How to Grow Raspberries, Blueberries, and Blackberries in Containers 

I accidentally pruned off way too much of 1 of my blackberry’s primo cane last year and sure enough barely got any fruit this year😢 does that mean it’s doomed next year and forevermore!???

I'm in the Hunter region in nsw Australia. In my first year growing blueberries I killed them because my pots were to small my second year I got the largest plastic pot I could find but that year I had sun scold problems and birds ate 90% of the fruit even if it was green so I fixed both problems at the same time, I made a shade house out of portable gazebos with 50% shade cloth for the roof and bird netting on the side and this year I got all of my berries!

Your opening.. I'm (almost) experiencing pot and fence envy. Looks great, Kev!

@DLS Dyer Yup, that’s a dead sexy fence.

Thank you!

What a lovely story!

Lol, my old neighbor misses my chickens, they would sneak into his garage and lay eggs in an old laundry hamper.

@@SgtRudySmithbRet - Yeah, cleaning through a garden bed one day, I found 8 eggs! I had no idea she was laying eggs in my yard.

@@midei - oh, it was heaven. One day, I wiped her beak for her and she really liked it. Who knew their beaks were sensitive?! From there, we got more comfortable with me petting her more; her head, under her eyes, her throat. And, she loved for me to sing to her. She'd stand in a sheltered corner of my porch and I'd sit in a chair by the door and if I sang the lullaby song to her, she would close her little eyes and tilt her little head. I'd feed her treats and she'd eat a little, then come over for a bit of pets, and then go back to eat more & back and forth. She couldn't decide which she liked best. I'd sit on the steps and she'd come find things to peck at...an interesting pattern on my clothes or a flyaway hair. I really miss working in the garden and hearing that soft booock and looking around to see her. It just gave so much joy. Or when she'd run to me; they run so cute. She lived 4 houses away, at the end of the block. Sigh. Some day, I'd like to have a couple hens. She felt really healing and comforting to me.

I love this thread. I now want a chicken neighbor

I was wondering if I could let mine grow in my back yard if it will survive the winter

I thought the exact same thing when I saw it. The property is really coming together.

Dude living on the resort version of a garden. Super jelly.

I love that fence

So slick

Plese saw from blackberry sead how to Grown.

It’s so weird, I literally read your comment as he was saying it lol x

@Bobby Jay Thank you, but the credit should go to Kevin.

I was told you cannot plant red raspberries beside the other colors of them, because red being the dominant color would cause the other colors to eventually becoming red, due to pollination. But what your saying makes that untrue. I've always wanted to try the other colors, being in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, ive only seen red, only found out there was other colors about 5 years ago. How do the other colors taste? Which is the best? Thanks for sharing 😊

thank you for sharing! ❤️

Yes, very helpful! One question, do you bring the plants indoors for winter?

No, they stay outdoors. In the fall I put a fence around them with stakes to support it, and put raked leaves inside the fencing around them to protect them from the cold. Then I weave wire along the top of the stakes that supports the fencing and tie strips of fabric every 18-24” onto the wire. This deters deer from eating the blueberries bushes during the winter. We have deer that stroll through our yard and they have yet to venture near to the blueberries. I call this the “Blueberry Fortress.” 🤣

Thanks for the tips!

I’m in Central NY. May I ask what varieties you have and where you purchased them? Didn’t know you could grow these fruit bushes in containers in NY!

Ever consider a tower garden? You can grow most veg, fruits, herbs & flowers year round indoor or outdoor with a tower garden. Let me know if/how I can help

@@SharneseLaNierHELPS what's a tower garden 😍

@@SharneseLaNierHELPS He has a couple Greenstalks and has a video or two on them

@@kristaseattle just an upward way of growing. I want one just because they are beautiful when filled out.

@@mariannerapp411 He also has a $10 coupon code when you purchase one of the green stalk planters. I’ve got a couple of them and I love them. I garden in a small space also.

Is that a good thing?

@@MakeUpMofo Yes, most perennials are symbiotic with funguses.

@@Crysarkoh see now I’m confused. Someone in my gardening group said fungus with raspberries are bad. What type of fungus would my raspberries have that’s potentially killing then? My leafs and stems are dying. I was told to trim the dead stuff off and burn what I trimmed. Then use a fungicide.

@@rlopez18m Sounds like some kind of blight or virus, either way yes you should trim and burn any affected spots. I'd steer away from fungicide unless it starts becoming uncontrollable, blight can only spread via touch, so as long as you dispose of the affected parts it should go away. Blight usually happens due to soil splashing on leaves due to there being blight spores in all soil worldwide. Try watering without splashing the plant once you clear all the affected parts, and trim any leaves touching the ground. You could also make a compost tea and use it as a foliar spray to defend against fungus that would hurt your plant. The beneficial microbes take residence on the leaves and reduce the chances of diseases significantly.

@@rlopez18m depends on the fungus. some fungi are beneficial, like a lot of the ones that live in the soil and have symbiotic relationships with plants, and provide nutrients for them. other fungi are detrimental, like the ones that attack the leaves of living plants, those are the parasitic (disease) variety.

Why do blueberries grow better with lettuce?? Very interesting!

Cool I will try that. I’m gonna try and grow blueberries this year.

Is it related to nitrogen level?

@@lova368 I'm really not sure. I didn't do any soil testing, just want another place for lettuce and picked the blueberry pot. :)

Sometimes interplanting helps to drive oxygen into the soil?

Pretty cool!

Try them in a pie! Blackberries make the best pies!

Pick and sell them!

I wishhh I had that problem 😭 mine died back but then this year when I started ignoring it it’s formed a small compact bush. I have yet to get a single berry though smh.

@@strawberrytiramisu blackberries ripen in later july. I think raspberries and blackberries thrive more if you kinda ignore them.... They are considered a weed in Oregon, we would get boxes full from a wild patch back behind our house.

This is an awesome idea!

I keep dinosaurs on mine, they work like a charm! 🦕

Toy dinos 😁

@@Suprchica how big are your toy Dino’s?

How does that work?

Yes!

I grew a number of varieties of blueberries in containers for several years. Healthy plants. Lots of berries. There's more than one right way to do things. This worked for me. 14 gallon container. (14 gallons of soil is too heavy to lift. You can pull it with a rope.) Northern Highbush varieties for me. Depending on where you live, maybe Southern Highbush varieties. Must have at least 2 different varieties of the same type of highbush to get fruit. For example, 2 different Northern Highbush varieties. Select varieties for your zone with staggered ripening times. Do not pick dwarfs. Worst case, pick half highs. Soil recipe: equal parts pine bark fines (SMALL pine bark mulch), peat moss, compost (not composted manure) plus 1 tbsp gypsum per gallon and 1 tbsp epsom salt per gallon. Water: every day when it's warm. Occasionally add vinegar to the water. Do not allow the roots to dry out or sit in soggy soil. Fertilize: In the spring when the buds swell, add time released fertilizer for acid loving plants. (High nitrogen if you can find it.) Regular fertilizer will kill them. Fertilize with epsom salt a few times a year. Post harvest, add another dose of time release fertilizer. Unless your fertilizer adds calcium, add a handful of gypsum in August. In the fall, add a handful of garden sulfur. Winter: The hardiness zone of the plant refers to the above ground structure, not the roots. (Normally, the roots are kept warmer in the earth.) Unless you live at least 2 zones warmer than the limits of the plant, you need to protect the roots in the winter. I piled leaves generously up around the pot and 6" over the pot for the winter. If you live in a hot climate, you may need to protect the roots from the heat in the summer. Prune: blueberries in pots don't need a lot of pruning. But if you think the plant is overgrown, remove the oldest (thick, gnarly) canes (thick branches coming from the base). Short version, don't trim the length of the canes. Next year's fruit grows on the tip of this years canes. If you cut them off, you cut off next year's fruit. Harvest: Here's the big secret. Blueberries are NOT ripe when they turn blue. Leave them hang for a while. If the berry requires a tug to harvest, it's not ripe. If it rolls off easily by rolling between thumb and finger, it's ripe. If the fruit starts dropping off or shriveling, it's getting late. Generally, hanging means getting sweeter, but less crisp. Blueberries can hang a long time. Pick yourself a bowl and leave the rest until you are ready to eat them. Pests: I would have gotten zero fruit of any kind without bird nets. Make a simple frame from pvc pipe or wood. Drape bird net over the frame, not directly on the plants. I grew a range of fruits in containers. We ate fresh fruit from our "urban orchard" every day all summer until frost. Blueberries were the easiest to grow.

@@annnonomys3132 thank you so much for sharing SO much knowledge on growing blueberries, I appreciate it! I actually just potted up some blueberries and raspberries today! I’ve never tried growing fruit before, so we shall see how this goes! 🤓🤗

@@carolinasv525 Wish you luck.

@@annnonomys3132 Thank you! That was very helpful for a first timer 😊

Where in Japan? Haskaps (native to Hokkaido) are growing in my containers whereas blueberries failed. Give it a shot.

I’d love to try haskaps. Haven’t seen them where I live, but I have yet to venture into other cities, since I moved here last winter.

hmm i’d love to grow those but i’m in NYC would that be a problem?

@@jayclearmen411 I'm on Long Island close to Queens and I think blackberries are hospitable to this climate. I'm growing blackberries and raspberries.

LOL

Wow, I never realized on how blessed I am in that sense, where I have a lot of land space, I have about 100x15m in one garder and about 80x40m in the other garden. So yeah pretty much unlimited space when it comes to gardening, sadly we don't use it to the full extent(only about 15-20% of the land in one garder) and none in the other one. Yeah I'm looking forward to planing some of those berries, and hopefully they succeed!

Territorial seed company has some dwarf tomato seeds? Two varieties stay about 6-8 inches tall, at least one is a cherry tomato.

I live in a apartment.my landlord lets me grow veggies in buckets around the house and yard.i have 2 jaholopino peppers plants in front of our steps.i also have 2 tomato plants in buckets beside the house.i just bought some basil in pots and a lemon tree in a pot im putting behind the house.im also growing lettuce and carrots in long window containers in my kitchen window.

Cool!!

I have blueberries to put out also! Good luck with yours ☺️ yummy at picking time!

Be careful not to eat a large amount of boyenberry at a time though

I'm going to make jam out of them.

@@onlineearner4669 why? Actually what's boysenberry in the first place lol

@@moisesm9602 It's kind of like a black raspberry but the whole plant is toxic (but not very toxic with the leaves containing more toxins then the berries) so if you eat a large amount at once who could feel sick. Like diarrhea, blurred vision, stomach cramps and such

Try growing haskaps aka camerises. They’re very cold tolerant and fruit earlier! I’ve been harvesting for 2 weeks already.

I'm in love with it, actually

Have you found any large enough to go over the stem and cover well. I realized the ones I got are too small to be useful.

@@jimjam36695 the ones I use are like the ones from party stores that people use as favor bags. They work great for me

Same here!

Ooo, TIL.

Diatomaceous earth should work

@@Rob-- it kills beneficial insects also, ladybugs, bees

Means a lot to HEAR!

Working on the bigger ones ;)

Thank you Judy!

@@epicgardening hi, I was actually wondering about the tree. Is that a kumquat or a loquat? I live in Florida and we have loquats everywhere but everyone thinks they're kumquats.

Your fence is so popular in the comments that you might have to give it it’s own insta...😏

Me too! One of mine flowered, those dropped, is that where they form? I am in lower Michigan ☺️

I have blueberries, raspberry and blackberry bushes planted. My blueberry bush has already started fruiting, I watched the bee do it's magic

we got a couple of raspberries last year! onwards and upwards!!!

Glad to know I'm not the only one growing corn in a pot! Lol. I started some and they just grew! Grounded two of them and left the other two and the two in the pot are just exploding, while the two in the ground are like 'nope, we're going to be slow and small for now'.

Yes please!

Yep, me too! They are biggies for sure!

Same. I have been tryong to grow it from a seed for the third year already. Do you know any tips as to how to grow it? My climate doesn`t let me grow it outside (Ukraine). So I keep it in the house in winter and take outsede for summer. It looks fine, ut I have no idea if I ever get the fruits :)

Thank you!

If you can find a local source for bamboo (actually a grass), it is easily split and woven into a trellis or nearly anything else. I lived in Vietnam for nearly six years. It was amazing to watch a six story building go up with workers standing on bamboo scaffolding. Then later eat a meal off bamboo woven and lacquered platters and bowls, the meal cooked with bamboo utensils (and woven steamer baskets). And eating young bamboo shoots as a veg ! With, you guessed it, bamboo chopsticks Each was made from a different variety of bamboo, but nonetheless... People sat in the shade of and slept on cool bamboo mats. I became a believer !

Yo how they doing so far

Blackberries can be very invasive! They're considered a weed in Oregon... Be very aware that both blackberries and raspberries can put out canes 4-5 feet away from the original patch and very quickly spread over the course of a few months! But they are soo good!

Thank you!

Thank you 😋

Loving the Ludacris lyrical reference 👌🏾