Gardening: Berries are expensive to buy, easy to grow

Raspberries are easy to grow in the home garden.

Gareth Carter is the general manager of Springvale Garden Centre in Whanganui.

OPINION

Escaping to your garden is good for the body, mind and soul.

Having fruiting plants growing in your garden to snack on or harvest is incredibly rewarding.

There is much we can grow in even the smallest patch or even in pots.

Berries are the focus of this week’s gardening column.

Raspberries, blackberries and boysenberries can be expensive little morsels to buy in the shops but they are very easy to grow in the home garden.

Today, we will explore how to successfully grow these berries, known as cane fruit, at your house.

First up is to find a sunny location, however, berries will tolerate light shade in the afternoons.

Berry plants are generally tolerant of quite windy spots but do not like salt wind.

They are hardy to the cold, growing to temperatures of -10C.

The ideal soil is free draining loamy and compost enriched soil.

If your soil is heavier (such as clay) or on the lighter side (such as sandy) then the additions to the soil such as Ican Premium Compost, Ican Planting Mix or Tui Compost is recommended.

If the area is wet, then creating a raised bed is advisable.

The soil when planting should be prepared with Tui Sheep Pellets, Yates Dynamic Lifter or similar organic matter mixed into it to enrich the structure and fertility.

They perform better where the roots are kept cool with mulching such as with pea straw.

If you have enough room then creating a couple of areas allows you to grow a good range of berries.

An area with a structure such as a trellis, old wire gate or a north-facing fence is the ideal spot to grow and train climbing and rambling types such as thornless blackberries, the boysenberry types and loganberries which all need something to grow on.

Raspberries can be grown in rows without support.

Once established, berry plants benefit from being fertilised in September as the plants come into leaf and then again in late December/January.

Regular watering and mulching during dry periods will ensure a healthy plant and great crops year after year.

Plant selection is the fun part, deciding which varieties to plant and thinking about the berries you want to eat.

Blackberries are easy to grow in a home garden, writes Gareth Carter

Raspberry Aspiring is a favourite as it fruits twice. First in the summer period over December and January followed later in the autumn months with a second crop.

This double fruiting trait makes Aspiring a very popular choice for growing in the home garden.

Raspberry Mini Me is a recently released raspberry variety.

It is a true dwarf that grows with a nice, round compact habit.

The pluses of this variety keep on going; while the plant may be small the fruit is full-sized and delicious.

And it is self fertile and thornless, how good is that.

The compact habit makes it ideal for container growing - and perfect for the patio or the smaller garden.

Raspberry Waiau has very large to medium sweet red berries that are easily removed when ripe, which is approximately January.

It is a strong and productive plant, which spreads fast and is one of the easiest of all to grow.

Raspberry Tulameen are good sized berries during mid-summer with a deliciously sweet taste. Almost thornless canes.

Raspberry Ebony are well-flavoured clusters of dark black berries that are produced from December to February. Canes have no thorns.

Raspberry Ivory is has unusual golden yellow medium-sized fruit with good flavour, all the characteristics of red raspberries except for the fruit colour. A few spines are found on the canes.

There are some fantastic berries to grow at home that need support, there are limitless creative ways this can be achieved.

Some of the rambling/ climbing berry varieties that are well worth growing include:

Thornless blackberry Black Satin is a large glossy black conical fruit of excellent sweet flavour. Thornless upright canes of serrated green leaves which turn to beautiful dark autumn colours. Grows approx 1.8m x 1.5m.

Harvest in summer from February to March.

Berry Delight have delicious large, dark red fruit with a yummy boysenberry/loganberry flavour. Strong growing, thornless canes that make harvesting easy. Harvest in summer from December

Thornless Jewel is a boysenberry cross producing mouthwatering large, almost black berries with that traditional boysenberry taste.

It is strong growing and has thornless canes that make harvesting easy.

Harvest in summer from December.

Boysenberry Mapua is a large, delicious berry that crops well.

Strong growing, relatively thorn less canes that make harvesting easier. Harvest in summer from December to January.

Bird Control is essential for getting a good harvest from your berries.

Stakes with bird netting draped over and secured at the ground will keep the birds out.

How many berries to plant is a common question; a general guide is to plant two plants for each berry lover in your family that are ready at the same time.

Although it seems I have never yet found anyone who has so many berries they do not know what to do with them.

Gareth Carter is General Manager of Springvale Garden Centre