Berries are pretty wonderful. They taste great, work in a variety of different dishes and are loved by both adults and children alike. Here’s the problem, though. Berries can also be very expensive, especially if you’re buying them directly from a grocery store. That alone can be enough to put many people off from having berries to begin with.
What if we told you that there was another way, though? That you don’t have to keep spending a fortune on your berries, and instead you can have fun with the family and grow your own? It’s time to flex your green thumb, buy your strawberry planters and get to work on growing some delicious berries, right from your back yard!
Get Your Seeds
The first thing that you will need to do is get your seeds. There are a lot of different kinds of berries that you can grow, including cranberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.
You should take the time to decide what you want to grow. It’s worth noting that certain plants will only grow during particular seasons, so it’s worth doing your research in advance.
Keep your expectations in check too – you aren’t going to sprout a whole bush of strawberries overnight when you plop the seeds in the ground. Patience is most certainly a virtue when it comes to gardening.
Grab The Shovel
The next thing to do is to figure out where you are going to be growing your berries. You can buy planters, or you can plant them directly into the ground. What ultimately matters is that the berries have the right conditions in order to grow.
In order to grow your berries, you are going to need to put them in a location where they have complete access to the sun, and plenty of rich, fertile soil that they can grow in. The drainage conditions also need to be appropriate. The plants are going to have a hard time growing if they are constantly flooded!
When you find the right spot for your berries, you can then get to work on planting the seeds. Follow the instructions on the seed packet, or plant some fruits directly into the ground. Make sure that you are watering the plants on the right schedule too – this will vary depending on what plant you are growing.
Mulch and Compost
It’s a good idea to put some mulch and compost around your plants too. Compost is good for allowing your plants to grow properly. You can generally buy compost from many gardening stores, but you can also make your own.
When the plants are already established, you should be applying the compost again fairly regularly – around twice a year will usually be sufficient. You can add mulch around the plants too. This is useful since it restricts the growth of other plants nearby, which is important because berry plants struggle to thrive when competition from weeds and other plants is nearby.
Your plants are going to need to have plenty of space in order to grow correctly, so make sure that they have that.
Know Your Plants
So how long do all of these berry plants last when you plant them? Well plants like raspberries, cranberries, blueberries and blackberries are perennials, so they can come back year upon year. They do need to be maintained fairly regularly though. Strawberry plants will usually only last for a couple of years before they need to be replanted.
Have a Little Patience
We know that you’re eager to eat your berries straight away, but unfortunately that’s not how gardening works! Instead, you’re going to need to wait it out for a while before you can enjoy your delicious home grown berries. Keep on top of the maintenance of the plants, watering them as required and trimming if you need to. Otherwise, all you can do is bide your time until they’re ready to be harvested.
Dig In!
After all of your patience and hard work, you definitely deserve a reward, and that will eventually come. After a certain amount of time, your berry plants will start to yield fruits. If they’re ready to be harvested, you can go ahead and pick them, and eat them in whatever way you like. You and your family will certainly be pleased!
Conclusion
And that’s how to grow your berries at home! It costs a lot less money than buying them from a store on a regular basis, but it does take more time. With some patience though, you will certainly reap the benefits.