Berries & other Fruits

[ourlilfarm2015]

Hello!

I would like to start out by saying I have NO green thumb.

We live on an acreage and between myself, my husband, and our toddler we eat a LOT of fruit. I would love to start a few fruit bearing plants on our property. I would love a variety. I have 1 old claw foot tub that I would like to plant a berry fruit in... from what I have been reading it sounds like Blueberries would do well in a bed like that. Otherwise a strawberry +/- raspberry patch would be wonderful. Also was considering planting an apple tree or two.

Tips and detailed instructions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Riv-6]

Hi there!

My dad has planted many raspberry patches and let me tell you, homegrown raspberries are the BEST. A few things he always tells me about raspberries are that they need full sun, a lot of water and do best in rich soil. We have used cow manure mixed into soil for a lot of the raspberry patches. We also do not use any chemicals to keep pests away .. all natural! It can be a bit more work but well worth it in my opinion.

Also, bees seem to love raspberry patches so make sure to watch yourself when you're harvesting the berries


Good luck ! Would love to see some updates when you do plant!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Some blueberries are compact and container friendly so those would be suitable for your tub.

Strawberries have been super easy for me to grow - I have alpines for the chickens & dogs, and garden strawberries for us. The alpines I have self seed easily and can bear fruit in the first year, fruiting from spring through fall (but hubby doesn't like them so that's why the animals eat them - I pick some for myself to throw into yogurt). I don't water them or take special care of them - they just grow. The garden strawberries I propagate via runners, but new starts are unlikely to fruit in the first year so it can take a bit of patience to get that first berry, and they mostly fruit in early summer. Some varieties will bear fruit the first year or have different fruiting periods.

As I don't know your growing zone that's something you should look into before choosing plants.

 

[Acre4Me]

Fruit trees will take a few years before they produce. They often need to be sprayed at certain points to prevent wormy fruit or other problems. Certain fruit trees require more spraying than others to get a decent yield, and may require netting to keep birds away. Also, some are self-pollinating, others need a pollinator, but even self-pollinating ones generally have higher yields with another pollinator nearby.

we just planted our first fruit trees this spring, so we have a few years to wait for any fruit!

raspberries: they fruit on the following year on the new canes. A 2020 planted raspberry will produce some fruit in 2021 if it produced new canes in 2020. As it is getting established in 2020, it may not produce much (or at all) in 2021. So, you will wait 1-2 years to begin to harvest. They can get windy overgrown and spread a lot if not managed, but that may not matter. We bought 3 raspberry plants in 2018, but they did not get into the ground until 2019 and one died. We bought three more in 2019, and they were planted right away, and all three survived. I just fertilized them a few days ago, and they were putting out new cane shoots this year, so maybe a good harvest in 2021. The current canes from last year are very short/small so any raspberries this year might make a small handful.

 

[speedy2020]

I have plum, pear, loquat, paw paw, and fig trees. I also purchased 4-1 cherry and apple combo trees from Costco last year and they are flower this year. If you have limit space, I highly recommend go with combo tree. The other type like mulberry, goji berry, grape, and blueberry are also good. You need to find out what plants are compatible with your climate. I am in zone 8b so tropical tree will not work that well.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Raspberry, blueberry, gooseberries, elderberries, blackberries,

Trees:
Peach, apple, pear, fig, plum, persimmon

Note: apples can be tedious to maintain for consistent fruit. There are many guides for spraying for insects and fungicides. Do you know if cedar apple rust is in your area? If so, apples will become unsightly with lesion looking spots and may fall prematurely. If they do stay on until ripe, they are just as edible.

Pears are prolific producers and much less finicky.

Persimmons are native and are amazing delicious when ripe. But the window for harvest is very small. Too early and they will pucker your mouth. Too late and they turn to mushy, gooey, bleh. Just right and they are "the fruit of the Gods."

Research espalier for fruit trees. A great space saving technique.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Contact your county extension office to find out what fruits and berries grow in your area. They should have pamphlets that tell you how to grow them and should be able to suggest which varieties to plant for your area. To me that is the best tips and detailed instructions you can get tailored to your specific area.

Blueberries are kind of tricky. You need a variety that suits your area. There are three different basic types of blueberries, you need the right one for your climate. Blueberries love highly acidic soil. Most garden plants want a pH of 6.0 to 6.5. Blueberries like a pH of 5.0 to 5.2. While you are chatting to your Extension Office see what it takes to get a soils analysis. That can have some really valuable info in it. Quite helpful.

Blueberries have a shallow root system. They need a well drained soil or they can drown if the soil stays too wet. But if it gets too dry they can die from lack of water. In Arkansas I carried a lot of water to my blueberry plants in summer but I might get 4 gallons of berries in the freezer for jam or to dehydrate off of my three bushes. And that was after we ate a lot fresh.

Many fruit trees need a certain number of chill hours to do well in producing fruit. That's a big part of why you need to get a variety that is suited for your area. While you may get a few varieties that are self-pollinating, practically all apple varieties need a different variety to set fruit. That needs to be a variety that blooms at the same time. Quite often you can get recommended varieties to plant for best pollination. If a near neighbor has an apple tree that blooms at the same time you are covered. Many commercial apple growers use crab apple trees as pollinators.

 

[PajamaGardener]

Make sure your soil has good drainage if you are growing in that bath. I've been growing strawberries for a few years and mine want liquid fertiliser every fortnight to be delicious and full sun is a must! Growing them is easy but keeping them is not! Slugs and snails, lizards, birds, rodents... everything is going to want your berries. I realised I needed a lot of plants (4 beds) to be able to pick everyday, even though I net most of them now.

 

[CluckerFamily]

I have in raised beds: blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. I have wild strawberries growing in the lawn and flowerbeds, these are small but the best flavor! I also have some raspberries and blackberries growing in some clay dirt and they do well here, they spread but not as much as in my raised beds. I have apple trees and plum trees. I got all my my plants from an Amish Greenhouse.

 

[PajamaGardener]

Sounds amazing! Do your blackberries grow up a trellis? I'm growing boysenberries for the first time this year. Any tips?