Berries: planting & care guide

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Red berries such strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries are popular fruits which come into season during the summer months. Easy to grow, they take up little space in the garden, and are therefore perfectly suited to more limited outside spaces. Not only are berries delicious, but they are also antioxidants and provide us with potassium, essential to our well-being by acting on fatigue, muscles, hypertension.

PLANT

Most berries are planted in early autumn. Your plants will be able to root well and provide you with good berries for the following year.

Strawberry plants bought in cups can be planted in early spring to harvest in the season. They do not tolerate too humid and calcareous soils, therefore prefer a clay soil.

Blackberry bushes prefer a soil that is not too humid, whilst raspberry bushes adapt to all types of soil and love the sun.

In any case, choose a sunny and previously cleaned soil, and for quality harvests, add manure to your soil.

CARE

The best time to add fertiliser is in the autumn, after planting, and more specifically a specialist fertiliser design for berries.

Red berry bushes are very sensitive to pest attacks, so make sure you take preventative measures. You can also add a small protective net to protect your fruits from birds or other predators.

To ensure longevity for your plants, prune your shrubs by removing old, dried out and damaged branches that no longer produce fruit. It is also important to weed the soil regularly and preferably mulch it.

In summer, water regularly, avoiding watering the leaves. Do not wet the foliage at the risk of attracting pests.

HARVEST

Berries are harvested as the season progresses and according to your needs. They are difficult to preserve. Depending on the species, you can harvest from June to October, before the first frost.

Harvest slowly and carefully; they are fragile, too abrupt gestures could damage them. The plants live in general 3 years, or more if they are very well maintained.

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