Berries! Berries?

My family eats a lot of berries. All kinds. Raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries are a weekly buy at the grocery store. Next summer, when I start my first SFG, I'd like to grow some berries. I'm thinking about growing them in their own small plot. For example, one raspberry bush in a 2x2 plot. One blueberry bush in a 2x2 plot. Etc.

I have a feeling, being my first year with SFG, I might want to tackle only one or two berry plants, not all four.

I also have a feeling I don't know even close to what I should about planting berries.

What do you suggest for a newbie? Can I grow them mixed in with a 4X4 plot? Should I keep them separate from the 4X4 plot. Are there other plants that will grow nice with them? Are berries difficult?

Please share anything you can! I'm an SFG sponge these days.

Our family loves berries as well

Putting the berries in their own area is a good idea

depending on the kind and type you plant they can and will grow as large as you would like them to.

When we first started our berries we watched a lot of you tube video’s on how to plant, stake and prune your berry plants. Berries like rasberries and black berries grown on what is called canes. At the end of the season you need to know how to cut the old canes so that the new canes have more space to grow. the old canes will not produce any longer.

Some berries like to grow like a bush and others will love to vine, so knowing ahead of time how to take care of them is a great start.

The plants will seem small at first and only give you a small amount of fruit the first year or so, but they will grow fast and having everything in place for them will really help to keep your berries in good shape.

Berries also like the soil on the acidic side. Strawberries are a good companion plant, they act as a good ground cover under the berry plants and they too love a more acidic soil.

hope this helps!
hugs
rose

I prefer keeping my berries separate from my SFG. I want all the space I can reserve for veggies in my nine beds.
I have a 16 ft long raised berm on the south side of my beds for strawberries so I can remove the older ones after 3 years old, leaving room for new growth.

Here's my strawberries in front of the raised beds. I keep row cover over them when they start to ripen to keep the birds from wiping me out like they did the year before.

My blueberry bushes are along the east side of my SFGarden. Their soil needs differ, like adding lots of peat moss to their bed because they prefer it acidic.

I know some put their berries right in their beds so maybe you'll be hearing from them soon.