We often do not plant fruit bushes for fear that our berry plant will look bad. However, if we carefully care for fruit bushes, they will repay them with abundant crops and an attractive appearance, combining both functional and decorative qualities. Due to the small size, we can easily find a place for shrubs in every garden, and their fruit will be at hand every day from summer until late autumn.
The Polish proverb says: "for he alth, not to the pharmacy, but to the garden". On our own plot or in the home garden, we can produce fruit that we are sure are really he althy.When we have too much fruit in the summer, you can use them to make wonderful jams, jellies, preserves and juices for the winter. These fruits can also be frozen. As a rule, you can find only a few basic species of fruit shrubs in the trade, while in the garden you can grow more than 20 of them
Where to plant shrubs?
Currants, gooseberries or chokeberry can be planted simply on the lawn. It is enough to separate them from the grass, e.g. with bark. In larger gardens, it is popular to create the so-called jagodnika, i.e. the separation of a special usable part on which fruit bushes grow in clusters or in rows and lanes. Smaller plants, such as strawberries, wild strawberries or cranberries, can be planted in containers and placed, for example, on the terrace or balcony. Both currants and gooseberries can be found in a bushy and perennial form, where the right variety is grafted onto the golden currant.
Although the standard forms yield less, they are eagerly planted in smaller gardens because they take up little space and are easier to cultivate the soil under them.Nicely colored gooseberries or currants look particularly impressive on plants in the form of a trunk, being an attractive garden decoration.Almost all shrubs, except for blueberry, are not very demanding and can grow in virtually any soil, as long as we provide them with the right amount of water and regular fertilization. Of course, humus soil with a high organic content, which can be provided in the form of manure or compost, is best. Choosing the right job position is also important. In order for the fruit to produce the right amount of sugar, it should be grown in sunny or partially sunny places.
What kind of fruit can we grow ourselves?
Nurseries offer many varieties, which, however, are not always suitable for amateur cultivation. So what should we pay attention to, what selection criteria should we follow? First of all, it is worth finding out whether the variety is resistant or at least tolerant to the most dangerous diseases and pests.In a home garden, it is difficult to spray regularly with chemicals, as is the case with commercial plantations. Moreover, the recommended varieties should be easy to handle and produce tasty fruit. The varieties we propose below are extremely suitable for such crops.
Red currant …
… produces tasty and dietary fruit that we can eat fresh and prepare various preserves from them: compotes, jellies or preserves. Currant fruits grow on two-, three- and four-year-old shoots. From 3-4 bushes we can get even several kilograms of fruit. It is worth planting several varieties with different fruit ripening times, and then our bushes will yield from the beginning of July until mid-August. Recommended early varieties: Jonkheer van Tets, Detvan, Erstling aus Vierlanden; mid to late: Dutch Red, Rondom.
Black currant …
… has many varieties that differ in terms of fruit ripening. As a rule, we collect them throughout July. It is worth knowing that black currant fruits have several times more vitamin C than, for example, lemon. Due to the dark color of the skins, anthocyanins also have valuable he alth benefits. Almost everyone knows the taste of homemade blackcurrant juices, but you can also make preserves and delicious tinctures from them. Black currants bear fruit in the second year after planting, slightly less than red currants. We get up to 10 kg of fruit from a few shrubs.
Recommended early varieties: Bona, Ben Sarek, Ojebyn; mid-late and late varieties: Ben Alder, Titania, Ben Nevis, Ceres.• White currant has only two varieties for sale, but both are worth recommending: Blanka and Biała z Juterbog.
Gooseberry…
… it provides us with tasty fruit quite early, already at the beginning of June. In addition, gooseberries, like currants, contain phenolic compounds that are valuable to our body, which act as antioxidants and prevent the formation of malignant neoplasms.Gooseberries can be added to baked goods, compotes or jams, and when the fruit is fully ripe, it can be eaten raw. The gooseberry yield is similar to that of the red currant. There are tons of varieties that differ in taste, shape, color and size of the fruit. The most valuable dessert varieties: early: Biały Triumf, Czerwony Triumf, Biały Plenny, Heninga, Niesłuchowski; mid-early: Invicta, Resistenta, Hinnomaki Rot.
Highbush blueberry …
… (American) is a typical ecological species, ie it can be grown almost without the use of plant protection products. In order to be successful in the cultivation of blueberries, we must first of all provide the seedlings with the proper soil pH.
The appropriate pH for blueberries should be 3.5-4.5. It is a plant that grows well and yields abundantly only in positions with acidic, humus-rich soil, rich in organic matter. Although in Poland the soil is usually acidic, before planting, we should additionally acidify the places that we will allocate for blueberry cultivation.It is best to plant several varieties in a cluster. A specific microclimate that is conducive to cultivation is then created. Under the right conditions, the yield is approximately 3 kg from one bush. The fruits are harvested several times, when they are completely blue, and they can stay on the bush for up to 2 weeks. Recommended early varieties: Earliblue, Bluetta, Ivanhoe, Patriot; mid-early: Bluecrop, Bluejay, Croatan; late: Jersey, Darrow.
Raspberry…
… has many varieties on sale, both those that bear fruit traditionally on two-year-old shoots and those that bear fruit repeatedly on this year's shoots. The raspberries from the first group provide fruit from the beginning of the summer holidays. The cultivars from the second group start fruiting a little later, but the fruit can be harvested from the bushes until frost. Recommended raspberry varieties: Malling Promise, Malling Seedling, Beskid, Canby, Norna; repeating raspberry: Polana, Polka, Morning Dew (with yellow fruits), Heritage (it bears fruit once in July and the second time in September).
