For the amount of effort it requires, growing fruits can sometimes be disappointing. That isn't usually the case with berries. Compared to tree fruits, berries are quick to bear, naturally resistant to pests and disease, and they require relatively little growing space. They are also loaded with nutrients. Here's an overview of the four most popular types of berries grown and what you need to know to start growing them.
What kind of berries do you like to buy from local farmer's markets? This is an easy way to determine which types of berries grow best in your climate. In general, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries grow well in Zones 3 through 6. In warmer zones, rabbiteye blueberries and blackberries are popular, as well as varieties of raspberries and strawberries that are specially adapted to take the heat. To get recommendations on specific cultivars that grow well in your area, contact your state's cooperative extension agency. http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/
Soil fertility, moisture, and sunlight all impact the size and flavor of berries. In most areas, berries grow best in full sun. Where summers are very hot, they appreciate a few hours of shade from the mid-afternoon sun. To grow their best, berries need evenly moist, humus-rich soil and good drainage. Unlike most garden edibles, most require some degree of acidic soil in order to take up nutrients effectively. Because soil can differ from one part of the yard to another, after choosing a site you will want to have the pH of your soil tested.
Preferred pH
Blueberries - 4.0 to 5.0
Blueberries (rabbiteye) - 5.5 to 6.0
Raspberries/Blackberries - 5.6 to 6.2
Strawberries - 5.8 to 6.5
Strawberries can be divided into three main categories:
Site and soil: Choose a spot in full sun where tomatoes, peppers, or potatoes have not been grown in the last 3 years (strawberries are prone to some of the same soilborne diseases that attack these vegetables). Like all berries, strawberries like rich, acidic soil that drains well. Planting depth is very important.
Strawberries can be picked when they are still about 25% white. They'll finishing ripening in a day or two. For the best flavor and the longest shelf life, leave the cap and stem intact when harvesting.
In addition to bearing fruits, blueberries make striking landscape plants. They feature dainty white flowers in the spring and fiery red foliage in the fall. Growing them isn't as difficult as you might think and a variety exists for almost every climate.
Cross-pollination isn't necessary with most types of blueberries, but planting multiple varieties usually results in all of the bushes bearing more and larger fruits. Planting different varieties also helps extend the harvest by several weeks.
Site and soil preferences: Blueberries thrive in moist, humus-rich soil with a pH of 4.0 to 5.0. The soil must have an acceptable pH before planting or the plants are unlikely to survive. Blueberry plants can live up to 50 years, so preparing the site in advance is well worth the effort. When the pH is too high (alkaline), the plants will develop yellow foliage (and eventually die) as they are unable to take up iron. Two or three foliar feedings of iron-rich kelp spread over the course of a few days may buy you enough time to correct soil conditions (add peat, pine needles, or fast-acting iron sulfate). Fertilize bushes once per year with cottonseed meal or soybean meal, or a fertilizer specially formulated for acid-loving plants like rhododendrons.
Pruning and maintenance: Pruning is done primarily to thin out old or dead branches or twigs. Protect blueberries from birds by covering them 'from top to bottom'with agricultural netting. For the best-flavored blueberries, wait a day or two after they turn blue before picking them and then 'tickle' them until they fall off into your hand.
Raspberries and blackberries are considered bramble fruits. Depending on the species, their growth habits can be erect, semi-erect, or trailing. Because brambles vary in their tolerance for temperature and disease, it is wise to plant only those cultivars that are known to grow well in your area'plants that certified as virus and disease-free. Raspberries and blackberries are typically sold as bare-root plants and are planted in late winter or early spring, just as leaf buds start to develop on dormant canes.
Pruning and maintenance: All bramble fruits produce their best crops on canes that were new the year before (second year wood). Each year, the fruiting canes are typically removed immediately after bearing fruit, and the tops of non-fruiting canes are lopped off when they reach chest height. This forces lateral branching, which increases next year's crop. Unless you are working with thorn-less cultivars, always wear long gloves when pruning to protect your hands and arms. Healthy plants can stay productive for 10 to 15 years. When replacing existing plants, choose a spot as far as possible from the old site and from any wild brambles.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Does anyone have any advice for planting and growing blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries?
thehendrix4
Hardiness Zone: 10b
By Lisa Hendrix
www.noursefarms.com/
I love this site and I have a Raspberry Plant that I planted last month and even the snow hasn't hurt it. I bought it for five dollars at Walmart.
Robyn
Black Raspberries grow wild here in Indiana. Growing them isn't the problem. However, once you have raspberries started, the canes grown long, bend back to the ground and start a new plant so you can control their spread by staking them where you want the new brambles. A bramble will only live for a year or two, and the newer canes are the most productive so keep this in mind. Left alone, they will spread and spread and move as the older canes die. Good luck and enjoy.
