Berries And Grapes
In our opinion the berry fruits are better suited to small one-lot gardens than fruit trees, for several reasons.1. The bramble and cane fruits can be trained to supports made from posts and wire to form dividers for portions of the garden.
2. Another point in their favour is height. Being not more than 5 ft/1.5 m above the ground level the fruit is easily gathered and there are no areas of dense shade as there are with fruit trees.
3. A third point is the difference in flavour between freshly picked, fully ripe, sun warm fruits and the marketed fruits which must be picked while still firm enough to withstand handling and shipping.
While raspberries and blackberries appear in produce stores for a week to ten days, loganberries are rarely offered for sale because they change colour so quickly after picking.
Other advantages are that berries are virtually pest-free and do not have extensive root systems, nor cast the heavy shade that is detrimental to other plants. In addition, pruning and picking are simple, requiring no ladders or special equipment. In the average home garden, one dozen raspberry plants and three each of the brambles are sufficient. If raspberries are preferred over brambles, it is wise to plant a dozen each of two or three varieties.
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December 4, 2008