Where would you put berry plants?

[2curlydogs]

I finally have H convinced to put in raspberry, blackberry, etc. bushes to feed the two addicts we have. These kids go thru a giant bag of berries in a week. It's like candy to them.

here's the (slightly outdated but close enough) landscaping plan. It is not fully implemented.




I am struggling with where to locate them. My initial thinking is that because they are such heavy water users to locate them somewhere near our rain barrel, which is at the right corner of the house (behind the garage). But I've never grown berries before, so I'm not sure if that's a good location. 

Uhm. Backyard is south of the house. Gets a ton of full sun all day long. The garage tends to reflect heat, though I've not noticed a "baking" effect there.

No one else in our neighborhood grows them and we grow our tomatoes, etc. in the raised beds in the southwest corner back there, so I'm not too worried about diseases.


Anything else I might want to know about berries?

[simpsongal]

Raspberries were an and still are an absolute nuisance growing up. They're spikey and they spread like wildfire. I don't know if the domesticated varieties behave better, but definitely do some research.

I think blackberries can take some serious heat. I like to grow them along a fence or structure for protection and support, but you could just use an independent support.

If you have a lot of squirrels and birds, you may need to net the plants.

[TBM]

We had raspberries at our house in CA. They spread like crazy, so our next door neighbor had them too.

We are planning to plant a couple of bushes here too, but we will use a barrier to help prevent any crazy spreading, and DH is insisting on thornless varieties this time.

[simpsongal]

btw - Look into currants and blueberries too! Elderberries are also nice and a little different (nice for landscaping too). If you have room for another tree you could plant a mulberry.

[Deleted]

Blackberries, depending on variety, can definitely take the heat. Be careful though, Himalayan Blackberries are the invasive variety that overtakes the whole PNW We had some that grew along and on top of our garage and the reflected heat made them enormous but less flavorful.

You can train the thorny berries onto strings between posts, it works the best to help keep them from rambling terribly far.

[2curlydogs]

We're zone 5 in WI, so I'm not sure what varieties we can get. I'll have to see if my garden catalog is updated for this spring.

Definitely considering blueberries. Also wondering about other edible plants like hazelnut.

We have birds but the squirrels are kept largely at bay by the dogs. I haven't seen a squirrel in our yard ever.

[nomad100]

I don't think that the heat they get in Zone 5 will deter rapsberries of the correct variety for the zone. We go berry picking at a local farm and they grown them in the middle of the field where they get full sun all day and the berries are so delish.

I did ask them last year how they keep the plants from taking over and they say it is all about mowing any shoots right away. So they have grass in between the rows (which are staked like @ksta talked about) and run the mower right up to the base of the plants.

We grow a few plants in big pots since I haven't figured out the optimal spot for the berries yet.

[munkii]

I like the suggestion of currants. Also, look into serviceberries. They're super tasty and, depending on the variety, super hardy. You should be able to find a variety that's local to you.

[auntie]

We had wild berries in the area when I planted my raspberries and they destroyed mine by the second season. Probably some kind of disease according to the extension service. Now I have to deal with the wild version which spread like herpes and taste like shit.

[InBetweenDays]

Both Himalayan and Evergreen blackberries are invasive out here in the PNW. Great for berry picking in August, horrible for native plants and wildlife. We put our raspberries in a container to try and prevent them from spreading.

[2curlydogs]

Those of you who put them in containers - what do you do for overwintering?

[whiskeytails]

Mar 2, 2015 16:14:29 GMT -5 2curlydogs said:

We're zone 5 in WI, so I'm not sure what varieties we can get. 

When you make a decision, please share! I'm also in Wisconsin... Appleton area. I want to plant some when our new construction is done.

[nomad100]

Mar 5, 2015 15:51:16 GMT -5 2curlydogs said:

Those of you who put them in containers - what do you do for overwintering?

Our garden is on the south side of the house and we just move the pots close to the east facing fence and pile leaves around the base of the pots.  I think the fact that the pots are pretty good size helps.

So far they survived the horribly cold winter last year pretty well and I am hoping that they will be OK.