As soon as you have ordered your new fruit, make a start on preparing the site so that the ground has time to settle before planting in the autumn. Most kinds of fruit are long-lived and, like other trees and shrubs, grow best where the soil has been thoroughly cultivated.
Begin by clearing all the weeds, particularly perennial kinds. This may mean simply forking out a few weeds here and there, but where the ground is heavily infested, cut down the top growth by hand or with a rotary mower, then spray the entire area with a weedkiller such as glyphosate.
Once the site is cleared, you can cultivate, but how you do this depends on your soil type and which fruits you intend to grow. The larger the plant, the deeper the soil needs to be; strawberries will grow in shallow ground 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm) deep, whereas tree fruits need 2 feet to 2 feet and 6 inches (60 to 75 cm) of well-drained soil.
- Double dig sites that are poorly drained or very weedy. This can be strenuous and the work is best tackled in stages.
- Single digging is sufficient for bush and cane fruits on good soil or ground that has been cultivated previously.
- Fruit trees need only individually prepared planting sites of about 3 feet (1 m) square.
- All soils and sites benefit from liberal additions of garden compost or rotted manure worked in well as you dig.
- After cultivation, leave the ground to settle for at least six weeks and then, just before planting in the autumn, hoe or fork out any weeds that have emerged and rake in a dressing of fertilizer appropriate to the type of fruit.
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Strawberries grow in shallow ground, as opposed to fruit trees which require deeper soil.
