Edible Garden

How To Grow Berries

Berry Canes

Cane berries such as raspberries, blackberries, and boysenberries are unique in that the crown of each plant in the ground is perennial and the canes are biennial, lasting two years. A part of the genus of plants ‘’Rubus’’, these delicious fruits are popular cool climate crops with gardeners and foodies alike.

With fruit rich in vitamin C and a low glycemic index, cane berries are perfect for snacks and lunchboxes and at Mr Fothergill’s, we seasonally stock a variety of berry canes during winter, which is the perfect time for planting these plants.

In this guide, we’ll explore how to grow berries, how to prune berries, and how to harvest them effectively in Australia.

Berry Varieties & Characteristics

Variety

Characteristics

Raspberry Autumn Bliss

Heavy cropping

Autumn fruiting

Large sweet fruits

Primocane Variety (easy to prune)

Raspberry Golden Yellow

Super sweet, low acid golden variety

Heat tolerant

Disease resistant

Floricane Variety

Raspberry Nootka

Great resistance to rot

Ideal fruit for freezing

Floricane Variety

Produces bright red medium-sized fruits

Summer fruiting with smaller Autumn yields

Raspberry Serpells Willamette

Early/Midseason variety

Canes mostly thornless

Floricane Variety

Ideal for jams and preserves as fruits ripen in a short period of time

Raspberry Chilliwack

Summer fruiting with smaller Autumn yields

Floricane variety

Heavy cropping

Raspberry Willamette

Reliable cropper

Mid-summer fruits with smaller Autumn harvests

Tayberry

A cross between a blackberry and a raspberry

Large juicy fruits

Sweet fruits with less tartness

Youngberry

A cross between a Blackberry, Raspberry and Dewberry

Smaller and shinier fruits compared to boysenberry

Sweet delicious fruits

Loganberry

Cross between a raspberry and a blackberry

Juicier and sharper-flavoured berries

Ideal eaten fresh or used for baking

Blackberry Thornless

Abundance of sweet fruit in Summer

Thornless vines allow ease of harvest

Produces vigorous canes

Boysenberry

A cross between Blackberry, Raspberry, Dewberry and Loganberry

Delicious mildly tart fruits

Ideal eaten fresh or for use in pies and jellies

Elderberry

Grows into a large vigorous bush

Adapt to a wide range of soils

Produces many small juicy fruits in later Summer that are high in antioxidants

Fruits are exceptional juiced or dried

Gooseberry

Self-pollinating

Shrubs are hardy and deciduous with almost thornless stems

The tart fruits are ideal for use in jams and desserts

Red Currant

Delicious early summer fruits

Grows into a small hardy shrub

Frost tolerant and low water requirement

Fruits are tasty fresh or used for jams and desserts

Black Currant

Fruits in early Summer

Produces many small delicious berries that are rich in flavour and vitamin C

Frost tolerant and low water requirement

Soil Preparation

Cane berries enjoy rich, loamy soil that is free-draining. They grow quite well in neutral to slightly acidic soil, somewhere between 7-6.5 pH. You should only apply amendments once you’ve tested your garden’s pH and luckily, many at-home kits make this process quite simple.

Incorporating some compost and well-rotted manure will also do you no harm. For clay soils, add some handfuls of gypsum. Cane berries can also be grown in large outdoor pots if soil conditions are not suited. Just ensure they are given plenty of space.

Planting

Ensure your plants are located somewhere that receives full sun for most of the day and, ideally, some partial afternoon shade. Most cane berries will struggle in very hot afternoon sun so you may need to protect with some shade cloth or shielding plants.

Your plants will need some kind of structure to grow on. This could be a fence, wire trellis, or a hardwood stake. This will keep the plants neat and tidy and help you out when it comes to pruning. A 2-metre-high structure should suffice.

Maintenance

Cane berries require ample water and fertiliser for good growth and fruit set. The roots can dry out quickly in warm weather, so applying sugarcane mulch around your plants will be beneficial. Add some slow-release fertiliser around your plants once they start to sprout to encourage healthy growth.

Watering every couple of weeks during fruit set with a diluted liquid seaweed solution will also help your plants produce delicious fruit. There are many slow-release fertilisers available that contain adequate levels of potassium, an important element for fruit production.

Plant Care & Tips

How to Prune Berries

When it comes to caring for your plants, pruning is a crucial step that must be conducted properly otherwise your plant will not fruit next season. There are two main fruiting types of berry canes in the Mr Fothergill’s range that require different approaches:

Floricane Variety (Summer Fruiting)

Floricane refers to the second-year growth and is what the majority of Mr Fothergill’s berries set fruit on. A floricane begins life as a new green primocane and turns woody and brown over time. Once this second-year stalk has fruited for the season, it is pruned off, allowing younger primocanes to grow and develop into the next fruiting floricane.

Primocane Variety (Autumn Fruiting)

Primocane varieties will fruit on the first season’s growth. The entire plant can be cut back to ground level in winter after fruiting. Autumn Bliss is a primocane variety of raspberry which produces abundant large fruits.

Harvesting

Pick your berries as soon as they have ripened and eat them within a few days of harvesting for the best flavour. Store them in a breathable container similar to shop-bought berries, and store them in the fridge avoiding the coldest area. Excess berries can be frozen or made into jams to enjoy later.

In the case of raspberries, the leaves can be harvested and used to make raspberry leaf tea, a popular herbal tonic.

Buy Cane Berries at Mr Fothergill’s Seeds

Mr Fothergill's stocks a range of berry canes as well as other fruits and produce as part of our summer-ready bulbs range, which is available seasonally between June and September. Helping you grow perfect berries and other fruit, you can add delicious staples to your pantry fresh from your own garden. And remember, for a deeper dive into all things gardening, read our garden advice blog.

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