My “berry” favorite garden-grown treats in springtime are berries: plump, juicy blackberries, sweet red raspberries, healthy and organically grown strawberries, and pop-in-your-mouth blueberries. Regionally grown varieties ripen from April through July, making delicious toppings for cereal, ice cream, whipped cream, or—better yet—dipped in warm chocolate. Is your mouth watering yet?
Berries are not only delicious but also full of antioxidants, essential vitamins, and natural sugars. Don’t pay exorbitant supermarket prices for tasteless fruit. Grow your own!
When to plant
January and February are ideal for buying and planting bare-root deciduous berry varieties while plants are dormant. If you missed the window this year, mark your calendar for next winter; it’s worth the wait! Choose a sunny spot in raised beds or containers to limit the vine’s spread, and in a sand-clay soil mix with a good supply of organic matter. Parent plants will produce offshoots that root and grow into new plants themselves. Berry vines are perennial and resprout year after year from their original crowns or offshoots. They like regular water, some afternoon shade on hot days, and require simple but specialized pruning rules (read below). Already potted specimens can be planted through late spring.
Blackberries
Many varieties suitable for our area produce fruiting canes that grow 12 feet or more per year. The introduced Eurasian blackberry has naturalized throughout California, but produces small berries that sweeten only in the warmest locations. The Olallieberry, a highly regarded horticultural variety, was developed by Oregon State University to thrive in cooler coastal and inland valley locations along the Pacific Coast. It produces large, sweet berry clusters in abundance in late May through June along second-year canes. Canes sport nasty thorns, but many varieties—such as Marion blackberries, Loganberries, and Boysenberries—are thornless and mature later in July.
Allow new ground-sprouting blackberry canes, called “primocanes,” to grow long by twining them through a 5- to 6-foot-tall trellis during their first growing season. They may lose their leaves during cold weather, but the canes will be fine. Next spring, second-year canes, now called “floricanes, will produce white or pinkish clusters of flowers at each old leaf junction, followed by immature red fruits. (Remember that blackberries are red when they’re green!) Harvest berries when their black and shiny tough skins turn more dull and soft. After harvest, these floricanes will never produce fruit again. So, cut them back to the ground to force growing energy into developing new primocanes. Protect fruit during harvest season from birds and rodents with netting and hoop houses.
Strawberries
Strawberries are perennials, but individual plants only produce for several years, then their offspring take over. Strawberries are native to California and can be found in cool coastal locations and as a ground cover in redwood forests. But horticulturally sold varieties produce larger, sweeter fruit. With proper watering and care, they’ll spread by runners to fill your planting area. Strawberries bloom in early spring and their fruit ripens from late April through June, providing a delicious source of vitamin C and other essential nutrients.
Strawberries like sandy, well-drained soil, so plant them on raised mounds. Part shade is best for inland Contra Costa gardens, and use shade cloth to protect tender plants and fruit during hot spells. Use a commercial snail and slug bait that contains iron phosphate (a plant fertilizer), or build a perimeter sand barrier to keep damage from snails and slugs to a minimum. To improve fruit yield next harvest, cut each plant’s growth back to within an inch of the soil after harvest. Leaves will grow back from the crown to produce your next crop.
Raspberries
Black raspberries are native to Europe, and red raspberries are natives of North America. You can also enjoy golden and blue-red varieties. Annual canes in early spring grow straight up from the crown to 4 feet. New plants are produced by seeds from dropped fruit, so allow some spent berries to fall to the ground. Blooms and fruit appear in the first fall at the tips of new canes, with fruit maturing rapidly. The same canes produce clusters of blossoms again from side shoots next spring, with fruit ripening in May. Red raspberries change color from light pink to deep purple-red, blue-red, or golden when ripe, depending on variety.
After the spring harvest, canes will not produce fruit again. So, cut spent canes to the ground to promote the growth of new pop-up plants. Prickly hairs along canes can irritate skin, so wear gloves while working with them. Delicious ripe fruit contains the same antioxidants and vitamins as their blackberry cousins. Protect ripening berries from birds, western fence lizards, and rodents with bird netting and hoop houses.
Blueberries
Blueberries are native to cool northern American bogs but not California. Indigenous people gathered them for food for centuries before a biologist discovered in 1911 how to cultivate them successfully. The secret was that they love acidic (low pH) soil. Blueberries have been called a “superfood” because they are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and trace minerals, offering more nutrients per ounce than any other fruit.
Most blueberry varieties grow up to 5-foot-tall canes and are deciduous (lose their leaves in winter), while newer horticultural compact varieties are compact and evergreen. Both types deliver delicious, healthy fruit, but tall-grown berries tend to be larger. Choose two or more different varieties to promote cross-pollination and maximum fruit production. Fruit ripens to a deep blue-black color from May through August.
Blueberries are difficult to grow in the ground in Contra Costa because of our dense clays and hot summer climate. Instead, start blueberries in containers, planter pots, or raised beds placed in full morning sun but afternoon shade. You can control their acidity and moisture needs in these containers. Experts say to pick off and discard all immature fruit for the first 2 years to promote vigorous and healthy roots. Add peat moss and forest products to the planter soil to lower the pH and supply regular water. A high-acid fertilizer such as “Camellia, Azalea, and Rhododendron Food” is recommended for application every 6-8 weeks during the growing season. Cut old production canes back after harvest. Protect your ripening blueberries from birds.
Every home garden should have a healthy and productive berry patch! You can do this!
For more pruning details, check out this UC ANR blog site: https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=22578. And for information about the best blueberry varieties for Contra Costa gardens, read https://ucanr.edu/sites/ucmgnapa/files/27035.pdf .
Our ‘Bountiful Berries’ webinar will soon be posted on our YouTube channel.