The Tayberry that I planted back in March has flowered and is now setting fruit! I hadn’t anticipated seeing fruit this early. I thought they would come at the same time as the Raspberries which are only just budding up. But they must be earlier in general.
I haven’t really done anything to the bush since I put it in. I have watered it a bit because the pot is quite close to the wall and sometimes misses the rain. But apart from that the plant has done everything itself.
There must be around eight or nine Tayberries on the bush and I can’t wait to taste them. I’m going to wait until they’re mega ripe to pick them so I get the full flavour. Under gardener is worried that the birds will take them (he’s still traumatized by what happened to the Blueberries last year) but I don’t think this will be a problem since the birds don’t go for the Raspberries and it’s a similar situation.
Does anyone have experience with a Tayberry - do I need to net against the birds?
I took delivery of my brand new Tayberry (a cross between a Raspberry and a Blackberry) from Victoriana Nursery yesterday. I’m super excited about growing my first Tayberry. I have literally run out of space for permanent plantings so I’m attempting to grow it in a pot.
Don’t worry it’s a big pot and it will sit right on my south-facing wall so I’ve no doubt that it will do well there.
Ever since I went to The Lost Gardens of Heligan a few years ago and saw this Tayberry I have wanted to grow one. I’m hoping that if I train it up a wall I will be able to make it look as beautiful as this one.
Tayberries, apparently, will tolerate shade and inferior soil but like most fruit they prefer rich soil and full sun. The only soil they may not tolerate is light chalky soil. They fruit on this year’s growth so pruning is pretty simple - once each cane has fruited, cut it out and more fruiting canes will grow next year.
Ideally, I would have planted it back in October so that it would settle in before the growing season but up to the end of March is okay too. The advice was to keep the crown of the roots level with the soil surface so that’s what I did. After planting cut back to one good bud about 30cm (12in) high. This was already done for me so I left it as it came.
Fingers crossed for some juicy, Raspberry-ish with a hint of Blackberry, fruit come Summer. Yey!
It’s time to start thinking about buying some seed. I spend weeks researching which vegetables and which varieties I will grow. Most of my decisions are made based on what I’m into eating at the moment. But I always leave room to try out new vegetables that I’ve never grown before.
Because my tiny plot is, well, so tiny. There are tons of fruit and vegetables that I’ve never grown before. Some because I just don’t like to eat them - Celery, Celeriac, Chicory - not really sure why they all begin with C…hmmm.
And some because I’ve not had the right equipment or the space. So with that in mind I’m homing in on some new veg that I’d like to have a go at.
- Seakale (Angers) - ever since I saw it featured on The Victorian Kitchen I’ve always been fascinated by what it would actually taste like.
- Melon (Sivan) - because now I have a huge coldframe I finally have the space to grow one!
- Borlotti Bean (Supremo) - I’ve never grown beans for drying and the red pods will look so good in my garden.
- Tayberry (Buckingham Thornless) - When I saw a Tayberry trained into a fan at Heligan a couple of years ago I’ve always wanted one. Now I just need to find a bit of wall to train it on.
That’s it for now. I’m sure I will think of more before the seed order goes in. I always do.
