Planted the Tayberry and Loganberry

The new Tayberry has been planted, sharing wires with a Loganberry, each has been given a growing span of 3 metres (10'), and were given a hole 50cm (18") square and down to a depth the same, and filled with a mixture of the top soil and a peat based compost.

The Tayberry is a cultivated shrub bred in 1962 from a cross between a Blackberry and the red Raspberry at the Scottish Crops Research Institute, Invergowrie, Scotland, by Derek Jennings and David Mason. The fruit is sweeter, much larger, and more aromatic than that of the Loganberry, of similar origin. It is grown for its edible fruits which can be eaten raw, or cooked to make jam or other dishes, with a cropping period from early July to mid-August.

Unfortunately, Tayberries do not pick easily by hand and cannot be machine harvested and so they have never become a widely grown berry crop, and are rarely seen in supermarkets, if at all.

The Loganberry has large long dark red fruit and is a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry. It is, perhaps, the supreme culinary berry, as it is ideal for stewing, jam and jelly making, bottling, canning, juice extraction and wine making. 

The Loganberry is thornless, which is good because we have also planted two new blackcurrants which are not thornless, and so we will have to see how well we can live with this feature. I have memories of picking wild blackberries in my youth, and sitting down afterwards with a needle removing thorns!