Easiest Fruit Bushes to Grow as a Beginner Gardener

Last Updated on January 3, 2022 by Real Men Sow

As I continue with the development of my new veg garden in Somerset (it’s a lot bigger job than I first thought!), I’m starting to consider where I want to position my permanent features such as fruit bushes and canes.

When to Plant Fruit Bushes?

The optimum time for planting fruit bushes is the dormant period between November and February, but November is best as the soil is warmer. If you’re thinking of adding fruit to your plot, now is the perfect time to plan where you want to locate your bushes and how you’d like to grow them.

So as I embark on stocking my fruit beds, here’s a blog post about those fruits which form the mainstay of any productive allotment how many plants I’ll be ordering.

What are the Best Fruit Bushes to Grow?

Strawberries

Strawberry plants are incredibly prolific and quick self propagators. Just 10 plants planted out in Spring can easily grow out and fill a bed by the end of Summer. You won’t necessarily get many fruits in your first year, but by the second you’ll be swimming in them.

For anyone looking to experience the difference in the quality of homegrown produce against the shop-bought alternatives, strawberries are the absolute first place to start. For an allotment holder, a big, red, juicy strawb straight from the plant takes some beating in the taste stakes.

Gooseberries

There are two types of gooseberry – green or red. Reds can be eaten straight from the bush, but the greens will need some cooking. I like to stew the green ones with a little bit of sugar and eat with yogurt, but the reds make an incredibly tasty jam. If the jam isn’t your thing, gooseberries freeze really well too.

Once established, the return on a gooseberry bush is very high. I have harvested 6lbs from a single bush in the past, so I reckon one of each colour is ample on most allotments.

Raspberries

The important distinction to make when buying raspberries is whether to go for summer or autumn fruiting canes or indeed both. Polka and Autumn Bliss are excellent later croppers that extend the raspberry season into November. Personally, I have foregone Summer varieties on my two most recent growing spaces as there are lots of other fruits to enjoy at this time. I like to use space for a healthy row of Autumn croppers, as these are a lovely, sweet bonus as Summer draws to a close.

A dozen canes would be a good number for an allotment, especially as you can take cuttings and propagate extra canes each year.

Blackberries

Up until recently, I never understood why anyone would use valuable growing space for something that is so prolific in the wild. That changed when I was bought some blackberry plants as a present, and now I’m a convert.

Cultivated blackberries are bigger, tastier and juicier, and freeze really well. The plants can be trained upwards, making them a good choice if you’re short on space.

Three plants will soon cover a good size space and yield plenty of big blackberries, as well as providing a useful windbreak for a seating area or to protect delicate veg plants.

Rhubarb

Rhubarb is a really low maintenance but high cropping fruit, and one of the first harvests of the new season. Tasting fresh fruit again after a long winter is a spirit-lifting morale booster.

The stems need cooking before eating, and the best and simplest way I’ve found is to bake 2 inch long chunks in honey. Rhubarb also freezes well if you cut into chunks.

Rhubarb comes in crowns, with 3-4 being a good number, to begin with. Crowns can easily be divided and replanted to increase the number of plants each year.

Final Thoughts on my Easiest Fruit Bushes List

Over the last ten year of growing, I’d like to think I’ve become more sophisticated. I tend to grow what I need rather than a scattergun approach, and this is definitely the case with fruit. Where I would have once just stuck a load of plants in a basket and accidentally spent loads, I’m more considered and experienced in deciding the optimum amount for my space.

Real Men Sow
Real Men Sow

Hello, I’m Pete and I’m currently based in the west of Scotland, in a small place called Rosneath, where I’m exploring my garden adventures. I personally started gardening around 6 years ago and initially, I started out by growing my favorite fruits and berries, such as strawberries, Raspberries & Gooseberries. Since then I’ve added a lot of vegetables and working closely with my neighbor, it’s been a lot of fun.

6 thoughts on “Easiest Fruit Bushes to Grow as a Beginner Gardener”

  1. Hi Jono, a timely article as I’ve just finished building my new fruit cage and I’m about to start stocking it up!
    I picked up a copy of your book a few days ago and it’s a very enjoyable read, well done that man!

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