Gardeners who are short of space or have little inclination to cultivate full sized fruiting trees will find many berry fruits and vines equally productive. Raspberries do particularly well in a cool climate provided they can be protected from a hot Australian summer and desiccating winds.
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First year canes grow vigorously along a north-south trellis, thereafter producing shorter lateral branches which bear the flowers and fruit. Having fruited, the canes will die back and should then be cut out to allow a continuous cycle of regrowth. Raspberries grow naturally in acid soils so avoid adding lime enriched compost or ashes from the fire place over winter.
Currant bushes are less prickly than brambles to harvest or maintain. Blackcurrants, which are highly valued for their Vitamin C content – four times more than oranges – they make delicious jam or cordial. Although the Vitamin C content of red and white currants is considerably less, they are still valued for preserves and flavouring to accompany meat and poultry as well as jellies and jams.
Blueberry bushes have no thorns or prickles; they need no spraying and the fruit is easily harvested after netting from the birds. The fruit keeps well for several weeks in the fridge unless required for freezing.
The highbush blueberry, perhaps the most commonly grown in Australia, is a deciduous shrub that bears fruit in mid to late summer before producing a colorful show of autumn foliage. Like azaleas they are shallow rooted plants and enjoy the same moisture retaining soils.
As the fruit begins to mature however, overhead watering should be avoided as some variety fruits are prone to splitting.
Blueberries are produced on the vigorous wood of the previous seasons’ growth and until the shrub is about four years old there should be little need for pruning apart from the removal of any dead or dying shoots. Once mature, a well maintained shrub should provide as much as five kilograms of fruit.
Kiwifruit grow on a vigorously twining vine that demands a sturdy wire support. While one male plant can fertilise as many as eight female plants, only one of each is required for the average home garden.
The vine’s nitrogen requirement is a high one, and so it needs a yearly dressing of complete fertiliser plus sulphate of ammonia – two thirds of which should be applied in winter; the rest in November.
Ongoing training, as well as winter and summer pruning, is essential if the vines are to be kept manageable.
