From Loch Ness to Chester

When I bought the Bramley apple tree last September it came with two 2-year old blackberry bushes called "Loch Ness" and "Chester". They have been growing very happily in their pots over the winter, but now that spring has arrived they have started to sprout, so they need to be planted.

At the top of the new part of the allotment we have constructed a fruit support in an "L-shape". It is made up of 4 metal poles with 3 rows of wire between each pole for the blackberries to climb up.

I dug 2 big holes and partly filled them with compost and then placed a blackberry bush into each hole. I then back-filled with a mixture of earth and compost and then gave the bushes a thorough watering. They look very happy in their new position and it certainly gives some permanent structure to the top of the plot. As blackberries are one of my favourite fruits I am hoping that we will at least get some this year to team up with the other fruit that has already been planted. I still have some redcurrant bushes to plant, but will leave that for another day.