What Is The Easiest Berry You Grow ?

[Nyboy]

I want to add some berry bushes to my garden. Right now I have blue berry that have not really done anything, and mulberry. Looking for fool proof berry without thorns. Zone 5/6 heavy clay hot and humid summer.

 

[canesisters]

following!

 

[Ridgerunner]

To me, mulberry is the easiest, just prune it, no other maintenance required.

Strawberry is the hardest, I've given up. They tend to die during my hot dry summer and it's just too much work to keep the grass out.

Blueberry takes some work, they are shallow rooted so they need a lot of watering in dry weather. Keeping the grass and such out takes some work but it's manageable. They require high acidity so I need to keep adding sulfur to keep the pH down.

Blackberries aren't that hard, I don't bother trying to keep the grass out that much. I sometimes need to water them during my dry spells to get decent production the following year. Mine have thorns but they do have thornless varieties.

That's the only berries I grow. Are you far enough north for gooseberries?

 

[seedcorn]

Agree with @Ridgerunner about impossible to keep grass out of strawberries. Other than that, super easy.

Mulberries are easy but can become a mess from birds and new plants.

Blackberries can't be killed. But they can get a virus making their fruit worthless. They can become invasive. See first statement about them. I'm still (6 years later) trying to kill a patch of them. Since I planted asparagus there, I can't use chemistry.

Tomatoes qualify as a fruit. Have no thorns. Fresh tomatoes are always good..... I know, not what you had in mind. Picky, picky, picky

 

[Nyboy]

Had to look up Gooseberry. Found article written by a gardener in New Paltz ( next to where cane's animal truck is ) so they do well near me. Going to plants some this spring.

 

[Sam BigDeer]

Blackberries and/or Muscadine Grapes...
Sam

 

[seedcorn]

Have you eaten a gooseberry?

Dad grew them, after eating one I would not waste my ground or effort.

 

[Nyboy]

Blackberry seems like a winner. Never had a gooseberry.

 

[seedcorn]

Read up on care. Have to take out canes that have born. Otherwise, they are hardy. Will stand up to grass.

 

[lcertuche]

I like the wild fruit but like any fruit it is better some years than others. I would like to have a strawberry tower. If I was to grow it on the ground I would probably mulch with cardboard and wood chips. You need to be careful not to cover the crowns however. The commercial farms mulch strawberries in heavy black plastic. This would probably work if you had a soaker hose under the plastic.

Pumpkin/winter squash makes good pies, muffins and quick breads and once they get started good you don't have to worry much about weeds. Find a out of the way corner so they don't take over or where you don't want to mow.