Berry Growing Advice

[Hound dog]

To go along with DDDs thread, I picked up strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry bushes.

I've never grown them. My dad didn't do fruits. And my mom ordered the lovely peach tree we had in the back yard chopped down. (she had 5 very angry kids when she did that lol )

So any helpful hints, tips or advice?

I'd like to plant them along the back fence where they'd get plenty of sun and hamper Mr. Rowdy from digging out. (he won't bother if something is in his way) I was going to attempt to just dig a hole for each and put them in with some good ol fashion manure.........although the spot I have picked, Mr. Rowdy has fertilized quite well. Which has me wondering about the soil ph, not that I know anything about soil ph lol . But every other plant known to man seems to thrive above and beyond in that area.

They'd not be right on top of the garden that way, but would still be close enough for bees to pollinate.

 

[Tiapet]

From what I know about Strawberries, they like lots of water though there is a fine line of too much water, and lots of sun.

 

[SuZir]

Sunny place is good. Blueberry needs a little bit lower ph than others. You may want to put blueberries to other end and strawberries to other and raspberry and blackberry between and give some chaulk or ash or some garden mix that will do the trick to the strawberry, blackberry and raspberry end of your line of plants. You can even consider nitrogen for your blueberry. Strawberry may need some manure (but not too much), others don't need fertilization.

 

[keista]

Strawberries aren't really a bush. They can make a nice groundcover or border though. I've been trying to get mine going along the driveway, but never succeed - it's a drought/watering issue, not location.

 

[muttmeister]

Strawberries aren't a bush but they need a place where they can spread. They get runners that you'll want to encourage each year to make new plants to keep your bed growing well.
Blueberries need acid soil so you may need to add some amendment to your soil to keep them healthy.
Raspberries and blackberries tend to have lots of brambles and spread that way. Both, especially raspberries, take pruning but you have to know which kind of raspberries you have before you know how to prune. On most, you cut out the old wood (you don't have to worry about that till next year) but on a couple of kinds you just cut them down to the ground in the fall.
Just type "growing raspberries" or blackberries or blueberries or strawberries into your search engine and you will get lots of good resources to help you.
Here is one site that is local here but used by people all over the US that has good, reliable advice:
http://byf.unl.edu/home

 

[donna723]

I don't know about commercially purchased blackberry plants but they grow wild all around our area. And the wild blackberries are full of really vicious stickers! They grow up into big shoulder-high sticker clumps and walking in to one can be quite an adventure. I'm not sure if the plants you buy do the same thing, but you might want to keep that in mind because of the kids and the dogs and put them somewhere they can't get in to them.

 

[Star*]

If You want BLACK BERRIES????? LET ME KNOW - I have them growing all over the frimping place. THEY HAVE THORNS......so do raspberries......so do NOT plant them where you will have kids or dogs - because when they take off? They'll run and root under ground and come up EVERYWHERE. OH -----I just looked up and donna said that. So yeah - what we said. hahaha.

What kind of strawberries did you get? JUNE, Day or EVER bearing? .......I like ever bearing - more berries. NOM NOM NOM.

 

[Hound dog]

I'll have to look at the strawberry plants. I can't remember which kind they are.

Oh geez. I didn't know the blackberries and raspberries had thorns OR would take over. I certainly do NOT want them taking over. The plants are still dormant. Maybe I'll just sell them in the yard sale or try to take them back and switch them out with strawberries or blue berries. I don't even like blackberries or raspberries that much. I was just thinking jams and jellies. lol

 

[InsaneCdn]

Lisa -
Raspberries, in particular, come in different classifications. There's to major splits:
- fruit on new canes, or fruit on second-year canes... the latter give more fruit, but are harder to trim, you have to keep track of which canes are new (for next years fruit)
- s uckering or non-s uckering - the first, are the ones that take over - the others don't - I have a whole row of the latter, never had a problem, except for one plant that wasn't "as advertised"... and IT is taking over, so this year it will be transplanted to an area where we WANT it to take over...

ALL berries take room. Canes (raspberry etc.) do best along a fence or wall so you can tie them up. We've never had problems with our dogs and the thorns, but ... ours have always been heavy double-coated, so maybe they didn't notice? But... commercial canes don't have the aggressive thorns that wild ones do.
Stawberries are low to the ground, and should not be planted where they will be shaded by other plants.

 

[Star*]

Strawberries I believe don't get fruits until the second year also - (me and Fritz are at it again today ) But I think mostly the kind that you would get at a local nursery would be indigenous to your area....the places that sell them wouldn't per se order plants, and such for a zone not conducive to Ohio - wouldn't be profitable for them and helpful for you.

And make sure you figure out in your garden WHAT can be planted next to WHAT - some things do NOT do well when planted next to each other. If you have questions just ask -