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Growing Soft Fruits
Growing Soft Fruits
It is wonderful to be able to pick your own fruits, whether
for fresh eating, baking, or preserving. Even tiny gardens
can support some fruits, and you will be able to enjoy
varieties that are not readily available in stores.
Many fruits grow on small plants that are easy to maintain.
Raspberries, highbush blueberries, red and black currants
and gooseberries are all examples of “soft fruits” i.e., those
that do not grow on trees.
Edible landscaping
Make edible plants part of your garden design.
Indian pear (Amelanchier) makes an excellent windbreak,
and elderberries are large enough for screening.
Fruiting shrubs such as currants can be used in place of
ornamental shrubs and hedges. Shrub roses and
gooseberries make good barrier plants because of their
prickly stems.
Grapes and hardy kiwi make attractive vines to add height
ot your garden, cover a fence, or create a screen.
Strawberries can be used to replace grass as a groundcover.
Where to Plant
Soil
Well-drained soil, rich in organic matter, with a pH of 6.0
to 6.5, is ideal for most fruits, although highbush
blueberries grow better around pH 5.5. Test the pH with a
small test kit, available at most garden centres. In general,
avoid adding garden lime to the soil, which would raise the
pH (make the number higher).
Raised Beds
These work well for strawberries. They improve drainage if
it is a problem, and increase air circulation to help prevent
fruit rot and disease. Highbush blueberries should also be
planted in a raised bed if the native soil is heavy clay.
Organic Matter
If grass was removed to make the planting hole, chop up the
sod and place it in the very bottom of the hole. Mix a 5 cm
layer of compost or well-rotted manure into the soil in the
planting hole.
Planting Holes
For fruiting shrubs and vines planting holes should be twice
as wide as the pot they came in, and only little deeper than
the pot.
Spread out roots horizontally, to their full extent. If the
roots are pot bound and growing in circles, be sure to
loosen the roots at planting time. Soak the root ball in a
bucket of water to loosen the roots, or score the outside of
the root ball with a sharp knife or garden claw.

Fruits are most productive if they grow where they have
at least eight hours of sunshine per day.

Gooseberries and all the currants will tolerate light
shade for part of the day, if necessary, and highbush
blueberries tolerate a little shade.
Planting Depth

Locate soft fruits where they will be sheltered from
strong winds, both summer and winter.

Plant grapes and all the currants 2.5 cm deeper than at
the nursery.

Locate them on a slight slope if drainage is a problem.


A north-facing aspect provides the cooler conditions
appreciated by gooseberries and currants.
Plant blackberries and raspberries with 7 cm of soil
over the roots. Cut back each stem to 20 cm above the
soil surface at planting time.

Avoid hollows, where late frosts might harm flowers
and reduce fruit production.

Plant strawberries with the soil at the same level as the
junction between the leaves and the roots.

Near buildings or near trees can be very dry, so be sure
to water soft fruits twice a month in summer if they are
planted in a rain shadow.

Plant rhubarb with 6 cm of soil over the buds.

Elderberries like moist soil and will tolerate occasional
flooded conditions.
How to Plant
Plant in early spring, or as soon as the soil is dry enough
to work. This will give plants and their roots plenty of time
to establish before they face their first winter.
Take care to set plants at the appropriate depth in the
planting hole.
Watering

Partially fill the hole with soil, and saturate it with
water.

Add the remaining soil, and water again.

Water your new fruits twice a week for the first month.

Water once a week for the second month, then twice a
month until mid August.
Mulching
Weeds and grass will restrict growth of fruiting plants and
reduce fruit production. Eliminate them with the following
steps:

after planting, spread a 5 cm layer of compost or wellrotted manure over the surface of the soil, as far out as
the drip line (tips of the branches);

lay down corrugated cardboard to completely cover the
manure or compost;

cover the cardboard with a mulch of straw, shredded
bark, seaweed, sawdust or leaf mats. Create leaf mats
by leaving bags of leaves open all winter. In spring,
remove thick layers of the compacted leaves.
or well-rotted manure and start new plants with runners
from the remaining plants.
Cut off all but 5 runners on each mother plant. Of the
remaining runners, cut off each runner after the first plantlet
is produced.
Rejuvenating Rhubarb
If stems are thin, the plant is either starved of nutrients, or
too crowded.

Spread a 7 to 10 cm layer of well-rotted manure around
each crown in the spring and see if that helps produce
thicker stems.
If the stems are crowded or if the crown is very old ...

it will need to be dug up and divided in early spring.

Cut each crown into two or three pieces. Replant them
in large planting holes spaced 1 m apart.

Every spring, pull aside the mulch and spread more
manure or compost.
Mix two or three spadefuls of manure or compost into
the soil before planting.

The eyes or buds should be 5 cm below the soil line.

Put down more cardboard if weeds or grass have
infested the root zone.
Pruning Tips

Add more mulch if it is getting thin.
Early Spring before leaves emerge
Regular Maintenance
With correct planting and good mulching, soft fruits require
little care.
In the Spring

In the Summer


If summer is dry, give fruits a deep, thorough soaking
with water when they bloom, and again as fruits are
filling out.
Let the hose run until the water puddles
In the Fall

Collect fallen tree leaves in bags.

Leave the bags open over winter to collect rains and
snow

Use the packled leaves as mulch in the spring
In the Winter

After the ground is frozen, cover the strawberry beds
with 30 cm layer of winter mulch.

Use oak leaves, straw or evergreen branches for winter
mulch.
Blackberries – Remove all 2-year-old canes that bore fruit
last year by cutting them off at ground level. Bury or burn
any diseased canes.
Black Currants – Cut off canes to 2.5 cm above ground
level if they are 3 years old or more, if they are weak or
spindly, or if they have withered tips. There should be a
mixed dozen of 1-year-old canes that are light coloured, and
well-branched 2-year-old canes.
Blueberries – Remove dead wood, crossed and rubbing
branches, and broken branches. Some very old branches
that produce poorly should be cut back to a strong, upright
shoot, and some cut back to the base.
Elderberries – Cut out dead, diseased and damaged wood,
and crossed and rubbing branches.
Gooseberries – Cut out weak shoots, and stems that are
more than 4 or 5 years old. Cut back 1-year-old shoots by
one half.
Maintaining Strawberry Beds
Grapes – On established vines, cut back last year’s growth
to 2 or 3 healthy buds.
Strawberries produce best on 2-year-old and 3-year-old
plants. There are two ways of managing strawberries for
maximum production.
Hardy Kiwi – Rarely needs pruning except to remove
deadwood.


If there is lots of space, have three beds – one, two, and
three years old. Start a new bed each year and rip out
the oldest bed after fruiting.
In a single bed, dig out the 3-year-old plants each year
immediately after fruiting is finished. Work in compost
Mulberries – These ooze a lot of sap when cut, so remove
only dead and crossed or rubbing branches.
Raspberries – Prune summer-bearing varieties as for
Blackberries. Cut autumn-bearing raspberries to ground
level each spring.
Red Currants and White Currants – These fruit best on
older wood. Remove only the stems that are 5 years old or
more, leaving 8 to 10 main stems.
Saskatoons (Indian Pear) – Cut out dead, diseased and
damaged wood, and crossed and rubbing branches.
Summer
Blackberries – These can be pruned in summer
immediately after fruiting, if desired. Follow the directions
for spring pruning.
Black Currants – These can be pruned in summer
immediately after fruiting, if desired. Follow the directions
for spring pruning.
Propagation
It is easy to start black, red and white currants, elderberries
and gooseberries from hardwood cuttings. In autumn after
the leaves have turned colour, cut off several of the
youngest stems, so that they are as long as possible. (Take
heeled cuttings of Mulberry.)

Insert cuttings into the ground at a 45o angle (to reduce
frost heave), so that 3/4 of the stem is buried.

After the ground is frozen, mulch the area with a thick
layer of straw, evergreen branches or oak leaves.

In spring, the rooted cuttings will produce leaves that
continue to grow and enlarge. Transplant them to a
nursery bed, and then move them to their permanent
location in three years.
Gooseberries – Cut back new laterals to five leaves, just
above a leaf joint. This will encourage greater flower, and
hence fruit, production.
Raspberries – These can be pruned in summer
immediately after fruiting, if desired. Follow the directions
for spring pruning.
Blackberries and raspberries are propagated by digging up
suckers in early spring and transplanting them to a new
location.
Red Currants – Cut back new laterals to five leaves, just
above a leaf joint. This will encourage greater flower, and
hence fruit, production.
Highbush blueberries can be propagated from root cuttings.

Cut pieces of root 3 to 10 cm long, 6 to 12 mm in
diameter.
White Currants – Cut back new laterals to five leaves, just
above a leaf joint. This will encourage greater flower, and
hence fruit, production.

Make the bottom of the cutting slanted, so you know
which end goes down.

Insert sturdy pieces of root vertically into loose, welldrained soil or potting soil.

Lay thin or flexible pieces of root horizontally and
cover them with soil.
Flowers and Fruit
Plants will not produce fruit unless they flower. Lack of
flowers may be caused by:

too much shade (move plants to a sunnier location)

the wrong pH (test soil pH levels; aim for pH of 6.0 to
6.5)

poor drainage (plant in raised beds)

planting too deeply (remove soil, or dig up and replant)

not enough phosphorous or potassium (add fish
bonemeal and seaweed), or too much nitrogen (reduce
manure and compost)

Propagate hardy kiwi by taking semi-hardwood cuttings
(the base of new growth is firm, but the tip is still flexible)
in mid-summer. Start grapes with hardwood cuttings, eye
cutings (short pieces of stem), or by layering the stems.
Elderberry, gosseberry, Indian pear and all the currants can
also be easily propagated by layering.

In early spring or late summer, bend a branch to th
ground.

About 12 to 25 cm from the brnch tip, scrape off the
bark on the underside of the stem.

Bury that part of the stem under soil, which has been
lightened with compost.

Put a rock on top, or bend a wire to anchor the stem.
The following spring, cut the roote stem away from the
parent plant and move it to a nursery bed.
the plant being too young (be patient).
If there are flowers but no fruit, a late spring frost may have
damaged the flowers, or pollination may not have occurred
due to lack of bees, wind or rain that kept bees away, or
cold temperatures.
When young plants are first planted and getting established,
it is better that they grow stems and leaves, rather than
flowers and fruits. Highbush Blueberries should have all the
flowers removed the first year, to promote vigorous growth.
Planting Information
Fruit
Number of plants
per person
Space between plants
x space between rows
Blackberries
1
200 x 200
Black Currants
1
150 x 300
2
200 x 200
6
50 x 100
Elderberries
1/2
200 x 300
Gooseberries
1
150 x 300
Grapes
1
200 x 300
Hardy Kiwi (A.
kolomikta)
1
150 x 300
Mulberries, weeping
1/2
200 x 200
Raspberries
10
60 x 120
Red Currants
1
150 x 300
Rhubarb
1
100 x 100
Saskatoons (Indian
pear, Serviceberry)
1
200 x 300
Strawberries
25
30 x 60
White Currants
1
150 x 300
Blueberries highbush
Blueberries lowbush
Notes:
Plant raspberries 60 cm apart in single file down the middle of 30 cm wide rows. Space row
centres 120 cm apart.
Plant up to nine female hardy kiwi vines (which bear the fruit) to every one male vine (which
pollinates the female flowers). Actinidia arguta is too large and vigorous for any but the largest
gardens. Choose A. kolomikta instead, which is smaller and bears fruit at a younger age.
Plant two varieties of blueberries and elderberries for pollination
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