Fruit Growing

From raspberries to their hybrids such as; tayberries, tummelberries and boysenberries,  blackberries, gooseberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, runner beans, we have tried growing the lot, some more successfully than others.

RASPBERRIES

We have grown several and many people do not even realise the number of varieties there are.  Some varieties have been developed for yield, or robustness, or flavour.  When we choose a variety to grow, our primary concern is for flavour and natural resistance to disease.  Some varieties we have tried and found unsuccessful and others have flourished.  We grow summer, mid summer, and autumn raspberries for two very good reasons.  Firstly our Raspberry Jam recipe has a specific mix of these raspberries to produce the best flavour which is consistent.  This means that it doesn’t matter what time of year you buy our Raspberry Jam it will always taste the same.  The second reason is to cover the unpredictable English weather.

The varieties we have or do grow are; Glen Ample, Tulameen, Octavia, Autumn Bliss, Autumn Gold, Joan J, Himbo Top.

RASPBERRY HYBRIDS

Tayberries, Tummelberries, Loganberries, Boysenberries, Sunberries, so name a few, are all Blackberry x Raspberry, but each unique in flavour, colour and appearance.

The Tayberry is similar to the Loganberry, a more elongated shape to the raspberry and much deep in colour and flavour.  We grown two varies of Tayberries, one is very spikey and one thornless, they each have their own attributes.

The Tummelberry is round and fat, very juicy and incredibly spikey.  It is a very dark red/purple colour and has an almost scented flavour, absolutely delicious.

These two berries go with the raspberries into our Waterhouse Harvest Jam.  If you were a wine buff, you would describe the jam as ‘full bodied’!  It is really rich and makes a wonderful alternative to Strawberry Jam on a cream tea.

BLACKBERRIES

We have tried two varieties for our Blackberry & Apple Jam; Black Butte and Lochness.  The Lochness winning hands down.

GOOSEBERRIES

We grow the very popular and traditional Invicta as our main variety.

REDCURRANTS

We grown an early variety, Jonkheer van Tets, and a later fruit one, Rovada.  This should ensure we have some redcurrants regardless of the weather.

BLACKCURRANTS

We grow one variety, but top up our stock with some from a local Blackcurrant grower in the Blackdown Hills, near Wellington in Somerset.

 

OTHER LOCALLY GROWN FRUIT

Over the years we have developed some very good relationships with fruit and vegetable growers throughout the West Country, and this is where we source other ingredients which can be grown in this country, including:

RUNNER BEANS

We grow a stringless variety.  The flavour is lovely but they are not commonly grown on a commercial basis because the beans are far from straight!  However, they are ideal for our Green Bean Chutney.

PLUMS, DAMSONS & APRICOTS

We buy two varieties of plums; Victoria for our jam and President for our chutney.  These are both produced by a leading grower in South Somerset, as are the damsons and apricots.

QUINCES

A side line of a speciality apple producer, again in South Somerset.

In seasons of plenty, we regularly use gluts of fruit and vegetables from friends and neighbours, often traded for finished product!