Nuts about berries!

Soft Fruit in March: Planting, Pruning and Preparing for a Bumper Harvest

March is one of the most exciting months in the fruit garden. The soil is warming, plants are stirring into life and everything you do now - whether that's putting in a new strawberry bed or tidying up last year's raspberry canes - will pay dividends come summer. We think soft fruit is also one of the most rewarding things a gardener can grow: plant it well, look after it moderately and it will crop generously for years.  And does anything taste quite so sweet as a berry that you’ve grown yourself?

Here's what to do this March.

Strawberries: Plant Now for Summer Picking

If you've been meaning to start a strawberry bed, March is your moment. Bare-root runners (the cheapest and most widely available way to buy strawberries in early spring) establish beautifully when planted into warming March soil and you could realistically be picking your first fruits by June.

Choosing your variety

Summer-fruiting varieties - such as 'Elsanta', 'Honeoye' and the wonderfully flavoured 'Cambridge Favourite'- produce one generous flush of fruit in June and July. Perpetual (or everbearing) varieties like 'Flamenco' or 'Albion' crop in smaller quantities from June right through to the first frosts, which suits gardeners who'd rather have a steady supply than a glut. For the best of both worlds, plant a mix.

Getting the site right

Strawberries need a sunny spot and free-draining soil. They don't do well in waterlogged ground or heavy shade and they prefer a slightly acidic to neutral pH (around 6.0–6.5). Work in plenty of well-rotted compost or manure before planting and if your soil is heavy, consider raising the bed slightly or planting into a dedicated raised bed; excellent drainage is key to healthy plants and good fruit.

How to plant

The single most important thing to get right when planting strawberries is crown depth. The crown - the point where the leaves emerge from the root - must sit exactly at soil level. Too deep and it will rot; too shallow and the roots dry out. Space plants 30–45cm apart in rows 75cm apart, firm them in well and water thoroughly. A light mulch of straw or barley straw around the plants helps retain moisture and, later in the season, keeps the ripening fruits clean and off the soil.

First-year tip

It's worth pinching out the first flowers in year one. It feels brutal but redirecting the plant's energy into root establishment rather than fruit production means a significantly heavier crop in years two and three.

Blueberries: Worth the Extra Effort

Blueberries have a devoted following among UK gardeners, and rightly so; the flavour of a sun-warmed homegrown blueberry bears almost no resemblance to the supermarket version. They do require a little more attention than other soft fruits but the effort is straightforward once you understand what they need.

The ericaceous soil question

This is the non-negotiable: blueberries must have acidic soil, ideally with a pH of 4.5–5.5. In most UK gardens, this means growing them in containers filled with ericaceous (lime-free) compost rather than in open ground, unless you're lucky enough to have naturally acidic soil. Large pots (at least 40–50cm diameter) work very well and have the added advantage of allowing you to move plants to the sunniest spot available.

Planting in March

March is an excellent time to plant container-grown blueberries. Choose a sheltered, sunny spot — they'll tolerate partial shade but fruit far better in full sun. One crucial point: blueberries fruit much more reliably when you grow at least two different varieties together, as cross-pollination significantly improves yields. Good pairings include 'Bluecrop' with 'Chandler', or the more compact 'Sunshine Blue' with 'Top Hat' if space is limited.

Watering

Always water blueberries with rainwater rather than tap water — tap water in most parts of the UK is alkaline enough to gradually raise the soil pH and weaken your plants over time. A water butt next to your blueberry pots is genuinely worth having.

Feeding

Use a specialist ericaceous fertiliser in March as plants come into growth. Avoid general-purpose feeds, which are usually too alkaline.

Raspberries: Cane Management and Feeding

If you have an established raspberry patch, March is the time to get it in order before the season runs away with you.

Summer-fruiting raspberries

These fruit on canes grown the previous year. In March, the old canes (which fruited last summer and should have been cut to the ground in autumn) will be gone and you'll see the new canes standing: these are what will fruit this summer. Your job now is to thin them if necessary, leaving only the strongest canes, spaced roughly 10cm apart, and to tie them into their support wires. Cut the tips back to a healthy bud just above the top wire.

Autumn-fruiting raspberries

These are much simpler — if you haven't already done so, cut all canes to the ground now. New canes will emerge in spring and fruit in late summer and autumn. Varieties like 'Autumn Bliss' and 'Joan J' are very reliable.

Feeding and mulching

All raspberries appreciate a balanced general fertiliser or a specific fruit feed in March, followed by a generous mulch of well-rotted manure or compost along the row. Keep the mulch a few centimetres clear of the canes themselves to avoid any risk of rotting at the base.

Currants: Red, White and Black

Currants are among the most generous and low-maintenance soft fruits you can grow, and March is a good time to check they're set up for a productive season.

Blackcurrants

Blackcurrants fruit on wood produced in the previous year, so the aim is always to encourage plenty of new growth. If you didn't prune in winter, you can still do a light tidy now — remove any very old, dark, unproductive wood at the base. Feed generously with a high-nitrogen fertiliser in March (blackcurrants are hungry plants) and mulch deeply with well-rotted manure or compost.

Red and white currants

These fruit on older wood and spurs, so they're pruned differently - more like gooseberries - to create an open, goblet-shaped bush or a trained cordon. In March, shorten the sideshoots to 1–2 buds from the main framework if not already done. Feed with a balanced fertiliser and mulch as for blackcurrants.

New plants

If you want to add currants to your garden, March is a perfectly good time to plant container-grown specimens. They're unfussy about soil as long as it's reasonably fertile and not waterlogged, and they'll tolerate partial shade better than most soft fruits.

Blackberries and Hybrid Berries: Tying In and Tidying Up

Blackberries and hybrid berries (tayberries, loganberries, boysenberries) are vigorous, productive and sometimes alarmingly enthusiastic about taking over. March is the time to assert some control.

What to do now

The fruited canes from last summer should have been removed in autumn — if they haven't, cut them to the ground now. The long, whippy new canes that grew last year are what will fruit this coming season. Train these carefully along their support wires in a fan or weave pattern, tying in with soft garden twine. Getting this done in March, before growth really gets going, is much easier than trying to tame them later.

Feeding and mulching

Like raspberries, blackberries and hybrid berries respond well to a balanced fruit fertiliser in March, followed by a mulch to conserve moisture and suppress weeds.

A note on thornless varieties

If you're planting new blackberries, thornless varieties such as 'Loch Ness' or 'Waldo' are far more pleasant to work with and still produce excellent fruit — well worth considering over the traditional thorned types.

 

The Bigger Picture: Soft Fruit as a Long-Term Investment

One of the most compelling things about soft fruit is the return on a very modest initial investment. A strawberry plant costs less than a cup of coffee and will crop for three to four years. A well-managed blackcurrant bush will produce fruit for fifteen years or more. Raspberries, once established, spread and multiply of their own accord. Plant thoughtfully this March, give your plants what they need in the early weeks, and you'll be harvesting the rewards for many summers to come.

If you’re thinking about planting some soft fruits, keep an eye on our website for what’s in stock.  (Raspberries, for example, using come in later in the spring).

If you don’t like soft fruit or don’t have the space for it, March is also a great time for planting roses.  Find our guide on how to do that here.