Berry Growing: A Do-It-Yourself Project
More Great Berry Growing Ideas
The prevalence of fresh, ripe berries is a sure sign that summer is here -- and while it may be easy enough to pick up a quart of strawberries, blueberries or raspberries at your local grocery store, it is much more enjoyable and satisfying to grow and harvest berries yourself.
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Just about everyone, from apartment-bound city dwellers to people with larger plots of land, can find room to grow one or more types of berries. Granted, if your only option for berry growing is indoors or on a balcony, bramble berry bushes, such as those that produce raspberries and blackberries, probably aren't your best bet. It's not any fun to have to maneuver around the prickly canes!
Blueberry plants, on the other hand, easily grow to manageable sizes when potted, and even some strawberry plants can grow large enough to produce reasonable yields in pots.
If you have more room, you can plant a veritable Eden of berry plants, from ground-creeping strawberries to creeping blackberries, creating a beautiful and productive garden. Imagine the look on a child's face when he or she picks the first berry of the summer -- and then become a kid yourself by doing the same!
Let's Talk Dirt
The main consideration, after choosing which berry types to plant, is how to prepare the soil and maintain the plants. Each berry type has different water, sun, soil pH, weeding and pruning requirements. While most types are very hardy, paying attention to their various needs will help ensure that you receive a plentiful and delicious crop.
From Green Thumb to Just Desserts
Although berries are not often the first consideration when planning crops, they are by far the sweetest. Berries are truly dessert-on-a-vine (or bush, or bramble).
Grow a few plants to have fresh berries to top off bowls of cool ice cream on warm summer evenings, or grow a multitude and create jams, jellies, preserves, pies after you have eaten your fill of fresh fruit.
Whatever your gardening capacity or goals, you can grow your own berries and truly reap the delicious benefits of applying your green thumb!