Just a quick post about our berry production on our little homestead.
The first year we planted strawberries and a thornless blackberry. The second year we added more strawberries, blackberries , and then blueberries. Third year we added more blackberries and blueberries.
We are adding more as we can afford to and also when we can get an area cleared for them.
The strawberries were a mix of Alpine, Ozark, and probably some others we are forgetting. We tried a white strawberry too, called Pineberry.
They are planted in a old building foundation with a concrete wall that has fallen down. It was a defined area that we always try planting things in. Strawberries are about the only thing that we have found to work there. We say work but even though we are currently getting lots of strawberries, we are not getting lots of flavor. They have all been so bland this year! Our theories on this are that we have had record level of rains this year effecting the taste or they do not get enough sunlight. Or both. There are a few trees surrounding them we are considering cutting down.
Any suggestions from you guys are welcome in the comments!
The blackberries are a thorn less variety we like, named Apache . The property is covered in “wild” blackberry plants, but they do not produce as much due to their thickness and the wild animals get most of them before they are what we consider ripe.
We are planting them on the edge of our young orchard and keep adding as we take back the woods. They will have plenty of room to expand in the future. The plants do well for us despite a few bites taken out by deer and rabbits from time to time. Last year we even got enough to make a cobbler. I would be fine if we got enough this year to make 20 cobblers. We might be planting more, or we might give it a few years to see how far they expand on their own.
Blueberries we have planted several varieties so far, mainly because where we buy them from seems to change what they have every year. They are all doing a great job despite the light deer grazing, we have not gotten a significant amount off them yet, but maybe this year!
We also have some grapes we have started that we will go over in a future post. Thinking about maybe doing raspberries. We are in zone 7b so researching what we could realistically grow here.
What berries are you growing? What are some of your favorites? Are we forgetting any that we should get started? Let us know in the comments !!!
Green Journal Homestead 
For cane berries, I would recommend pruning them as they should be pruned. That is the main mistake that I see others make with them. They just plant them, and then leave them to do what they want. It is very important to prune out canes after they have fruited, in order to encourage development of new canes. Canes grow in one year, and fruit in the next, and then, should be cut to the ground. Some types get pruned halfway back in their second year. Pruning is not difficult, but different types need different pruning.
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