Strawberries typify summer and now is a great time to start your very own strawberry patch.  Once you’ve decided where to plant them incorporate plenty of organic matter such as organic Farmyard Manure and dig in some general purpose fertiliser such as Growmore to top up nutrient levels. After planting keep well watered and weeded.

If you already have a Strawberry patch don’t forget to replace any old plants, ideally every 3-4 years to keep them fresh and productive.  If you potted up any plants from runners early in the summer now is an ideal time to plant them and you should be picking fruit from them next summer.

Raspberry canes can also be found in Garden Centres for planting now.  Raspberries can be split into Summer fruiting and Autumn fruiting and those available for planting now are the Summer fruiting type.  Sold as bare ‘canes’ these need to be planted as soon as possible.

To prepare the area dig trenches, incorporating plenty of organic Farmyard Manure as you go.  You will need to provide support for the raspberries and the easiest way to do this is by attaching wires between posts placed into the trenches before planting.  Plant raspberry canes around 40 cm (16in) apart.

Why not try ‘Glen Moy’, an extra early variety with wonderfully flavoured fruits ready for picking from the end of June.  This variety is resistant to aphids and is not prone to aphids.  Alternatively, try ‘Glen Ample’, a disease resistant variety with large juicy fruits ready from mid-July.

If space is limited why not try growing Blackcurrants such as ‘Ben Sarek’.  This variety produces compact bushes making it ideal for a small garden and being frost resistant its easy to grow with fruits ready for harvesting  Add plenty of organic matter such as organic Farmyard Manure to the planting hole before planting in late autumn.  If you are planting more than one bush leave 1.5m (5ft) between plants.

Choose healthy, strong and disease free plants. Allow one or two of these long stems to mature. Each one will bear several small plants, identical to the mother plant. All other runners should be removed so that your plants divert all their energy back into the main plant. The remaining runners should be allowed to mature. Remove the far ends of the runners when two good plants have developed close to the mother plant.

1.  

   Step 1.

   When the new plants have developed roots, cut the runner off from the mother
   plant with the two young plants still attached.

2.  

   Step 2.

   Fill a 1-litre flower pot with Westland John Innes No 1 Young Plants Compost.

3.  

   Step 3.

   Cut away the runner from either side of the young strawberry plant.

4.  

   Step 4.

   Make a hole in the surface of the compost ready to take the roots of the
   young plant.

5.  

   Step 5.

   Position the roots of the young plant into the hole and firm compost in

   around the plant. Water well and place in a cold frame to grow on.