Berries - how to succeed
But which types of berries should you choose? There are many different easy-to-grow berries to choose from. Which ones you or your family like best should of course weigh heavily. Here are some suggestions:
- Currants and gooseberries produce a lot of berries. If you want to make juice, jam, jelly and enjoy the berries as they are, these bushes are a hot tip. Currants, by the way, are very rich in vitamin C.
- Raspberry bushes are very popular, for good reason. There are many varieties, so you can pick and choose according to your own taste. To get a lot of berries out of it, you should plant several bushes – preferably five to ten.
- Strawberries scream Norwegian summer. Strawberry plants are quite easy to care for. They like a lot of sun and well-fertilized soil. Then the berries usually ripen quickly.
- Blackberries are both sweet and sour, and really useful. You can choose from many varieties with different flavors and sizes. The bushes need support, so feel free to tie them to the wall.
Plant several berry bushes together
Berry bushes thrive in each other's company and look their best when planted together, preferably several different types. This allows them to pollinate each other and produce more and larger berries. If you only want to grow one type of berry, such as blueberries, it is a good idea to plant blueberry bushes of different varieties so that they can cross-pollinate each other. Remember to choose varieties that bloom at the same time.
How to plant berry bushes
Growing berry bushes is quite easy, but remember that some need a certain distance between them, for example strawberries where 25 cm between plants is sufficient, and you can plant berry bushes throughout the season. Otherwise, you can follow the advice here:
- Berries thrive in a location with lots of sun where they have room to develop and ripen. Raspberries and blackberries may need support to grow and be easier to harvest.
- Use naturally fertilized potting soil, and mix it with the original soil when planting.
- Water abundantly, both in the hole and on the root ball before filling it with soil again.
Care tips for berry bushes
- Water
A newly planted bush needs a lot of water throughout the first season.
- Fertilizer
Improve the soil with cow manure every year, so that the plants stay nice and strong. and supplement with garden fertilizer throughout spring and summer.
- Weeds
Berry bushes do not like weeds, so remove all grass and weeds around the bushes. A tip is to place cut grass around the bush, then the weeds will be suffocated and the water will not evaporate as easily.
- Pruning
Different types of berry bushes require different pruning, but prune in the spring-winter period - in the transition between winter and spring. Remove damaged branches every year. Otherwise, remove the oldest branches in favor of younger and stronger branches. This way the bush is rejuvenated. But wait a couple of years after planting before removing old branches. After two to three years of growth, the oldest branches on blackcurrant bushes are removed. For currants and gooseberries, wait three to four years. Raspberry and blackberry plants bear fruit on two-year-old shoots. Remove branches that have borne fruit. Do not prune berry bushes at the top, as this will ruin the flowering.
Berries make your garden better, literally. There are so many types that it is easy to succeed with, so just get started!