Growing Berries

Growing small berries in a home garden is an excellent way to have beautiful plants, fresh fruits, and attract plenty of birds, bees, or other wild life too. Berries are best planted in very sunny areas too, so they come in handy when you can't find much else that will grow in the sunniest spots of your yard and garden.

Here are several fruits which can make wonderful sweet summer snacks, or be used for canning, jelly making, and other kitchen endevours.

Grapes - Grapes can take some time to become established and start producing berries. Depending on the variety you buy and the planting conditions, it can take two to four years before you'll get any fruit from them. Many nurseries sell mature plants though, and though you'll pay more for them, it's an excellent way to start getting fruits from your berries more quickly.

Grapes grow really well in poor, dry, sandy, rocky soil. This makes them an excellent choice for slopes and hills, or in rocky areas of the yard. The soil needs to be well drained though, and you'll need to plant the vines about eight to ten feet apart.

Grapes grow very high, so it's best to train them to grow a strong trellis, arbor, or other support. In the beginning you'll need to work with them often to get them trained though, because they always seem to want to point the wrong way. As they become older and you continue working with them however, they'll climb your chosen support willingly.

Blueberries - Blueberries grow best in moderate temperature climates, and it can take four to five years before they'll start producing fruits. The plants can reach a breadth of five to six feet wide too, so you'll need plenty of room to grow these berries.

Blueberries produce flowers from about April through May, and the berries can start being harvested as early as July, and as late as the middle of September depending on which kind you're growing.

You can increase the healthiness and production of blueberry plants by putting two different kinds close together. A word of caution though: Blueberries seem to be the favorite for birds, so you may find yourself fighting to harvest any for yourself when you start growing them!

Blackberries - Blackberries grow as a stand alone plant, bush or bramble, and they can be made to climb a trellis or other strong support too. Blackberries usually need to be tied securely to strong supports if you want them to climb, and most of them tend to grow best in full sunlight. There are some varieties which will still produce berries for you in the shade though, and some which will also tolerate poor soil materials as well.

For the best results though, plant blackberries in a location which gets at least five to six hours of sun each day, has plenty of water, and rich soil material. Composting the planting area for blackberries will help tremendously.