Saturday 7th February 2009
Amaze your guests at Christmas with delicious homemade cranberry sauce from berries picked fresh from your garden.
But cranberries are more than a seasonal favourite, these versatile little fruit are packed with antioxidants and a great source of vitamin C. They are also easy to grow, making them a great health-food choice as well as a natural for the kitchen garden.
And the appeal isn’t limited to taste, cranberries are year-round garden stars – their dainty pink flowers in midsummer giving way to a blaze of autumn colour when their evergreen leaves turn a stunning bronze.
Being ericaceous, cranberries grow easily in containers and will trail beautifully in hanging baskets.
How to Grow
Marshalls cranberries thrive in acid soil and there’s no need to buy male and female plants as they are self fertile.
Plant in a 30cm (12in) hanging basket in ericaceous compost, which is moist but not wet. Cranberries don’t need a lot of nutrients and are ideally suited to the UK climate. Remember to water well in dry spells. Cranberries will be ready to pick from October onwards.
The Pilgrim Cranberry bush costs £8.75, or pay £7.75 when you buy two bushes or more. Despatch from October.
Did you know?
Native American Indians used cranberries to relieve a variety of ailments. Recent research shows they can also reduce the risk of gum disease.
Grow Your Own Cranberry Sauce
- 1 orange
- 175g (6oz) caster sugar
- 5 tbsp port
- 359g (12oz) home grown cranberries
- 1 eating apple, finely chopped
- 1. Finely grate the zest from the orange and squeeze the juice. Dissolve the sugar in a medium pan with 4 tbsp port and the orange juice.
- 2. Stir in the cranberries, apple and orange rind. Cook uncovered for 8-10 minutes (slightly longer if the cranberries are frozen) until the fruit is soft and the juices are slightly thickened.
- 3. Stir in the remaining 1 tbsp port. Serve warm or cold.
