U-pick at home
It doesn’t really feel like summer until you’ve spent a warm morning in a u-pick field filling your belly and a bucket with ripe berries. But you don’t have to load the kids in the car and make a long drive to a farm outside of the city to enjoy that sweet satisfaction. Your family can have unlimited access to those healthy gems right in your own backyard! Adding a berry patch to your garden can provide you with delicious fruit and fun for years.
Like most edibles in your garden, there are a few fundamentals all berries need to thrive. Berries need access to full sun, which means at least six hours a day. Another very important element is good drainage. Most berry plants are sensitive to soils that remain wet for long periods of time. Planting them in a raised bed can be an easy solution for that.
Berries should be planted in the spring, as soon as the soil can be worked. If the soil is really wet, wait for a few consecutive dry days to dig that hole. Also, you have to be willing to plant an abundance of berry plants if a bountiful harvest is what you want.
Scroll through the arrows above for some important tips about growing strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.