ANY OF YOU GROW BERRIES?

[Austrianbumb]

I grow lingonberry (under planted in blueberry beds) , elderberry, currants, blueberries, goji, sea buckthorn and strawberries.
I have 2 rows of 5 blueberry bushes each, spaced 2.5 feet apart in the row and the rows are about 4-5 feet apart. I grow them in raised beds (about 1 ft deep) as our native soil is nasty clay.

 

[pintail_drake2004]

I had an 80' row of thornless blackberries, I just expanded it to a full 160' from my own thornless propagations. Dozens of raspberries too. We have hundreds of elderberries that produce well, collected somewhere between 25-30 gallons last year. Starting on blueberries this past season. Keeping the soil acidity right is key. Just planted a bunch of strawberries a few weeks ago.
My chickens eat the blackberries that are 2' and lower. My daughter gets the rest. Our duck posse and 100 chickens make short work of most of the pest. I fence off my strawberries and blueberries.
As far as easiest, at least here in Zone 6B, I have found raspberries/blackberries the easiest to grow. Blueberries, for us at least, require constant attention to maintain accurate soil acidity. The raspberries & blackberries do their own thing. I just prune heavily at the end of season, and let them go.

 

[gimmie birdies]

We live in E WA it is too dry here for berries, but if we go to the west side of the mountains we can pic blackberries, below is blackberry pie and rhubarb.

I grew up on Bainbridge Is. they grow alot of strawberries there. When I was a child there was a wonderful rasberry plant I used to eat from.

 

[Acre4Me]

Strawberries: a few years now. We’ve bought bare roots and planted them in a raised bed. We carefully removed blooms and runners all first year. This is their third year and we have done *zero* for them since last fall -they are happy, green, and with a gazillion flowers.

However, my neighbor planted some strawberries, babied them, and I got to try some last year- amazed by their flavor. Mine were tasty, but these were much better. So, with a little strawberry envy I purchased bare roots if that same variety and planted them this year. They are looking very good, with some blooms. Can’t wait for a taste!

We’ve grown alpine strawberries from seed, and they are very Hardy. They have done well in pots, in full sun, in part shade, in dappled light, survived on the deck all winter in a large pot (the smaller planters went into the ingested garage), and they remain happy. Tiny berries though, but a tiny treat.

We have two types of raspberries on the south side of our metal sided barn (painted white). It’s a bit hot for them in the middle of the summer, and the berries get a bit cooked. We planted some in a raised bed in a sunny area that get shaded from the later afternoon sun, and they produce very well.

Blueberries: hopefully one day we will plant some!

 

[RooStar Chicken Gang]

Epic replies guys, yeah I'v got a few blue berry bushes now they are only little but ill see how they go, remain hardcore chook lovers!

 

[Callender Girl]

I planted six bare root strawberries last month in a strawberry jar -- two lived. I planted 15 in a raised bed, and all survived plus the lone leftover strawberry plant I rescued from a previous bed. They are mulched with straw and covered with sheets of hardware cloth to give them a chance to grow before critters destroy them (which is already the fate of some of my tomato plants).

Yesterday, I spent a lot of time -- and not nearly enough time yet -- removing spent canes from my thornless blackberries. It's a job I know I should have done sooner. Although the naked, crisscrossing brown canes were kind of pretty, in a strange, artistic way.

I was slowed down quite a bit by the need to move sections of fencing to protect the plants from my sheep who like to stick their heads through the woven wire fence surrounding their pasture. I truly can't remember if I just planted the berries too close to the fence or if there were no sheep in the pasture when I planted. I just know it's a problem now.

The relocated fencing is salvaged, heavy duty wrought iron, and the openings are clearly smaller than a hungry sheep's head. I'm hoping this will save both the berries and the wire fencing.

And, I almost forgot about my aronia berry plants. I only have three, and all look like it's going to be a bountiful year. They are covered with tiny blossoms.

 

[TooCheep]

Good to see a number of others with a variety of berries. I have: raspberries, blackberries, goji, goumi, mulberry, elderberry, kiwi, grape, aronia and magnolia vine (Schisandra chinensis) in my suburban backyard. I haven't even tried blueberries because my soil is too high pH.

I wish my blackberries would be more invasive. I love them. They are doing okay, but only growing slowly year-to-year and not really spreading. My raspberries on the other hand really want to spread. Fortunately, they are easy to control- just mow over them. My gojis are trying to do the same. They have thinner canes than raspberries & blackberries, but largely spread by replanting from the tips.

You might want to consider goumi if you want something that isn't invasive. The plant is an upright bush (~8ft), fixes nitrogen, has no disease/insect problems (at least here), and once established is almost impossible to kill. The berries are small and very interesting looking- red with silver speckles. They taste like sour cherry. I enjoy some each day for the ~4 weeks that they are producing. The chickens love them. It is hilarious to watch them high-jumping to grab berries.

 

[Callender Girl]

I had never heard of goumi berries, so I Googled it. Thanks for teaching me something new! Not sure how they would do here in Zone 5A or where to get some, but they sound great.

 

[TooCheep]

Goumi are good in zones 5-9, so I'd say they are worth trying. You can buy named varieties (I have Sweet Scarlet & Red Gem) at online nurseries or buy seeds (ebay, etsy) to grow generic goumi.

If you have your berry plants fenced off from chickens, you can actually grow goumis right where the chickens free range. Just protect them for the first year or so while they get established. The chickens will grab all the berries they can at 2-3ft and lower, but you'll be able to get anything higher. That way, they'll also provide good shade and protection from flying predators.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I have about an acre of blackberry (against my will lol), alpine and garden strawberries, and a few blueberries. Also have some native salmonberries, which the chickens enjoy as they ripen before the blackberries do. The blackberries aren't great, though I usually make a batch of syrup out of them each year. The strawberries are more for landscaping than anything, though the chickens enjoy them and I did manage to gather enough garden strawberries to make a batch of jam last year. The blueberries are all dwarf varieties in pots so I snack on them while gardening.