help with starting to grow berries.

[little-newbie]

Hi all,

I am a very novice gardener. I have spent the last year mastering some herbs to start me off. With varying degrees of success!

What i would really like to do next is try growing some berries. Particularly blueberries and raspberries. I have tried researching online but i cannot find anything that explains things to someone with as little gardening knowledge as myself!

I want to buy plants so that i can have fruit next year. I have read about buying canes but im not sure i understand how they work?! Is it too late now for me to buy in established plants? I have seen a few websites that say they do not deliver till after autumn. Would these be canes or dormant plants? and what would i have to do over the winter to keep them in top condition for the coming spring and summer?

I am only growing in containers at the moment as the soil in our garden is awful and was used as a rubbish dump by previous occupiers so it is going to take me a while to get it up to scratch. I could however think about some raised beds if these would be a better idea for berries.

Any knowledge that could be shared would be much appreciated. Basically i just need to know where to start !

Many thanks

[WendyC]

Blueberries would be ideal for pots as they need an acid (or ericaceous) soil. Unless rhododendrons grow well near you you probably have a neutral to alkaline soil. You will need more than one plant for good pollination, and ultimately fruit.
Raspberries grow on canes. Summer fruiting fruit on canes which grew last year and Autumn fruiting raspberries fruit on canes which grew this year. So if you want fruit next summer you will need to buy either "long cane" summer raspberries or grow autumn raspberries. They would be better in the ground. Ken Muir's website has some very comprehensive growing guides as does this site!
Welcome to the Vine. Can you add your location to your profile when you get a minute.

[little-newbie]

Thanks for this useful information ! I will be sure to check Ken out.

I have tried to edit my profile but I keep getting a message saying I do not have the right privalages to do so. I think i may have to be registered and checked to make sure i am not a spambot first?!

I am in Manchester incase it makes any difference for the purposes of this post

[Bigmallly]

Hello LN & welcome to the vine. Do you know anyone with an allotment plot? There is always someone giving away Raspberry canes later in the year.

[Invicta]

Soil for blueberries

I also live in the Manchester area, my soil is heavy acid clay. Camellias, Pieris and Rhododendron all grow well, but when I planted a Blueberry it sulked and did not grow. I transferred it to a pot with ericaceous compost and it has flourished as have others I have planted. If you plant a blueberry this autumn you will get some fruit in 2016 but not a big crop. You get bigger yields if you plant two varieties of Blueberry to coss pollinate.