Planting Berries For Good Reasons
The Best Reason For Berries Is A Homegrown Harvest!
There are several good reasons for planting berries and the first is store bought fruits are often picked and sold before they’re fully ripe.
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Second reason is stores generally stock selections that look pretty, but don’t necessarily taste the best.
Finally, some fruits, such as blueberries make outstanding ornamental plants.
Blueberries
I grow blueberries because they look as good as they taste.
Beautiful white or pinkish flowers emerge in early Spring, followed by elegant green to blue-green leaves.
Because the colorful fruit doesn’t mature all at once, it presents a nice multicolored display of green, pink and blue for weeks during the Summer.
Then in late Fall, the leaves turn brilliant hues of red, yellow, and orange.
Plant your blueberries in full sun for the most fruit.
They prefer slightly moist, well-drained and acid soil.
It should be rich in organic matter, such as composted manure, chopped leaves, or peat, similar to the soil in which you would plant azaleas.
When planting, position each bush a little higher than the surrounding soil.
You want the top half-inch of the root-ball to rest a little above the soil.
Rabbit-eye blueberry selections do well in the middle, lower, and coastal South.
Northern high bush blueberry selections grow in the upper and middle South.
Tip: It’s important to have two or more selections for optimal pollination and lots of fruit.
Wild Blackberries
Who wouldn’t want fresh fruit at their fingertips?
Wild blackberries are a Southern favorite and have made it a very desirable addition to the Rural Money Homestead Garden.
Loaded with vitamin C and full of antioxidants, blackberries are good for you.
Thornless types such as, Arapaho and Apache offer large fruit on upright plants.
Kiowa is a large fruiting selection with thorny stems.
All prefer full sun and well-drained soil.
They can be grown easily along a fence, trellis, or wall.
Space plants 4 to 5 feet apart.
I am building my homestead food forest and ornamental garden with Fast Growing Trees, so visit them for the best fruit trees, etc.!
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