Blackberries

TorontoJoe said:
Woah! You can grow these berries in pots? I’d have thought the way the roots shoot out that they’d become root bound very quickly. Are these huge containers and do you have to prune the roots frequently? From the little I know about berries they’re heavy feeders and need a lot of space… I guess I’m going to need to rethink that
Click to expand...
I don't know if you can... but I do it anyway :) and they seem to thrive... and I get very decent yields from them...

I grow mostly in 18-20 gallon wooden containers, depending on how much they are filled.

The only exception is these gooseberries, they are 3yo and in 7g containers still, but I want to up-pot them this summer as they've gotten huge... the picture doesn't seem to reflect the actual size quite well... each is about 4' wide...
gooseberries.jpg


I went to a haskap farm last summer and got a chance to meet and speak with the owner... he gave me a tour of the farm, the winery... I asked about the yields of his in-ground plants. They were the same age as some of mine... his is a fairly new farm... happy to note that the yields from those plants were on par with what I was getting from my potted ones at the time...

some of my haskaps...
haskaps-3.jpg



I grow all my berries in pots... The oldest I have is 5 years old, and I haven't root-pruned it yet. Not sure if it's needed, to be honest... I will be monitoring how my older ones perform relative to the younger and decide if root pruning is needed...

They say figs need root pruning after about 3 years and such... I don't buy it... I just can't... not after seeing this:

From Facebook's 'What the Fig' group...
485137035_2147383072369306_6238015168360904594_n.jpg

Original description

"Everyone should have one big tree
😂
This Celeste is over 20 years old, with hundreds of sweet figs every year. It has always grown in the same pot 19” H x 22” W. Its roots have never been pruned, and neither has the canopy. Every week it gets a handful of three different brands of organic tomato fertilizers (I switch off between Burpee, Espoma, and Jobes) and lots of water everyday! On a hot day it gets water two times. I think it looks prety happy! I‘m in North Illinois, Zone 5."
 
Figgin' A said:
Darn, I was gonna suggest trying pink or white currants, which, while not the same, would offer another somewhat similar, unique and very pleasant eating experience... but they are banned in NC too!!! You need to get the heck outa there :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
Really? I didn’t know that 😩 bummer
 
Figgin' A said:
Here are my new black cap raspberries in 6' Texas Tomato Cages that I planted last June, I believe, or late May... I need to go grab my garden gloves and spread out the canes more evenly... too thorny to do with bare hands... but already look very good, even though they will be much fuller in a month... I hear that black caps are some of the healthiest raspberry varieties, not to mention that they are sweeter, richer, and have a more complex flavor compared to their red brethren. I would look into trying at least one of these too...

raspberries-1.jpg
Click to expand...

I was picturing plastic containers. Those look more like tall raised beds. Can roots there push downward? It’s a very clean look

I imagine you might need a ladder for harvesting by end of the season. Perhaps even tall enough to be out of reach of raccoons! 😆
 
TorontoJoe said:
According to Google any part of the Ribes family. And apparently not just NC.
Click to expand...
Yes, that was one big plus for moving out of NC. As soon as we did, I started planning my Ribes adventures!
@superdave336 , you will have to come up for a berry eating visit! 😊

@Figgin' A , do you make those wooden containers? They look awesome, truly like their own garden beds... And the bottoms are sealed - not bottomless?
 
Figgin' A said:
I love berry tone, and that's what I use on my berries... well, sort of... I use holly tone instead, which is identical to berry tone... Berry tone is only sold in smaller bags, and it's way overpriced compared to holly tone, which you can have 27lbs for 18 bucks on sale at HD now.... the best I've seen for berry tone is 12 bucks for 4lbs.
Click to expand...
Didn’t know Holly tone was similar. I was under the impression Berry tone held a more acidic formula haha but I’ll have to take a look now! Definitely right about the price to weight ratio 😬
 
FigLab said:
Yes, that was one big plus for moving out of NC. As soon as we did, I started planning my Ribes adventures!
@superdave336 , you will have to come up for a berry eating visit! 😊

@Figgin' A , do you make those wooden containers? They look awesome, truly like their own garden beds... And the bottoms are sealed - not bottomless?
Click to expand...
Thank you! Yes, I made all of these from red cedar and stained with... forget the name... it gives richer color and preserves the wood from the elements... though red cedar is naturally suited for outdoor use... untreated... they need to be re-stained, it's been a few years now... they look gorgeous freshly stained... yes, there are bottoms... with drainage holes... and legs... I don't want to them to sit on the ground and rot... inside is lined with 6mil plastic to keep water away from the wood...
 
BNaula1 said:
Didn’t know Holly tone was similar. I was under the impression Berry tone held a more acidic formula haha but I’ll have to take a look now! Definitely right about the price to weight ratio 😬
Click to expand...
Yeah, back a few years I got so frustrated with this... I want to be as much organic as possible, so naturally wanted this product... first I couldn't find it, everywhere I'd go I needed to order... living an hour away from Niagara Falls, NY, that's a challenge, you know... next, these tiny packages and price per lb was very high relative to tomato or garden tone... so I did some reseach and realized that the ingredient lists were identical... so I did some more research and found out is that THE ONLY DIFFERENCE was PACKAGING! and marketing... Imagine that!
 
Figgin' A said:
Thank you! Yes, I made all of these from red cedar and stained with... forget the name... it gives richer color and preserves the wood from the elements... though red cedar is naturally suited for outdoor use... untreated... they need to be re-stained, it's been a few years now... they look gorgeous freshly stained... yes, there are bottoms... with drainage holes... and legs... I don't want to them to sit on the ground and rot... inside is lined with 6mil plastic to keep water away from the wood...
Click to expand...
Thank you for describing it so fully. You are such a thorough grower. Im not yet fully ready to attempt this, but it gives me some solid ideas - and Inspiration!
 
TorontoJoe said:
I was picturing plastic containers. Those look more like tall raised beds. Can roots there push downward? It’s a very clean look

I imagine you might need a ladder for harvesting by end of the season. Perhaps even tall enough to be out of reach of raccoons! 😆
Click to expand...
Thank you. A little disorganized... I am doing some work in the backyard, so things are getting moved around right now... but yeah, very clean look otherwise... look tidy and modern...

These have bottoms, so no, but I can easily remove them and send roots in the ground... I use outdoor screws with anti-corrosion coating instead of nails, so fixing these or modifying them is a matter of minutes.

With the containers, the tops of the cages can be anywhere from 7-ish to 10-ish feet off the ground... mine are usually about 7 feet, so a ladder is not usually needed... if I add an extension, yes, I use a stool. Some of my tomatoes can grow quite tall.

Raccoons never bothered my raspberries... perhaps because of the thorns... I am glad... now, my thornless blackberry is a different story, will see how it holds up this year... if they start bothering it, I will switch to a thorny type.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top