Blackberries & Blueberries

The blackberries are doing great again this year. I have 5 blackberry plants in a 4 x 4 SFG.


Each year for about the past 5 years I have tried to grow blueberries, with no luck until now!
Last year my mom bought me 6 blueberry plants and 2 died, so I was afraid they would all die like they had in the past so I planted 2 of them in regular soil in the ground, and kept the other two in the SFGs. The two I left in the SFGs have lots of blueberries on them, and the two in regular soil had a few blueberries.
I love fresh blueberries and this is the first year I have ever grown any of my own, I ate them all

Great job Josh! You've got the midas-touch in your garden, that's for sure! Beautiful berries!

You seem to be the only one on here that is doing good with blackberries and blueberries in sfg. We have 2 of each blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. How many square feet would you use for each one and should they be planted in separate boxes or could we plant them all in the same box?

Hi Champ,
Welcome to the SFG Forum. You may no have noticed but this thread is over 2 years old. I hope someone can come along soon to help you.

Regarding growing berries, you may get some excellent advice about that from your local Extension Service.

Good luck!  

Hi Champgarden.  Welcome.

We grow blueberries as our front hedges and I want to put in some blackberries & raspberries next year.

Blueberries are cousins to azaleas and like a LOT of acid.  So mulch heavily with pine bark nuggets.  They also like a LOT of water.  We had one of our wettest summers here in Atlanta last year & I got 3 gallons from 5 plants.  Best year ever in terms of berries.  Of course, putting plastic snakes out to discourage the birds & chipmunks helped, lol.  You just have to move them around every day.

Don't know what you use for fertilizer, but we put some compost down for them this spring.  First time in 15 years.  But I noticed last year that the leaves weren't really perky & kinda spotted.  My research showed it needed the compost.  I also gave them some azalea fertilizer.

Space - Part will depend on the types you have.  Tophats are quite small - maybe 2' tall.  But some of highbush wild NH blueberries can be picked from a 2nd story deck at our family place in NH. 

You need at least 2 different types for pollination.  And blueberries propagate by spreading, like raspberries/blackberries.  I'd recommend at LEAST 4sf per bush. 

Black/raspberries - From what I understand, they need DEEP soil - like 18" or so.  I'd contact your Extension Service.  And Mother Earth News has some good info on them.

Have fun!  Please let me know how it goes.

with regards to space, I would give the raspberries one square foot each, but I would guess that the blueberries might need more, as they grow into small trees.

The other question about square footage... is whether you want them to expand because the raspberries send out lots of shoots and if you want a large patch, you likely should give them more space. I guess what you could do is give them ONE square foot the first year with the potential to give them more in future years, but you could use the surrounding squares for other things in the first year.   YUM.   I have about 200 raspberry bushes and it is SOOOOO exciting watching them start out each year. I initially gave mine ONE square foot, then let them roam.

200 raspberry bushes??!!  Oh, pure heaven....!  I'd have a lot of fun with that!

Okay, this is the second year for my blackberry vines.  Right now, they are red and look just like the red berries in the photo at the top of this thread.  However, they are as hard as marbles.  Are they going to eventually turn black and juicy or somethings wrong?

Rahab222 wrote:Okay, this is the second year for my blackberry vines.  Right now, they are red and look just like the red berries in the photo at the top of this thread.  However, they are as hard as marbles.  Are they going to eventually turn black and juicy or somethings wrong?

yes the berries are immature if hard and red. With time they will ripen nicely.

WOW Blackberries already??  Ours are just starting to bud.   Do you know what type of blackberries you have.

LOL!  GWN, Rahab's in Houston!  That's quite a distance south from you...

Ours here in GA/mid-south are in full bloom right now.

But I'm jealous ....!!!

Well even when I lived in Oregon we did not get blackberries until the fall.
My raspberries are flowering now.

However I do recall reading somewhere that blackberries ALSO have a June bearing type.

I found an article on Blackberries and apparently a new strain was developed as an everbearing blackberry  article on blackberries

GWN wrote:Well even when I lived in Oregon we did not get blackberries until the fall.

Really...?  Huh...  Ours ripen in July/August - about the same time as the blueberries.  But, again, we're quite a bit further south than Oregon.

I want to put in blackberries & raspberries either this fall or next spring.  (I suspect it will be next spring since DH has "done his project" for the year, lol.)

And that's an interesting article.  I try to concentrate on heirlooms, but may have to rethink that for the blackberries.

I want to put in blackberries & raspberries either this fall or next spring.  (I suspect it will be next spring since DH has "done his project" for the year, lol.)

Be sure and read up on the June bearing VS everbearing before you put them in.
BECAUSE at least with raspberries I have them all summer because of how I have worked the two types.

The June bearing bear on last years canes (floricanes) and the fall bearing (or everbearing) bear on the primocanes or THIS years canes, in the fall, PLUS they will also produce a small crop  on what is left of of this years canes... next year

If that makes sense   
SO I prune the fall bearing ones all different heights in the fall, to allow for different fruiting times.   AND the ones I prune right to the ground will fruit in August.  
I think I need to get some of those ever bearing blackberries as well.

Okay, thanks.  And please expect me to pick your brain after I read thru all the posts & do some research. 

If you have success with all those raspberries, I know you know stuff I NEED to know!

Hugs!

I know you know stuff I NEED to know!

NEED TO KNOW basis   

Re blackberries as hedges, be careful. Blackberries are the #1 plant pest species in Oregon. They're very invasive, hard (and sometimes a painful task) to remove, build up lots of flammable understory when growing in the wild, and it can take a bulldozer to put out a fire in them.

That said, they're delicious. Even the dogs love them. One of ours has a scar on his nose from going after them.

A man in Fresno has thornless blackberries and raspberries!