I'm starting with berries....advice?

[mykdsmomy]

I went to the nursery today and bought a raspberry bush (1 gallon), a boysenberry (1gallon) and a blueberry (Misty 1 gallon).

I was thinking of using large pots instead of in the ground. Does this sound like a good idea? Should I keep them close together? (I'm in So Cal...not sure of the zone).
Can you tell I'm new to all of this?

Also, we are a large family and I want to be able to have lots of berries to eat as snacks and to possibly freeze for winter....how many plants would I need or is one of each enough? THanks mamas....

[aliall]

I have heard that blueberries do best near a different variety of bluberries. Not sure about the others though.

I know raspberries spread if planted in ground, so I don't know how that would work in a container.I have heard not to plant black and red raspberries close to one another, but I forget why.

Verify all of this though because I am no berry expert

I have however ordered 3 types of raspberry and 3 typed of blueberry for the yard this spring. Hopefully we will both get lots!!!!

[Toolip]

Originally Posted by mykdsmomy

Also, we are a large family and I want to be able to have lots of berries to eat as snacks and to possibly freeze for winter....how many plants would I need or is one of each enough? THanks mamas....

I'm not sure how big your family is but I would definitely get more plants!

A very high yield for a raspberry is one pint of berries per cane (each plant). They will spread and you will get more plants eventually.

As for blueberries, I have about 15 plants that are all 10+ years old. We do get enough blueberries to freeze some for the winter. I would say you should get some more, I've never heard of anyone having too many berries!!

I love growing berries. They are so easy and rewarding to grow. Good choice!!!

[babycarrier]

When we bought our blueberry, we were told to get at least one more of another variety. Ours did not fare well.

We transplanted two red raspberry bushes about gallon size 2 or 3 years ago and now it is a large bramble and I wish we had given them more space between them and made sure it was convenient to get around the whole bush. Our birds love us because the back side is up against a stone wall and I can't get to it through the bramble.

Though we had lots of berries, I would have liked more to freeze. Ours never made it too far past the garden and they were a great bring along when we went to visit.

[cristeen]

Do not place your raspberry and boysenberry together unless you want hybrid fruits.

Give cane berries PLENTY of room to spread (between plants).

Do some research on the proper pruning of cane berries. It is crucial to prune them, or your neighbors are liable to hunt you down because they will spread into their yards like crazy.

One blueberry is never enough. Like pp said, they do require cross-pollenization. You will want several near each other.

Give cane berries something to climb (my grandma always used a wire trellis system like for grapes), or you're liable to get a rodent infestation (as well as new canes sprouting in undesirable places).

Putting cane berries in a pot is good in theory, but if that pot has a drainage hole, the canes will eventually find it and work their way out. They've also been known to crack pots.

HTH