple of hours and Emma met me there to lend a hand. 

13th February planting the grapevine 

I dug a hole for the grapevine deeper than the 2-litre pot than it was currently in and then filling to a level with Equigrow compost such that when standing the pot in the hole that the top of the soil in the pot was at a similar level to that at the edges of the hole.

I used the Equigrow Peat Free Organic Green Compost which I have to say looked nice and black and lush, and filled around the 2-litre plastic pot and compacted enough such that when I pulled the pot out of the ground the shape of the pot was left as a hole.

As all plants I placed my hand over the top of the plant inverted it (turned it upside down) and eased the plant out of the pot and laid it down in front of the hole so that I might look at the root growth and take this photo. 

With the grapevine now planted in line with the vertical wire I added clip to hold the vine in place and watered it in so that the compost at the edges of the hole would be pushed into and make a nice contact with the Equigrow peat Free Organic Green Compost.

4th May 2022 

6th May 2022, Grapevine and path up towards the Greenhouse on Plot 1A, I need to keep an eye on this bed and try and keep the weeds at bay. 

8th May 2022

21st May 2022 Grapevine doing really well and spreading and growing fast

27th May 2022, Watered and trained the Red Grapevine along the wires.

29th May 2022

12th June 2022, The Flame (seedless Red) grape - Flame growing really well but bed needs some weeding again.

21st July Grapevine doing well working its way to the top of the wall.

No photos of the grapevine were taken during August as 

I was too busy doing other things on the allotment  

11th September 2022, Over the last week of rain, the grapevine that I purchased from Suttons this year has really grown, and I need to trim it back and train out some of the offshoots along wires on the wall, a job for the next Tuesdays early evening visit.

14th September 2022 Suttons Flame (Red Seedless) Grapevine has been making steady slow progress during the heat wave, however after a week of rain it had put on a real spurt of growth. 

I spent some time uncoupling vines that were hugging each other and trained them along the wires that I have fixed to eyebolts along the height of the wall

The leaves in the top two runs will turn around and find the sun. This first year is all about trying to form the main structure of the vine that hopefully will have a small show of grapes next year and then more grapes year on year, if the rat with the fluffy tail does not take a liking to them. 

He never ate the seeded grapes from the vine I had on the same wall before replacing with this one.  

18th September 2022 the Flame (Red Seedless) Grapevine has settled into its new configuration and the leaves on the top two runs are now around the right way and facing upwards towards the sun again.

The night-time temperatures are now down to 4.5C and the leaves on the vine are beginning to yellow and I'm anticipating a reduction in growth along the wires, although there is a promise of an Indian Summer in the next couple of weeks, so we will have to wait and see what happens. 

Overall, I'm very happy with the way the grapevine has covered the wall and hopefully next year will be more about pruning for some fruit, and not about additional wall coverage.

UPDATE for 2023

Again because of my health problems I didn't manage to prune the grapevine and reduce the amount of fruit so bigger and better quality grapes formed, but I was staggered as to how well the grape vine produced in its second year. 

I also didn't get many photos of the grapes and the vines growth in 2023. The photo on the left was just as the colour was turning. 

I'm looking forward to a great grape harvest in 2024 and for years to come. 

Before You Buy Seeds III

  

The original Before You Buy Seeds article was written in October 2017 and was aimed at new allotment holders who ask the question about where is the best place to buy seeds. Before You Buy Seeds II the sequel was updated in December 2020. 

This 2024 update or Before You Buy Seeds III is an update to the original article and the sequel and takes into account that sources of cheap quality seeds and end of season sales from the likes of Wyevale Garden Centres who used to have a 50p seed sale, and Wilco who gradually reduced their seeds sometimes to 1 penny a pack on the last couple of days are no longer with us. 

Historically it was these Seed Sales that so many of us allotment holders used to stock up with seeds at the end of each growing year. 

Setting The Scene  

   

So it's the end of the year and if you are lucky you have finally made it to the top of the waiting list and you have your very own (normally with one previous neglectful owner) overgrown allotment that you are now working on to try and deal with the weeds and get ready for the growing season next year.

At some stage soon as it's the winter months and that when allotmenteers do this kind of thing, you will be thinking about what you are going to grow and the seedaholic in you will twitch and start to emerge and you will want to start buying packs of seeds.

First thing to do is have a family meeting and decide what it is you actually like and want to eat, what do you eat the most off. Ask your self are there things you would like to eat more off but are expensive like asparagus for example. 

Now having had the family meeting and before you rush out to your local DIY store or Garden Centre and spend a fortune on seeds, here is a little information about seed suppliers and buying.

There are well known and long established seed companies out there like Marshalls, Suttons, Mr Fothergill's etc. So it's worth visiting their web sites and requesting either a paper seed catalogue which is equivalent to an allotment owners porn, of download the catalogues as Adobe or surf them on the internet. 

Subscribe to their news letters and you will be bombarded with offers to save and spend your money, some are good some are not so good, it depends on what you want. They will inform you when postage is free for 24 or 48 hours or there are price reductions. 

Be Aware Of Who Is Part Of Whom

Westland bought Marshalls/Unwins in 2004 and annual turnover increased from less than £2m to well over £10m. The company trades as SE Marshall, which owns the brands Marshalls (80 per cent of turnover) and Unwins (20 per cent of turnover). There was more effort to market Unwins in 2021 after the Marshalls rebranding in 2019 and you get to see more Unwins seeds in supermarkets these days.   

Fothergill's comprises five main brands: Mr Fothergill's, DT Brown, Woolman's, The Sweet Pea Company and Johnsons. You will find that the same seed is being packaged in different quantities and for different prices between these companies. There are some varieties of seeds that are only sold by either Mr Fothergills or D.T.Brown and if you were not aware of the link one may never suspect they were part of the same group.

I know an allotment owner who always bought his seed from DT Brown, thinking they were a 'bit special'. Now he knows he may as well buy from Mr Fothergills or Johnsons seeds from wilko before they shut.

In November 2020 Thompson & Morgan acquired 100% of the share capital of Suttons Seeds Ltd and its 3 brands: Suttons, Dobies and the Organic Catalogue. At the time of acquisition Chris Wright, joint MD at Thompson and Morgan, said Suttons will remain in Paignton, its traditional home.

“The combined horticulture, ecommerce and multi-channel marketing skills of these renowned brands are forecast to generate over £80m in revenues in FY21 dwarfing the nearest online competitor and enabling the group to offer consumers the largest range, best prices and service to the gardener.”

The next thing to know about seeds is that there are different types

F1 Hybrid 

F2 Hybrid

Open Pollinated also known as Heritage  

What is an F1 hybrid? 

An F1 hybrid is a variety that has been produced by the carefully controlled cross breeding of two parent plants specially chosen for their different desirable qualities such as vigour, flower power, disease resistance, uniformity, crop yield, unique colour and so on. 

Bringing together these parent plants transfers these qualities to their offspring combining them to produce superior plants. This involves a complicated and expensive breeding programme by means of controlled flower pollination, often done by hand. A process which has to be repeated each year to create consistent hybrids as it is not possible to simply harvest the seed from F1 varieties. The offspring of F1 hybrids often have less stable and more varied characteristics and may or may not show any of the F1 parents’ desired attributes, these offspring are known as F2 Hybrids. 

Because of the costly production methods F1 hybrid seed can be considerably more expensive than ‘normal seed’. However it is usually the case that the extra cost is more than made up for by the significant improvement in the plants’ characteristics, well that's what the marketing guff says.  

So when you see high cost for 4 - 10 seeds from the larger players in the seed selling business they are usually F1. Not all F1 seeds are marked as such by all the sellers, and they really should be! 

What is an F2 hybrid? 

An F2 hybrid is the offspring from an F1 hybrid. As mentioned above, the seed produced by an F1 hybrid can result in a much greater variety in their offspring. Although this is undesirable in some cases such as vegetables where often the selected characteristic such as uniform, high yields are all important or flowers where a precise colour or form is sought after, in other instances as with flamboyant flower mixtures this diversity can provide a real benefit. F2 hybrids allow a greater diversity and can often produce unique colour combinations that would not be possible from F1 or normal varieties and yet have a good chance of retaining some of the desirable characteristics of the parent plant. This variation can also mean differences in the rates that flowers or fruits mature which can have the added benefit of extending the flowering season or harvest period. 

I have experimented with saving seeds from F1 grown products and growing on. One tends to sometimes get very different looking plants depending which parent plant it takes after on that first F2 year, I have then saved seeds and grown year on year. Sometimes the difference between the F1 and F2 are huge and other times they are very close to the original. 

What is an O/P or Open Pollinated plant? 

Those plants of the same type that grow together and then pollinate each other by natural, more random means are said to be ‘open pollinated’. Most often this job is performed by pollinating insects such as bees or by the wind. New open pollinated plant varieties are selected for the appropriate characteristics by breeders or by natural selection in the case of wildflowers. 

Selections are made as flowers of an open pollinated variety will sometimes show an appealing natural mutation, the seeds of this mutation or ‘rogue’ are collected by breeders and grown to maturity. Those offspring that show the same mutations are then selected and their seed also grown on, this process is repeated in the hope the mutation becomes stable and all offspring eventually show the same appealing mutation. The result is a new open pollinated variety that will pollinate amongst itself by natural means. In the wild these selections are made by the improved survival rates of those plants best suited to their environments and the needs of pollinating insects.

When these seeds are sold you can get 100's of a 1000 seeds for a similar price that F1 Seeds would come in quantities of 10-15 or less smalless I have seen is 4 seeds in a pack 

Heirloom or Heritage seeds are old seed varieties created by centuries of open-pollination by birds, insects, wind, or other natural means. They are often passed down through generations in a family, but can also be obtained from companies or local farmers.

Many of these old seeds have disappeared and F1 and Europe wanting to standardise seed production took hold over the last 40 years, but there are organisations, and companies trying to keep these old varieties alive by growing and seed saving.  

Photo of Wilko setting up grow your own between Christmas and New Year in 2020. 

If you have the frugal allotment mindset you may want to leave your seed acquisition until The Range, Lidl and dare I say it the pound shops have their gardening stuff & seeds in stock. 

Lidl sell 3 small packs for a £1 and 4 Large packs for £2 normally and the pound shop selling 4 packs for a £1. but their range is obviously limited very unlikely to be F1 but ideal for a new plot holder starting out

The Range sells most of their seed from 49p and they stock and sell De Ree, Johnsons, Mr Fothergills seeds.

In the original Before You Buy Seeds in 2017 I looked at Musselburgh Leeks in terms of supplier, quantity of seeds and cost before any postage and packaging. In the sequel I decided to look at the humble tomato not an F1 but a standard open pollinated gardeners Delight Tomato seeds prices ranged from 55p for 10 seeds to £6.55 for 1200 Seeds.  

Carrots Early Nantes - 2024 prices  

Supplier                        Number Seed - Cost 

Budget Seeds             -      400 Seeds    -       29p 

Seeds to Suit              -      200 Seeds    -       29p 

Seeds to Sow             -      100 Seeds    -        55p

Simply Seeds             -       500 Seeds   -        89p

Dobies                        -    1100 Seeds     -       89p (£1.99)    

Happy Green Shop    -     3000 Seeds    -       99p 

D.T. Brown                  -    2000 Seeds    -       99p 

Seekay Hort Supplies -    1600 Seeds   -        99p

Seed Megastore        -       900 Seeds    -       99p 

Just Seeds                 -       800 Seeds    -       99p

Yorkshire Seeds         -       700 Seeds   -   £ 1.19

Simpson's Seeds       -      1400 Seeds   -  £ 1.40

Kings                          -     2000 Seeds    -  £ 1.65

Tucker                        -      2000 Seeds    - £ 1.65

Suttons                       -     1100 Seeds    -  £ 2.49

Marshalls                    -     2600 Seeds    -  £ 2.69

Thompson & Morgan  -     1000 Seeds    - £ 2.99

Seeds By Weight 

Premier Seeds Direct -            25 grms    - £ 1.69

Not stocking this variety this year include:-

Bargen Seeds, Chilton Seeds, Groves Nursery, Growseed, Jungle Seeds, Mirror Garden, More Veg, Mr Fothergills, Real Seeds, Sarah Raven, Seed Parade, Seedaholic, Unwins. 

The companies listed above can be found in alphabetical order in the left margin of the manvslug.uk blog / journal under the heading of "UK seed suppliers" 

When you look for seeds ask the question of yourself 

  How many are you going to grow a year? 

  How long are they going to last 

  What quantity do I need allowing for less than 100% germination 

There are some seed suppliers who don't give a sow by date in the back of the pack but will give the saved or packaged date. 

Once you start growing vegetables there are seeds you can save to use the following year or years.  It is so easy to save seeds from a tomato, to dry them and use them the following year. 

I have been asked on Facebook groups if there is any explanation for the price differences? and my answer is....

Shareholder expectations in larger companies, Overheads, Research and creation of new F1 varieties, Profit margins, Quantities of seeds supplied, Cost of Packaging. I have bought seeds from all of the companies or brands listed above and on my UK Seed Suppliers list in the bottom of the left margin of the blog and have not really seen any difference of Quality. 

Brand Name is another reason for hiking the price, Sutton and Dobies are brand names from the same group however Sutton (the older and better known brand) have flash picture packs with loads of information whereas Dobies (Basically the same company) is cheaper but seed packs are bland and not quite as informative. 

There is 50p difference between Suttons & Dobies for the same seeds.  i

Most companies only allow 2 to 3 years from the packaged date as a sow by date. The actual life expectancy of seeds for many varieties much longer if kept in good storage conditions, however one has to expect a loss of germination with each passing year. 

Some of the larger companies like D.T. Brown & Dobies have now brought in a 89p or 99p range of seeds where the number of seeds are reduced section on their web site for them.

Not So Free Seeds On Magazines 

Other sources of seeds are off the front cover of magazines, I had a good few seeds from my six months subscription to Grow Your Own Magazine, but got to the point where the magazines were stacking up and most of what's in them is in the books I have. I now only buy the mag is it has seeds on it that I want, like parsnip when is best bought fresh each year. or there is a pair of gloves or other values added item.

One of the other problems with seed off magazines is that you will get seeds for things you have never eaten before or have no intention of growing. Also one tends to get less seeds in the subscription pack than if you buy off the shelf. That upset a lot of subscribers a few years back, but what they call FREE seeds are actually included within the cost of the magazine so if they are offering a discount for subscription of course they aren't going to supply so many of the FREE seeds

I took Kings Seeds and Kitchen Gardener to task recently when they put a RRP on the pack that was 5p dearer than what they were selling for 180 seeds. On the promotion pack on the magazine they only supplied half of the seeds that one would normally get if buying direct. I hate dishonesty in marketing. So remember the Free seeds are not free they are inclusive in the product you are buying and that the value is inflated and the quantity of seed can sometime be halved. 

You will find that once you get an allotment family and friends will buy you books for birthdays and Christmas and you will soon be over run with them. IMHO after a six months subscription one is better off sticking with books and buying seeds you actually need and want.   

Normally on Sundays at the end of the January beginning of February there are Potato Day & Seed Fairs around the UK do a google search for "Potato Day" to find events near your area.

Then there is Brighton Seedy Sunday which is the UKs largest Seed Swap which is held annually on a Sunday in late Jan early February between 10:30 AM - 4 PM.  

New venue for 2024: Brighton Open Market Marshalls Row, Brighton and Hove, BN1 4JU where you can swap seeds, buy seeds, listen to expert speakers, visit more than 50 stalls 

Check out your local Allotment Trading Huts For a small membership fee many large allotment sites have trading huts which enable you to purchase all your gardening needs at reasonable prices and are more convenient than going to your local garden centre as long as your happy to shop on a Sunday morning.

Most of these trading huts are not only open to the plot holders but some are also open to gardeners in the surrounding area. Most are no profit making and are staffed by volunteers any profits go back into the association or get donated to charity. So if you have taken on an Allotment or are growing vegetables from home check out your surrounding Allotments and find out where they are located. 

In terms of seed sales Wilkos' seeds which I suspect are packaged for them by the Fothergill group as they also sell Johnsons sell off their wilco branded packs of seeds at 10p a pack and Johnsons at 30p a pack at the end of the season, but they go very fast and on the last couple of days the 10p packs have been known to go through the tills at 1p per pack. 

Consider saving some of your own seeds or perhaps joining in on a seed circle and swapping seeds.

Remember It always pays to shop around when buying anything gardening related and yes, you will likely find or see it cheaper once you have bought it. That's just Murphy's law.   

In My Seed Box For 2024 - Beetroots

  

It's been a couple of years since I have been in full pickled Beetroot mode but 2024 will see a return as saving your harvest is going to be even more important in 2024 as money is going to be so short. Beetroots didn't make it into the ground last year because of the cancer and mobility issues, so planning at the moment is two beds and successional sowing to make pickling easier.

Post Updated 4th February 2024

Sow By Dates 

There is only a 2-3 year life expectancy on the backs of the packs of seeds, as the germination rates will gradually decline with age, but the reality is that Beetroot seeds kept in good storage can last anything from 6 -10 years which is why I still have Sow By 2020 seeds in my seed box.   

Sow By 2020

Boltardy                   - 275  Seeds - £1.50 -  Johnsons                   - Sow By 10/2020

Detroit 2                  -  300  Seeds - £2.29 - Thompson & Morgan - Sow By 2020

Globe 2                    - 200  Seeds - £0-20 - Carters                       - Sow By 2020

Globe 2                    - 200  Seeds - £0-20 - Carters                       - Sow By 2020

Moneta                    - 150  Seeds - £2.99 - Thompson & Morgan - Sow By 2020

Red Ace F1             - 150  Seeds - £2.69 - Thompson & Morgan - Sow By 12/2020

Sow By 2021

Moneta                   - 150  Seeds - GYO mag - T&M National Trust - Sow by 09/2021

Sow By 2022

Boltardy                   -  275 Seeds - £1.30 - Kings Seeds - Sow By 2022 - Kitchen Garden Mag

Sugar Salad Mix      -  170 Seeds - £2.99 - Marshalls - Sow By 2022

Sugar Salad Mix      -  170 Seeds - £2.99 - Marshalls - Sow By 2022

Sow By 2023

Kornett                    - 150 Seeds - £2.15 - Mr Fothergill's - Sow By 2023

As can be seen I didn't get buy many beetroot seeds in 2021 as there is only on pack with a use by in 2023 and no packs with a sow by 2024. 

Sow By 2025

Rainbow Mix         -  250 Seeds - £1.99  - Suttons - Sow By 2025 Packed 2022

Boltardy                 - 275 Seeds -      75p^ - wilko    - Sow by 2025 Packed Dec 2022 

Boltardy                 - 275 Seeds -      75p^ - wilko    - Sow by 2025 Packed Dec 2022  

Boltardy                 - 275 Seeds -      75p^ - wilko    - Sow by 2025 Packed Dec 2022

^ Wilko seed bought at 50% Reduction in sale. Rather than wait until packs of seeds were going for 10p a pack, with prices that low and then 50% off it was worth stocking up with beetroot seeds I wanted whilst they still had them.   

Sow By 2026

Rote Kugel           - 145 Seeds - £3.49 - Organic Gardening Catalogue - Packed 2023

Golden Eye          - 100 Seeds - £2.99 - Suttons - Packed year ending 2024

               

All Prices shown are at the date purchased

There has been quite an increase in the price of seeds by the bigger greedy companies, however there are many small suppliers that sell reasonable quantities at economic and realistic prices. It always pay to shop around or buy in the end of season sales      

Alphabetical Listing of all the varieties that I have grown in the last few years. 

                                       Sowing            Harvest

Action F1                       Mar - Jul            Jun - Oct

Alto F1                           Mar - Jul            Jun - Oct

Bettollo F1                      Mar - Jul            Jun - Oct

Boltardy                          Mar - Jul            Jun - Oct

Cardeal F1                     Mar - Jul            Jun - Oct

Cylindra                          Apr - Jul             Jul - Oct

Detroit 2                         Apr - Jul             Jun - Oct         

Detroit 6 Rubidus           Mar - Jul            Jun - Oct

Globe 2                          Apr - Jul             Jul - Oct

Kestrel                            Mar - Jul            Jun - Oct     

Kornet                             Apr - Jul             Jul - Oct

Moneta                           Mar - Jul            Jul - Oct

Pablo F1                         Apr - Jul            Jun - Onwards        

Perfect 3                         Apr - Jul            Jun - Oct

Red Ace F1                    Mar - Jul            Jun - Oct                   

Solo                                Mar - Jul            Jun - Oct

Wodan F1                       Apr - Jul            Jun - Onwards     

Boltardy is one of the best beetroots and a gardeners favourite. Good quality, globe shaped , dark-red, well flavoured roots up to 100mm (4") across, and the variety that I normally go for however the Wyevale 50p seed sale is responsible not only for the amount of packs I have in the seed box but also the various varieties. 

Altro is a Hybrid cylindrical beetroot that produces straight roots that stand proud above the soil, but can be earthed up keeping in good condition for longer periods, and will produce more consistent diameter slices for pickling and that is what attracted me to pack when I bought it.  This was also why I bought six packs of Cylindra from Wilko as they are only 25p a pack and were dropped to 10p a pack in the end of season sale. 

Sugar Salad Mix - Marshalls (Red, White and Orange) will be grown in the Square Foot Gardening Beds in 2024   

Beetroot Kornett - Mr Fothergill's but the web site says "A previous favourite which is now back!" Very productive, this dependable ‘Detroit’ type is easy to grow and versatile. Roots are sweet and firm and can be lifted as baby beets when young or left to mature. An excellent source of folate and good source of potassium. I'm going to grow these in the square foot garden beds this year. 

Something I have not done before 2023, but will be doing again in 2024 is harvesting the leaves for salads.     

When To Plant 

Beets are fairly frost hardy and can be planted in the garden 30 days before the frost-free date for your area. Although beets grow well during warm weather, the seedlings are established more easily under cool, moist conditions. Start successive plantings at 3 to 4 week intervals until midsummer for a continuous supply of fresh, tender, young beets. Irrigation assures germination and establishment of the later plantings.

Dates based on guidance from Garden Focused based on the last frost date for Sutton Surrey of the last week in April, suggests Beetroots are sown in the 4th week of March. BUT that is assuming sowing directly in the ground, and as I will be starting off the beetroots in the Space Saver garden or allotment Potting Shed Greenhouse I intend to sow a couple of trays earlier in 2024 in say the 1st or 2nd week of March. I may even try some early in the ground under a cloche, it's not as if I don't have enough seeds!

Care

Frequent shallow cultivation is important because beets compete poorly with weeds, especially when small. Because beets have extremely shallow roots, hand weeding and early, frequent and shallow cultivation are the most effective methods of controlling weeds in the rows. Deep cultivation after the weeds are large damages the beet roots. Like most root crops, beets need a fertile soil (especially high in potassium) for vigorous growth. Keep your beet plants uniformly supplied with moisture for best performance.

Harvesting

Beets can be harvested whenever they grow to the desired size. About 60 days are required for beets to reach 1 1/2 inches in diameter, the size often used for cooking, pickling or canning as whole beets. Beets enlarge rapidly to 3 inches with adequate moisture and space. With most varieties, beets larger than 3 inches may become tough and fibrous. Beets may be stored in a polyethylene bag in a refrigerator for several weeks. Beets also may be stored in outdoor pits if the beets are dug before the ground freezes in the fall. Cut off the tops of the beets one inch above the roots. Beets store best at 32°F and 95 percent humidity. Do not allow them to freeze.

In My Seed Box for 2024 - Index.

Raspberries On The Plot

Not in my seed box, but on my allotment 

In 2021 I ordered the D.T.Brown - Long Cropping Raspberry Collection that consists of 6 canes each of the following three varieties from left to right Malling Juno (early) far left, Tulameen Pearl (mid) 2nd from left, Polka (late) 4th from left came in March of 2021

Autumn Treasure (late) 3rd from the left was sent in error instead of Polka, and once I notified D.T.Brown they sent out the Polka so I ended up with four beds of Raspberries. 

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 has 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 (2021), but such growth once they got going, a super yield in the spring of their second year (2022), third year the harvest's just went on and on. 

The paths either side of the bed required clearing of new canes that come up despite the timber edging to the paths. This was not a problem as they were offered to new plot holders on the site.

I also obtained some yellow All Gold from a plot neighbour and these now live in the boundary bed that was built in early 2023.   

Tulameen Pearl (mid) - Tulameen Pearl is far superior to the popular Tulameen which D.T Brown have sold in the past. D.T.Brown thinks this vigorous new strain is a real find and that customers will agree it’s a winner, which I have to agree with. It has a high yield with berries which are larger and brighter, and the fruit is firmer so keeps better once picked, not that they ever last long with my family.

Not a great yield in the first year (2021) which is to be expected, but a good number of additional canes in the first year and a significant increase in yield in its second year (2022). I'm looking forward to seeing what 2023 will bring as the quantity of canes increase.  

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. 

 

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 quantity of Raspberries that this variety gave in its first year (2021) and the number of additional canes they have grown and produced fruit in 2022 was staggering and in 2023 the amount of canes and fruits were off the chart. 

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, and I would highly recommend this variety of Raspberry.

All photos above are from 2021. In 2024 I need to build better cages to hold the raspberries in place so the paths remain open. 

In 2023 I was given All Gold Raspberry canes that I've placed in the Boundary beds on the main Path 

All Gold Raspberry is an outstanding autumn-fruiting raspberry, producing large, golden yellow fruits, with a taste that is even more exquisite than its red-fruited sisters! An excellent raspberry for fresh use and freezing and also for garnishes and wine-making!

These heavenly, sweet fruits can be harvested from late August until mid October, , ideal for smaller gardens where they can be grown in a large container

Digging up Yellow Raspberries that are escaping from my plot neighbours raspberry area. Michelle told me anything that is growing between the two timber post I'm welcome too as she has to dig them up and manage the area anyway and If I do a little weeding along the way she will not complain.

So dug up they were, roots trimmed and then put in a bucket of water to have a nice drink whilst I collected more of their brothers and sisters.

Height: 150cm (59"). Spread: 50cm (20").

In My Seed Box For 2024 - Index