Growing the Best Berries for Your Garden
If you are thinking about growing your fruits at home, the best thing you can choose is berries. They happen to be quick to grow and need far less available space than you would with fruit trees. They are also more resilient to weather changes and suffer from fewer diseases. The best thing about them is that they are also very nutritious, and regular consumption of berries improves your brain health.
So what makes a good berry as far as choices go? They need to be easy to grow and fun to eat, with easily removed seeds. There may be far more interesting berries than the ones listed here, but they won’t necessarily be as enjoyable or fun to grow. The ones in our list can be easily preserved or eaten by hand and are capable of growing in a wide range of climates. If you provide your homegrown berries with proper soil and a great site, you will start picking your fresh berries in around two years. Let’s get started:
Blackberries
Self-fertile, naturally strong. Blackberries may be grown alone or combined into a practical and delicious hedgerow. You can find wide varieties out there that you can use as a flowing, upright mound that may be easy to cover with bird netting or tulle when the crops are ripe, and you want them safe.
Blueberries
If you choose a blueberry that fits your local climate, you should be patient, as they take a bit longer to set up shop than other berries. They’re easy to grow in acidic soil and mature into amazing shrubs that last three seasons, with eye-catching red twigs in late winter, dark berries and lush leaves in summer, and brighter colours in autumn. Blueberries are also high in antioxidants, helping slow the ageing process and keeping your heart health high.
Currants
Whether dealing with red, white or black currants, they’re good at growing in cool summers. The berries taste tangy and follow the pleasantly fragrant spring flowers they produce. This makes them a perfect fit for areas of partial shade. The bushy blackcurrants are also great for shrubs placed in foundation plantings. The tastiest of the lot are the red ones, which lack the more musky flavour of the black variety, also perfect for making jams.
Grapes
Grapes have been one of the most popular berries worldwide, fruits and wines being a staple food in many households for thousands of years. When choosing what kind of grapes you want to grow, you should look for ones from your local variety. Grapes may vary in their ability to adapt to different climates, but in an area where they are local, they will thrive all the better.
Raspberries
Raspberries are something any gardener can benefit from, as they grow in a wide range of climates. They are cold-resistant, bearing beautiful red berries in summer and producing a large enough crop on one-year-old canes. The fall-bearing raspberries offer lighter crops, and there are other types, both domesticated and wild, that may be kept in your fridge for a quick snack all year long.
Strawberries
This is another universally accepted and beloved berry, small enough to grow inside a container, making it easier to keep safe from snails and slugs who love eating them. You can have an autumn planting creating fruits the following summer, making them great to have around the garden. Strawberries also need a bit more acidic soil and plenty of sunlight, but they’re great at growing fast and easy. You may be used to conventionally grown strawberries. However, those are usually treated with pesticides, while the garden-grown ones are far more flavourful and delicate, still retaining an excellent aroma.
