Can you plant different berry plants/trees right beside each other?

[Laurajean]

Quote:
One of the raspberries I had growing with the others mentioned above were Golden Raspberries. I loved them the best! Very mild flavor, very prolific. They last well beyond the others in the growing season too!

 

[Imp]

Red,

Funny I had the same question when I started putting in berries. Got laughed at when I called the nursery's horticulturists.

I have 3 kinds of raspberries planted together. No problems with mutants, but I caution you that my Golden Summit raspberries are not prolific and are the fastest to mold. All raspberries mold fast. I really like my Prelude raspberries, prolific, sturdy, everbearing.
If you prune the right varieties correctly they will produce 2 crops per year, mostly ensuring berries early summer through frost.

I also have 5 blue berries and huckleberries together, no trouble there. They were chosen for color of the leaves and fruit.

I like my currant plant, very prolific, and pretty.
Iffy on the gooseberry, Thimbleberry, Aronia,
Thumbs up on the high bush cranberry, but prone to bugs on the leaves.
Can't remember the rest.

Imp

 

[Kansaseq]

A friend of mine recently planted some blueberry bushes in with some tulips along her fenceline, and they look really nice. I just did the same.
If you DO get some hybrid berries, I would love to see pics and hear how they taste! Sounds like you are going to have a very flavorful garden next year

 

[Mattemma]

I have started to put things together. I think the major concern is diseases.All I recall is no blackberry by raspberry due to disease. I am taking a chance and doing clusters of plantings all over the yard,so hopefully if there is a disease outbreak some will survive.

I just stuck some raspberry canes and strawberry plants in my driveway garden.Didn't know where else to put them.I will be tossing in some ground cherry seeds too.

 

[bhawk-23]

Hello! This post is old but I am hoping to revive it.

I currently have blackberries, golden raspberries and native black raspberries growing well. I bought some different varieties of raspberries to tuck in the open spaces between the established berries. Did anyone have pest and disease issues with the raspberries and blackberries close together?

I bought 4 blueberries also. I was considering planting 2 next to the raspberries and 2 next to the blackberries. This area gets mostly afternoon/evening sun.

I hear strawberries need morning sun to dry out but was hoping to plant those along the same fence.

Does anyone have wisdom or experience to offer?

I really wish I could get someone local to help me plan the best layout for the perennial fruit plants I want. I just really really suck at this kind of planning and foresight. My poor chickens get new plants and a rearranged run every year, if not twice a year Things just never turn out how I envision them.

Thank you!

 

[Sally PB]

One thing you need to look at before planting is what kind of soil each type of berry needs. For instance, blueberries like very acidic soil, pH 4.5-5.5.

I have some blueberries, and lots of oak trees/leaves, so I assumed my soil was acidic. I got very few berries, so I tested the soil. 7.0! I added soil acidifier, and will do so every spring and fall until it tests in the appropriate range.

Last year (the first year I added the acidifier) was my best berry year so far, and the plants themselves look better.

 

[bhawk-23]

@Sally PB

Hmmm… I have been assuming the same thing. We have 2 large white pines and an enormous oak tree so I assumed with the oak leaves and pine needles we would be ok. I’ll definitely check that this year!
I wish I could ask on my local chicken group for someone to come over and help me plan. We have a ton of front yard gardens and raised beds in our town and I know many of our chicken peeps do. Unfortunately, my flock has MD and MG so I do not want to potentially spread that to another flock.

 

[Sally PB]

Unfortunately, my flock has MD and MG so I do not want to potentially spread that to another flock.

Thank you for be so conscientious. You could post pictures here on BYC and ask for feedback and input.

Another helpful exercise: Make a "sun map" of any area where you want to plant something. Unless it's in an open field, almost any area will have periods of sun and shade. For instance, the south end of my garden gets shaded about an hour before the north end, due to the surrounding topography and treeline.

 

[bhawk-23]

Thank you for be so conscientious. You could post pictures here on BYC and ask for feedback and input.

Another helpful exercise: Make a "sun map" of any area where you want to plant something. Unless it's in an open field, almost any area will have periods of sun and shade. For instance, the south end of my garden gets shaded about an hour before the north end, due to the surrounding topography and treeline.

Do I just check every hour or so to see where the sun is at that point? I’m assuming it would be best to wait until March/April when the days are longer?

And I would NEVER wish these diseases for any flock manager nor chicken to deal with. The pain and suffering the chickens, my poor son and I have endured over the last 1.75 years has been tremendous. Too much for any 10-12 yr old to have to accept. As I was unaware of MD when I trusted a chicken sitter to care for my flock I find many other people do not even consider it. I try to educate when I can and ask every friend that comes over if they have chickens first. I’m pretty neurotic, as you can see. lol

My plants won’t ship until mid April so plenty of time to try a sun map and post pictures once that is made. Thank you!

 

[Sally PB]

Do I just check every hour or so to see where the sun is at that point? I’m assuming it would be best to wait until March/April when the days are longer?

I would start looking for this information the beginning of April. Put a stone or a stick or some kind of marker where you will plant each berry bush (or whatever). Something big enough that you can see it from a few yards away.

You need a sunny day for this experiment. Walk by early in the morning, whenever the sun starts shining on that area. Take a picture with your phone, facing the planting bed. Go back in two hours or so, take another picture. Go out around noon, 2pm (ish), and late afternoon.

Look at the pictures. That will tell where the shadows will fall, and if one part gets more sun than another, like my garden. As the season progresses toward the solstice, you'll get more hours of sunlight.

The best orientation of a planting bed is east to west. That lets the most sunlight shine on the row of plants, since the sun is to the south (here in the Northern Hemisphere).

If you're working around something immoveable, like a shed, tree, or you're in a valley, you might want to take pictures more often, say every hour.

There is an apple tree that shades part of my garden in the early morning. In the spring when there's frost on the ground, that area thaws more slowly. That means that in the early part of the planting season (before tomatoes, for sure), greens planted where that shade falls will get about an hour less sunshine. By the time I'm planting out the tomatoes in late May/early June, the sun is rising earlier, setting later, and is higher in the sky, and makes less of a difference to that particular spot.

Look for information for whatever you want to plant. Some plants need well drained soil, and if their roots end up sitting in soggy soil, the plant may not do well, or even die. Some plants need light, sandy soil, and other don't mind if you have heavy clay soil.

I have a garden of each. Fortunately, the best amendment for both of those soils is the same thing: lots of organic matter. Sometimes the answer is easy.