[Cleo]

I am planning my fruit bed at the allotment.

We def. want raspberries and possibly blackberries.

What are your favourite varieties of these or other Allotment fruit and why ?

[paintedlady]

Redcurrants for making jelly (goes well with lamb)
Whitecurrant - a sweet currant (sometimes a nice change from the flush of raspberries & strawberries)
Josterberry - a cross between a gooseberry & blackcurrant although it is a lot like an oversized blackcurrant
Strawberries
Rhubarb
Blueberries (needs acidic soil but not difficult to grow)  Avoid Pixie - a dwarf variety which doesn't seem to produce as well as the others
Gooseberries
Tayberries - lovely big size fruit (like an elongated raspberry) with intense & sharp flavour.  Grows a lot like a blackberry but 10 or more feet long.  The other similar is Loganberry (I can't remember which one, possibly Tayberry, is very thorny but the other grows a cane a lot like raspberry)
Blackberry - you can get thornless varieties with much bigger fruit than those in the wild


(Redcurrant, whitecurrant & gooseberry unfortunately get badly nibbled by sawfly if you get an infestation)

The main reason I moved most of my fruit bushes etc to the allotment is because they do occupy a lot of space which is at a premium in the garden, and less likely to be disturbed by the lawn mower  :oops:   Each bed can be dedicated to that fruit eg blueberries so get the proper soil conditions set up.  Also, you can more easily build a good fruit cage at an allotment for the fruit most likely to be nabbed by birds or the foxes (blueberries, redcurrants, strawberries)

I personally am against planting of fruit trees on plots unless they do not affect neighbouring plots.  Too many people plant them right next to communal footpaths but just don't seem to realise they grow big (and branchy) if not grafted onto semi-dwarf stock and their roots will eventually invade the neighbouring plot as well.  My biggest gripe is the shade effect of towering apple trees in a prime southerly end of a plot  :evil:  Fruit trees are also a long term investment so be sure you intend staying at your plot for a minimum 3-5 years before you start to get a decent harvest (weather permitting   )

[Cleo]

My allotment backs onto the fence bordering the site....
plenty of room for fruit bushes and poss. a cordon....

no plot invaded 'cept mine