As I impatiently wait for my blueberry plants to arrive, I’ve gotten distracted with thinking about how/where to put some raspberries and blackberries.
From reading here and elsewhere, I’ve come to understand they can spread. A lot. I have a small yard and a feral toddler, so would prefer to avoid this to the extent possible.
I was originally thinking of putting them just in a raised bed, and dealing with any new ones that escape and shoot up elsewhere. Then I saw a suggestion to put them in something with a fully covered bottom, like a livestock trough.
So two questions:
Is that much better than a raised bed at containing them? I hate to spend the money, but I’m also all for it if it creates less work for me down the road.
How deep would a trough need to be for berries to grow well?
FWIW I bought a lot of raised beds only later to chicken out and I plan to plant mine in 25g grow bags until I taste them and determine they are worth the risk if they escape. Until then, I just hope the birds don’t spread them from my concrete patio!
The volume of the linked-to trough is fine, but it is not deep enough for vigorous long-term raspberry growth. I would want at least 18". Soil in containers tends to compress over time and the 12"-deep trough soil would probably end up at less than 10" over time.
You could probably get enough growth in the 12" trough to get enough berries for flavor testing. (even a 5-gallon bucket might work)
Raspberries, unlike blackberries, require excellent drainage that would not occur in an unmodified metal trough.
If it were me i would start off with grow bags… that way you can try different ones and it would give you several years to figure out which ones you like best.
Best success would be to cut the potting soil which is usually neutral with peat and pine fines…unless you use sulfur or fert with sulfur.
The 22.24in resin whiskey barrels which are 13.04in tall (or taller) with plenty of drainage holes in the bottom have done just fine for me in four growing seasons now. It is true that I have had to repot in the same container maybe once every two or three years because the potting mix settles. I mix in a couple cups of Holly Tone with general purpose potting mix for a new container and follow up with a 1/4 cup in the early spring and mid season. Raspberries like the soil slightly acidic.
Brilliant. I hadn’t even thought of grow bags as an option. This is absolutely perfect.
Super useful information! I hadn’t thought about that yet. I’m happy to drill drainage holes if I go the trough route eventually (realizing that of course allows escape routes for runners). I love the idea of buckets for a trial year or two before committing to something bigger!
