Sunny hillsides are ideal for growing berries. Not only does this type of location provide ample sunshine, but in addition it allows for adequate drainage so that dirt never becomes soggy. When selecting berry plants, home gardeners have a selection of varieties to choose from. All provide not just appealing landscaping, but also delicious fruit.
Brambles
Blackberries and boysenberries grow as trailing vines known as brambles. Requiring little more than sun and well-drained dirt of any type to thrive, they are great for planting on hillsides. Blackberry varieties, such as the thornless “Black Satin” along with also the thorny “Shawnee” produce dark, hot fruit throughout the summer in U.S. Department of Agriculture zones 6 through 8. Boysenberries, a cross between a blackberry and a loganberry, produce juicy reddish-purple fruit mid-season at USDA zones 5 through 10 and can also be offered in a thornless variety.
Blueberries
Blueberries, that are indigenous to North America, are acceptable for growing on sunny hillsides. Contrary to lowbush blueberries, which grow best in colder climates, the highbush and rabbiteye varieties are adapted to grow in warm areas. Highbush blueberries grow up to 10 feet tall in USDA zones 6 through 9, producing clusters of round, sweet strawberries in the summer. Rabbiteyes, found in USDA zones 7 through 9, are marginally larger than the highbush variety, reaching up to 15 feet tall with no pruning. Such as brambles, they prosper in the sunshine and in well-drained soil that’s well-irrigated throughout the growing season.
Strawberries
The creeping custom of strawberries is well-suited to growing on a hillside. The June-bearing number produces fruit in late spring to early summer, whilst everbearing and day-neutral strawberries possess more harvesting seasons, extending to the fall. Thriving in full sun in USDA zones 3 through 10, they prefer slightly acidic, well-drained loose dirt. One of many June-bearing varieties, “Camarosa” and “Cavendish” produce big fruit and are cold-hardy. The “Tristar” and “Fort Laramie” everbearing varieties make large, especially delicious berries.
Tips
Pick berries of all kinds whenever they are ripe — if it is simple to remove the berry from the vine, it is ready to pick. Frequent harvesting is ideal as this promotes constant fruit production. Once picked, strawberries have a brief shelf life and can quickly become moldy. Your crop will last longer if placed in plastic baggies in small amounts with air left inside to allow them to “breathe .” Put unrefrigerated berries in a basket nested in a different basket, which also allows air to reach the fruit and prevent mold.